Environmental Building News

Welcome to Environmental Building News! The construction and building sector significantly influences our planet. In North America, this industry is responsible for approximately 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, as well as substantial consumption of natural resources and significant loss of open spaces each year. So, what steps can we take to address this issue? How can individuals in the realms of construction, design, and related fields contribute to reversing this environmental decline? While the challenges of enhancing sustainability in the building industry may seem daunting, it’s important to stay positive and motivated. The good news is that there are also incredible opportunities for change. The potential for advancement is vast, and the improvements we can achieve together in our industry are significant.

International

English

Online/Digital

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#493518

United States

#209004

Heavy Industry and Engineering/Construction and Maintenance

#1662

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

USGBC Certifies First LEED v5 O+M Projects

Nov 26, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Elizabeth Waters

News Brief Three existing buildings: a retail space, an office skyscraper, and high-rise apartments achieved LEED certification under the new v5 rating system. USGBC announced the first three projects certified under the new LEED v5 Operations & Maintenance (O+M) rating system, still in beta testing. In LEED v5 O+M, USGBC has added prerequisites and credits focused on carbon, health, equity, and resilience. For instance, project teams are now required to assess a building’s resilience and...
Products at an Exposition

Nov 25, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Brent Ehrlich

Product Review The Greenbuild expo always showcases innovative products and industry trends. This year there were some significant seismic shifts in the green products displayed and the ideas presented. When people think of the Greenbuild expo floor, their perceptions are not usually those of music, art, or beauty. But it is a bit of an art navigating schedules and meetings in order to see products and talk to manufacturers amongst the cacophony of the crowd, concrete floors, and cavernous...
USGBC Launches Program for Real Estate Portfolios

Nov 18, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Nadav Malin |Elizabeth Waters

News Brief Building on the 2023 Portfolio Accelerator, PERFORM will formally verify portfolio-wide progress toward sustainability goals High-performing, LEED-certified buildings are great for showing what’s possible, but the vast majority of existing building will never pursue—much less achieve—certification. But those buildings are responsible for the lion’s share of carbon emissions from the built environment, so it’s imperative to improve their performance. At Greenbuild 2024 in...
EHDD Launches Spinoff of its Free Whole-Life Carbon Tool

Nov 18, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Nadav Malin |Elizabeth Waters

News Brief With independence, C.Scale aims to advance building decarbonization Architecture firm EHDD announced on November 12 that it’s established a new company, C.Scale, as an independent public benefit corporation. Jack Rusk, EHDD’s former director of climate strategy, left the firm to become C.Scale’s CEO. And Brad Jacobson, FAIA, principal and partner at EHDD and co-founder of C.Scale, will join the C.Scale team while remaining at EHDD. With this move, the company can bring in investors...
C2C Launches a New, More Accessible Circularity Certificate

Nov 5, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Elizabeth Waters

News Brief With its Certified Circularity Standard, Cradle to Cradle hopes to expand the reach of its product circularity efforts The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII) recently announced the release of a new certification option, the Certified Circularity Standard. Derived from the full standard, the new certification is “designed to provide an accessible pathway for companies of all sizes to create and verify circular products,” explained Ren DeCherney, global lead of...
Industry Aligns on Federal Zero-Emissions-Building Definition

Oct 28, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Nadav Malin

News Brief Leading industry nonprofits have committed to supporting the Biden Administration’s definition of a zero-emissions building as they evolve their programs, including LEED v5, Living Building Challenge, and Passive House. The federal government finalized its definition of a “zero-emissions building” in June of this year. Since then, major industry groups have formally announced their intentions to align with it. The definition is not a standard, and the government doesn’t plan to...
Equitable Neighborhood Decarbonization Gets the Go-Ahead

Oct 21, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Elizabeth Waters

News Analysis A new California law will allow utilities to replace aging gas infrastructure with zero-emission alternatives in 30 pilot projects The clean energy transition is upon us. But if we’re not proactive about making it equitable, many people—especially renters along with homeowners in disadvantaged communities—could be left behind paying ever-increasing gas prices. With its newly passed Neighborhood Decarbonization Act (SB 1221), California seeks to demonstrate—through 30...
You Can Now Specify Low-Embodied-Carbon Steel

Oct 14, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Brent Ehrlich

Product Review ClarkDietrich’s low-embodied-carbon cold-rolled steel products meet Build America, Buy America Act and Buy Clean Act federal purchasing requirements. Steel is one of our most versatile and important building materials. It is found in even the most boutique low-embodied-carbon buildings.
Carbon Now or Later: The Arguments for Delaying Emissions

Oct 8, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Elizabeth Waters

News Analysis A new Arup report demystifies the time value of carbon, why it matters, and why we need to be careful with it. Are today’s carbon emissions worse than tomorrow’s? Should embodied carbon be a higher priority than operational carbon? Published October 8, 2024 Waters, E. (2024, October 8). Carbon Now or Later: The Arguments for Delaying Emissions.
ECHO Publications Aim to Standardize Whole-Building LCA

Oct 7, 2024 | buildinggreen.com | Nadav Malin

News Brief Through unprecedented collaboration, building industry NGOs publish two reports to drive widespread project-level embodied carbon reporting at the project level.