Blog
Ensuring Environmental Justice in our Built Environment – A Call to Action
By Rebecca Gullott Over the past few weeks, Americans and global citizens alike have been reflecting on our role in the creation of a more just society. The inequities that have long permeated our culture have been exposed more profoundly than in recent decades. The increased availability of an abundance of online educational resources to…
Read MoreResilience in Building and Infrastructure
Over the course of 2018, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) cataloged 14 separate events in the United States, including snowstorms, hurricanes, drought and wildfires. The total cost of those events was a whopping $91 billion. As severe weather becomes more common and the climate becomes less predictable, resilience is growing in popularity when…
Read MoreChinese New Year: Year of the White Metal Rat
The Year of the White Metal Rat began on January 25, 2020. The rat is the first of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. Rats are known to be quite clever so, as the story goes, the Jade Emperor had called all beasts to court to select twelve to be his guards. The earlier one went…
Read MoreCelebrate National Bike to Work Week!
May is National Bike Month, and the most exciting week in the celebration is National Bike to Work Week! This annual week culminates in Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 17th. Whether you’re riding your bike to work or school, or riding just to save money and time, the impact that you are making…
Read MoreDo You Appreciate the Value of Natural Capital?
Earth Day is a perfect time to reflect on the beauty of the world around us, but it’s also an opportunity to reflect on the immense value of that world and our dependency on the ecosystem services that our planet provides. It’s important to remember that from the bees pollinating our food supply to the trees…
Read MoreAll About Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by United Nationals Member States in 2015. The 17 goals were drafted and refined in global partnership, and they recognize that the end of poverty and other deprivations must occur alongside strategies to improve health and education, encourage economic growth, and reduce inequality. …
Read MoreThe State of LEED: Is Being “LEED-like” Enough?
Some owners and project teams believe that being “LEED-like” is the same as achieving LEED certification, but that isn’t the case. Frequently we receive requests from clients who want to create a “LEED-like” building. This is where the project team follows a LEED checklist and declares their project equivalent to a level of LEED certification…
Read MoreThe State of LEED: LEED, IgCC, and the IECC.
While Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has remained the leading green building certification system for decades, competing certification systems are challenging the pre-eminence of LEED. In our last blog, we highlighted some of the new challengers to LEED. Today, we compare LEED to its code cousins, the International Green Conservation Code (IgCC) and the…
Read MoreThe State of LEED: The Rise of Alternative Certifications and Codes
Since 1993, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has served as the premier green building certification system. In the decades since its creation, other certifications have risen; some to challenge LEED’s dominance, others to compliment LEED’s success. What is the role of LEED as we look ahead? The Popularity of Alternative Certifications As environmental…
Read More50×30? C40? 1,000 in 2040? The Initiatives Shaping Our Future
With so many exciting initiatives taking place on a global level to reduce carbon emissions and slow the effects of global warming, it’s easy to get things confused. Beyond statewide missions like 50×30 to go green, the commitment to use 50% renewables by the year 2030, there are many bold commitments being made on a…
Read More