Does Boise dream of a neighborhood bike path? Is Little Rock hankering to do something with an unsightly brownfield? These state capitals, plus the other 48 (and the District of Columbia) can now apply for federal assistance in planning green and sustainable urban improvements, thanks to the Greening America’s Capitals program, a joint project of [...]

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By Simon Dunne Sharing leads to progress. The $122 billion dollar conference industry knows it well. We come together to share knowledge and experiences so that we’ll learn from each other and progress together. So the blossoming sustainability conference scene is no surprise. Highlights on the schedule include behemoths like Sustainable Brands, the Cleantech Forum, [...]

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KfW is a German development bank that was created in 1948 as part of the Marshall Plan to help fund post-war redevelopment of Germany. It’s a 100% government owned entity which makes it slightly unusual in the world of banking and subject to certain rules and restrictions. However, it also gives KfW the luxury of [...]

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Imagine a classroom flooded with natural light, where your eyes weren’t assaulted by the ever-present flickering of fluorescent lighting.  Imagine how that might have affected your attention span while struggling with that calculus text. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of daylight on the learning environment, according to American School & University magazine. Some of [...]

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Among the early highlights of last week’s German green building trip, organized by the Ecologic Institute, was a visit to Deutsche Bank’s renovated Frankfurt headquarters. With hard hats on, under a stiff spring breeze, we had a chance to hear Nils Noack, Deutsche Bank’s Green Building Manager, explain intricate details about the building, as well [...]

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It’s hard not to see the flurry of activity preceding Dec 2010’s slated electric vehicle launches as an expression of joyous excitement. A range of stakeholders are taking action, and coordinating to prepare for widespread electric vehicle ownership. But are they in fact preparing for a new Golden Age in transportation, for the most significant [...]

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Last week, Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, opened the world’s first zero carbon supermarket. The store has no net carbon footprint and exports any extra electricity generated back to the national grid. Located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, this new supermarket boasts several eco-friendly features, including: A combined heat and power plant which runs on bio fuels [...]

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Serious Materials, a green building materials company focusing on energy efficiency retrofits, raised $65 million through venture investments during the down economy–an anomaly in the current economic state.  The building industry in general has been in the tank for the better part of two years.  However, as Joel Makower pointed out in his ‘state of [...]

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If the greening of mainstream business is alive and well, despite the bad economy, what is the overall big picture?  Joel Makower of GreenBiz.com opened the State of Green Business Forum with the question:  are we moving the needle? If someone were to tell you that one of the major food manufacturers had redesigned its [...]

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by Kurt McCulloch When I was 18 years old, I voluntarily sequestered myself for nine-months on a narrow strip of rugged volcanic coastline on a tiny island in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. For almost a year, I worked, slept, ate, and socialized inside an area bounded by mountains and the sea. Everything [...]

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Throughout the myriad of phases that encompass design, there is a common binding thread known as ‘the experience’. It is within ‘the experience’ that creativity flourishes, innovation is expansive, and playful methodologies flourish.

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The California-based software design firm Autodesk recently launched an online game, called RETROFITS , to help educate everyone–from industry professionals to teachers, parents and students –about green building issues.

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Within the next couple of years Honolulu will become the first warm-climate city to use frigid deep-sea water to cool part of its downtown core. Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning, a limited liability company created specifically to develop the $240 million project, says its technology will cut the city’s air conditioning electricity usage by up to [...]

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By Jeff Slye, Chief Evolution Officer Business Evolution Consulting I have two questions I’d like to pose to the hospitality industry, particularly to the hotels, hotel management companies, and investors that do not have a sustainability or green platform for their property or properties: 1) What data or additional information do you need to hear [...]

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With unprecedented legislation, forward-thinking design and standards, and many active supporters, one might say that California is a leader in the green building charge. Friday’s 3rd Annual Green Building Super Heroes Award Gala, hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council – Northern California Chapter (USGBC-NCC), honored the achievements of the green building community.  Eight hundred [...]

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Green buildings use key resources like energy, water, materials and land more efficiently than buildings built simply to code. Elements like abundant natural light, non-toxic materials and better air quality contribute greatly to improved employee health, comfort and productivity. Research surrounding the relationship between employee productivity and green buildings is gathering momentum and for good [...]

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By Janine Kubert We’ve heard it all before: retrofitting our buildings to be more green can save us money, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and even create jobs. So why are so many property managers, even those who say they want to go green, resistant when it comes down to making the final decision? It’s the [...]

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There might be a new emphasis on yellow and maybe even burnt sienna from Crayola now that it’s engaged the sun to help it make about one billion crayons annually. The colorful maker of children’s art and stationery products, based in Easton, PA, is going solar in a big way. It recently signed an agreement [...]

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Globalization has long gotten a bad rap. And for good reason. So many companies arrogantly decide that, one way or another, what they create will become what people desire, unaltered, in countries around the world. And in many cases, it’s worked, homogenizing cultures, at least on an aesthetic level, with no real benefit to the [...]

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If lighting is the jewelry of a piece of architecture, the U.S. Capitol may soon be dressing to impress – if Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has her way. Pelosi is seeking to illuminate the Capitol dome with energy efficient lighting, making it a literal, physical example of environmental responsibility.

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Photo Credit: Metropolis Magazine and Envision LEED-Certified “green buildings” consume less energy, require fewer resources to build, and generate less waste than conventional buildings.  Oh, and they have higher market value.  And did I mention their occupants are happier, healthier, and sometimes even smarter? That’s not some hippie propaganda.  Those are all findings from well-documented [...]

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This morning, I enjoyed a breath of fresh air from an unlikely source: a Home Depot press release. The Home Depot Foundation revealed last week that it is adding $30 million to its Partners in Sustainable Building (PSB) program to fund the construction of green Habitat for Humanity homes. PSB will provide funding and green [...]

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Las Vegas’ Strip, already world famous for its gambling, boozing, and entertainment opportunities, will soon become a leader in sustainability as well, according to a recent press release. A new luxury eco-resort called CityCenter – one of the world’s largest sustainable developments, the press release says – is in the works. Some analysts say CityCenter [...]

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The most interesting part of this project is the compromise between new construction and retrofitting.

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It’s hard to believe that, until the 1990′s, Dubai was little more than a desert tent city. A brief history of what is perhaps the world’s least sustainable metropolis: electricity arrived in the 1950′s, oil was discovered in the 1960′s, the population tripled in the 1970′s, trade and labor laws loosened in the 1980′s, and [...]

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Just when you thought the stairs were your only option for arriving sustainably to your office chair, it’s time to think again. A Spanish company, MP Ascensores, has released its preliminary plans for the MP-E3 elevator that will operate using an integrated approach to green technology. These ecological elevators will bring a new element to [...]

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Earth Day happens for the 40th time today. And some aren’t too pleased with how big, commercial, and opportunist it’s gotten. That it’s become like going to church on Easter, a once a year empty gesture without lasting ramifications or lifestyle changing. But then along comes a company like Energy Circle, who are doing something [...]

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Every year around this time, I get the itch to move far away from the cold, gray streets of Baltimore. It’s not that I dislike Charm City, but when the mercury falls below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the lure of warmer climates becomes overwhelming. So to ease the pain of last week’s cold snap, I decided [...]

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What is beyond Green Building? I set out to AEC-ST EcoBuild America in Washington DC to find out. Although the U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED greenbuilding program seem to be getting the publicity, the federal government has been studying building science and developing best practices for decades. They have compiled these findings into [...]

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Green Building Retrofitting: How do you promote green building when building, green or not, has ground to a halt? You take green to the existing building stock. Existing green builders and young green retrofit companies are emerging at a time when national, state and local governments are embracing programs to promote energy efficiency and green [...]

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