Green

Google Launches Healthy Building Materials Tool to Change an Industry

Google Launches Healthy Building Materials Tool to Change an Industry

At Google, we are committed to creating the healthiest work environment possible and using building products that promote human and environmental health and transparency. Inspired by this challenge, we have been making great strides toward giving everyone access to the information needed to understand human and environmental impacts of materials so we can make healthy decisions backed by science. This means you can know all the ingredients of every product in your environment──from the chair you are sitting in, to the paint you purchased for your living room──just like the nutrition labels on the food you buy at your neighborhood grocery store.

While a robust framework for gathering product information is important; it is also critical to build processes and tools that can be used to select and specify healthy materials. Embracing this challenge to serve the scale at which Google operates resulted in the creation of Portico, an online web application that Google developed in partnership with non-profit partner Healthy Building Network (HBN).

Via blog.google.com >

Three Reasons to Attend Greenbuild 2016

Three Reasons to Attend Greenbuild 2016

This week, thousands of people will descend on Los Angeles to attend Greenbuild 2016. The world’s largest conference dedicated to green building, Greenbuild attracts architects, contractors and developers, facility managers and interior designers; the list goes on and on. At KI, we embrace our responsibility as a manufacturer to preserve natural resources and protect the environment through sustainable furniture design and Greenbuild is the perfect venue to continue our sustainability conversation.

Outcome-based design: The future of high-performance buildings

Outcome-based design: The future of high-performance buildings

Architects pride themselves on their ability to design buildings that operate at a high level of occupant satisfaction. Yet the complex interplay of variables, which can’t always be predicted or managed, may create the perception that these buildings are not performing as advertised. The building owner might not service a high-performance building's heating and cooling systems regularly; tenants may set thermostats too low or high, or leave the doors and windows open at inopportune times; or an unexpectedly cold winter could diminish a building's advertised efficiency.

Via new.aia.org >

Architects primed to meet owner demand for healthy buildings

Architects primed to meet owner demand for healthy buildings

Architects may underestimate the importance of healthy buildings to owners, but they are focusing on it in their own design work. According to the new report, “The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings 2016” by Dodge Data & Analytics, 74 percent of architects consider building impacts influential in their design decisions. Furthermore, they align with owners in their other influence factors: costs, aesthetics, and performance.

via new.aia.org >

Furniture made from recycled newspaper has brick-like strength, marble finish

Furniture made from recycled newspaper has brick-like strength, marble finish

Sometimes designers make furniture out of paper and leave nothing to the imagination—just look at these lumpy lamps and stools. But such is not the case with a new furniture series from Netherlands-based designer Woojai Lee, who’s managed to transform paper into a polished, brick-like material.

Aptly named "Paperbricks," the project has so far yielded two coffee tables and a bench. These pieces were created from recycled newspaper that was, as Designboom details, first turned into pulps and then mixed with glue and shaped into "bricks." Upon closer inspection, the pieces actually reveal a marble-like finish. Recycling paper isn't difficult, but Lee’s exploration shows how the ubiquitous material can be reused in a way that avoids downgrading the quality of the fibers.

Via curbed.com >

HOW DESIGNERS CAN AVOID FALLING FOR GREENWASHING

HOW DESIGNERS CAN AVOID FALLING FOR GREENWASHING

A 2015 Nielsen poll showed that 66% of global consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products. With sustainability efforts shown to have such a major impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions, some companies have increasingly worked the ‘green angle’ into their marketing efforts.

Today I’m looking at what greenwashing is, and how you can avoid falling for exaggerated or misleading sustainability claims.

Via millikencarpet.com >

North America leading the way in adopting healthier buildings

North America leading the way in adopting healthier buildings

While building owners, developers, managers and investors in North America are showing increasing interest in practices that prioritise the physical, mental and social well-being of tenants and occupants, European buildings have fewer spaces created with wellness in mind. The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings 2016, by Dodge Data & Analytics and the World Green Building Council, produced in partnership with the Canada Green Building Council and Delos, says the top five healthier building features currently in use include better lighting, products that enhance thermal comfort, spaces that enhance social interaction, enhanced air quality and products that enhance acoustical comfort. However, in an analysis of global trends in health and wellbeing, European respondents reported less frequent use of spaces that enhance tenant mood, spaces that enhance social interaction or spaces that create opportunities for physical activity than their North American or Asian counterparts.

Via workplaceinsight.net >

Healthy Buildings Enliven Bottom Line

Healthy Buildings Enliven Bottom Line

The US design and construction industry is gearing up for wider adoption of building practices that prioritize the physical, mental and social well-being of tenants and occupants, says a new report from Delos, a wellness real estate and technology firm, and Dodge Data & Analytics. Titled “The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings 2016,” the report also finds that the owners of such buildings have already begun to realize business benefits, such as increased leasing rates and higher asset values.

Via globest.com >

The Plan: A Look Inside JLL’s New WELL-Built Offices at 28 Liberty Street

The Plan: A Look Inside JLL’s New WELL-Built Offices at 28 Liberty Street

The new digs, which opened in July, will be the first office up for WELL certification, a roughly three-year-old ranking service by the International WELL Building Institute that tries to encourage healthy office designs and eco-friendly features. There are nine other projects—commercial and residential—seeking WELL certification in the city, according to the group’s website. (JLL’s rival—CBRE—was the first to receive certification in the fall 2013 at their global headquarters in Los Angeles.)

Via commercialobserver.com >

U.S. Building Owners Show Strong Support for Better Designed, Healthier Buildings to Improve Employee Wellness

U.S. Building Owners Show Strong Support for Better Designed, Healthier Buildings to Improve Employee Wellness

The design and construction of healthier buildings is a key business benefit for building owners, developers, managers and investors, according to the results of a new SmartMarket Report released today by Dodge Data & Analytics and to which the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a contributing partner.

Humanscale Becomes First-Ever Company to Achieve Living Product Challenge Certification

Humanscale Becomes First-Ever Company to Achieve Living Product Challenge Certification

Humanscale has just become the first manufacturer in any industry to achieve Living Product Challenge certification. The certification, which presents the most rigorous standard for sustainable manufacturing, was officially announced tonight at the International Living Future Institute’s Living Product Expo in Pittsburgh, where Humanscale’s Sustainability Officer Jane Abernethy, a featured speaker at the event, was on hand to accept the award. As a result, two Humanscale products — the Float table, a height-adjustable desk, and the Diffrient Smart task chair — are now to be classified as “Living Products.”

Workplace Sustainability: Understanding Office Furniture “Green” Certifications

Workplace Sustainability: Understanding Office Furniture “Green” Certifications

Low Carbon Footprint. Sustainability. PVC free. If you are in the office furniture world, these words are all too familiar to you. It seems like the majority of office spaces being designed or renovated today are working to achieve some type of green certification. Furniture (and even the fabrics used on your furniture) can play a large part in meeting these qualifications. For this reason, it’s important to be educated on the topic of sustainabillity so you can help consult your customer on making the right decision when designing a more eco-friendly work environment.

Read the article on honcompany.wordpress.com >

The Top 100 Green Designers and Contractors: New Standards Beyond Buildings

The Top 100 Green Designers and Contractors: New Standards Beyond Buildings

The market for sustainable design and construction continues to grow apace with the healthy overall market. And now, new standards are beginning to appear to cover markets beyond buildings, broadening the scope of environmental construction. However, shifting notions of what it means to be green have many in the industry, and their clients, struggling to keep up.

Read the article on enr.com >

Green Leases: A Primer

Green Leases: A Primer

As building owners and tenants become more aware of the benefits of sustainability, many are opting to sign green leases, either during the leasing process or as an addendum to an existing lease. The goal is to help both parties save money by reducing operating costs and reach building efficiency goals. According to a 2015 study by the Institute for Market Transformation, green leases have the potential to save the U.S. office market $3.3 billion annually and cut energy consumption by up to 22% in leased buildings. Sounds pretty compelling. 

Read the blog on blog.gethightower.com >

Designing to be "net-zero ready"

Designing to be "net-zero ready"

A net-zero energy building produces as much energy as it consumes. That's an admirable goal, but how do you get there? Most often, achieving net-zero involves some kind of renewable energy production to offset the building's energy consumption. But that can be expensive. We want to first bring down the energy consumption as much as possible so that renewable energy production systems make financial sense. That's what being “net-zero ready” means.

Read the article on dlrgroup.com >

LEED certification update: Second quarter 2016

LEED certification update: Second quarter 2016

We have revitalized this recurring feature to make it more dynamic and easier to read! From now on, you will be able to check in quarterly on LEED® certification activity, broken out by achievement level, rating system and location. We will remind you of this feature and the new numbers in the first week of every quarter through a USGBC article.

Additionally, be sure to check out the suite of market briefs for your state and country, as well as our state-by-state LEED for Homes rating system brief. For project-specific information, head to the LEED project directory for a closer look at LEED projects in your area. You can also visit the Green Building Information Gateway to analyze LEED trends around the world. 

Read the article on usgbc.org >

Businesses must embrace the 'radical paradigm' of sustainability

Businesses must embrace the 'radical paradigm' of sustainability

Many businesses are at risk from being left behind in the global low-carbon transition by failing to address the "elephant in the room"; choosing to focus on sustainable business models rather than products that combat real issues and global trends.

That is the view of Ramon Arratia, sustainability director of carpet tile manufacturer Interface, who believes the only way for companies to truly thrive in today's ever-changing world is to “cut the fluff” surrounding sustainability.

Read the article on edie.net >