OVERVIEW
Is wood a sustainable material? It depends: a table made from reclaimed wood has a much smaller environmental footprint than one sourced from a monoculture plantation that replaced a rainforest.
Defining responsible material sourcing—and then finding responsibly sourced products—is complicated. Here you will find in-depth resources that detail the benefits and challenges of using biobased materials, reclaimed wood, fly ash, and other materials. Our resources also detail which companies and industries are ahead of the curve in offering responsible choices.
What about the materials you don’t use? Using less is always a good idea—as long as that doesn’t compromise performance.
Doing more with less takes knowledge and attention: it’s about investing in human resources instead of wasting natural resources. And since our small planet has more humans every day, we’re not likely to run out of them anytime soon. Durability, efficient structural systems, and repairing and retrofitting rather than replacing are all key strategies to consider.
IN-DEPTH
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Daytime Light Pollution From Buildings May Harm Wildlife
News Brief
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U.S. Hardwood Export Group Shows Sources Meet Legality Requirements
News Brief
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Canadian Multifamily Project Earns LEED Platinum
News Brief
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BEES 4.0 LCA Software Continues Evolution
News Brief
Life-cycle assessment tool BEES 4.0 offers a larger data set and other improvements over previous versions.
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Indigenous Cradle to Cradle
Op-Ed
Reader Bruce King questions the focus of the Cradle to Cradle product certification program on synthetic materials.
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Meeting Your Challenge
Op-Ed
Sarnafil US, Inc. meets EBN's challenge to recycle its old roofs as well as production waste and scrap.
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Yale Team Hired to Support USGBC's Biobased Materials Deliberations
News Brief
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New Energy Performance Indicator for Cement Plants
News Brief
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Why the USGBC Should Change LEED's Position on Wood
Op-Ed
Alex Wilson, who wrote a white paper for the USGBC recommending changes to the LEED Rating System relative to wood and biobased credits, explains why the changes make sense from an environmental standpoint.
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Beetles Threaten British Columbia Forest Catastrophe
News Brief