In recent months, GBCI (the Green Building Certification Institute, which works closely with the U.S. Green Building Council to certify LEED buildings) has quietly updated its approach to communicating technical advice to LEED project teams. Teams that have tried the process report being very satisfied with the results, but the new policy is still not well known.

The new policy could be summed up in two quick points:

LEEDuser recently added complete LEED Online documentation (including forms and all uploads) for a certified project to its LEED-CI Documentation Toolkits. The documentation was generated by the LEED-CI Silver adaptive reuse office at the Studebaker Building Office in New York City, owned by Columbia University.

Among the innovative—some might say weird—products we’re trying out at our Dummerston, Vermont farmhouse, none is more unusual than the expanded cork insulation we’re currently installing as a layer of exterior rigid insulation. As I mentioned in a blog last summer, cork insulation has a great story behind it.

One of the main reasons USGBC unexpectedly opened a sixth public comment period on LEED version 4 is to gather market feedback on a new option for recognition of sustainability efforts not at the product level, where LEED project teams usually work, but up the supply chain.

Building complex window surrounds for a deep-energy retrofit

Originally published 03/13/2013, updated 8/7/2018

Let’s get one thing straight: I don’t usually procrastinate.

But when I read that being a LEED Green Associate involved “basic” green building knowledge, I figured I had things pretty well under control. I started studying six days before the test.

Need help preparing for a LEED v4 exam?

LEEDuser’s Study Guide to the LEED v4 Green Associate Exam

A definitive guide to how the federal government builds green—and why its leadership matters.

This post is the second in a series on the federal government’s use of green building certifications. Coming soon: The Hidden Beltway Lobbyists Who Shape Green Building Policy.

Bruce Brownell's impressive track record with foam-insulated low-energy homes

As DoD rethinks its green building needs, a recommendation to keep using LEED is just the tip of the iceberg.

This post is the first in a series on the federal government’s use of green building certifications. Part 2: Sustainable Federal Buildings: What's the Law?

A gradual shift in the supply-and-demand balance for natural gas and increasing shipments of LNG will bring the prices back up, while the risks of fracking continue to be debated

In many parts of the country and for many applications, natural gas is considered a panacea to our energy challenges.