INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
It’s that time of year again, when Fast Company calls out its favorite World-Changing Ideas. Here are a few of that we’re especially keen to keep an eye on, because of their work …
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
HITT Contracting’s demo facility was designed to highlight circular design; focus on healthy material selection; and meet the most rigorous, sustainable standards for the construction industry.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
The nine organizations selected for this year’s sustain[HUMAN]ability® Leadership Recognition Program have displayed tremendous effort and progress to support the wellbeing of people and the planet amid the unprecedented challenges of 2020.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Last year provided many unforeseen challenges for the building management industry; despite it all, sustainability commitments stayed steady. But we
must seize the opportunity to shift the narrative in the energy industry away from efficiency, towards continuous optimization.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Digital twins are now beginning to be recognized for their ability to monitor a building’s performance in real time. Companies' building projects should include a model that is prepared for this new, data-driven approach to sustainability.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
The language and terms we use influence our approach to the problems we face. Switching from sustainable to regenerative design enables us to more easily leave behind strategies that are no longer equal to the challenges we face.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
When Toronto’s Rogers Centre stadium needed a new roof, the owner turned to Sika Sarnafil — the manufacturer of the original vinyl roof membrane. Choosing a Sarnafil roof provided the additional benefit of the company’s recycling program.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
Many plastic-based building materials that could be recycled aren’t, because most companies haven’t yet figured out how. The AZEK Company cracked this code, and diverted nearly 300 million pounds of waste from landfills in 2019.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The intersection of circular practices and supply chain in the built environment
will be a ripe area for innovation as companies look to their real estate portfolios for opportunities to meet their ambitious
sustainability commitments by 2030.
SURFACING SUBMERGED VALUE -
Every aspect of coastal infrastructure will be impacted by sea level rise; and the sheer size of the problem is difficult to comprehend. We can’t just turn
Venice, California into Venice, Italy; but there are things we can do to protect our coastal communities and infrastructure.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
The reduction in total carbon emissions due to COVID-19 just about equals the annual reduction we need to put in place over the next decade. That’s quite a challenge — and it will require us to examine every aspect of our organizations’ operations.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
The ability to not only eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, but actually sequester carbon, would transform buildings from net negative to net positive entities. Here, we examine several approaches making this possible.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
The tremendous work to reduce operational carbon from buildings in recent years can be seen in the rise of net-zero energy buildings. But without a
comparable focus on reducing embodied carbon in construction materials, that work will not lead to the hoped-for mitigation of climate change.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
In the months and years to come, the real estate sector must play a critical role in creating a decarbonized environment — helping society prepare, respond, re-enter and ultimately re-imagine a sustainable future.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
In order to achieve 2030 sustainability goals, company leaders must think beyond "sustainability," and challenge built environment teams to strive for net-positive impacts, net-zero energy and zero waste.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
As a CSO or COO of a company striving for sustainability, what contribution can you expect of your built environment team? That’s the question we address in this first of a series of articles about decarbonization, regeneration and circularity in the built environment.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
When business as usual ground to a halt this year, companies such as Shaw saw the opportunity to innovate to find new ways to help communities and the spaces in which they live and work.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
We spend 90% of our time indoors, and that was before a global pandemic forced many of us to turn our living environments into our offices, schools and gyms. So, what is the key to creating nurturing indoor habitats?
COLLABORATION & CO-CREATION -
A systems mindset illustrates how we're better together, how we're all connected, how a rising tide lifts all boats. That shift in thinking became evident as we documented the City of Cincinnati’s work to transform itself into a sustainable, "Modern Metropolis."
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
Here, Purpose Built Communities president Carol Naughton discusses how sustainability and designing for resiliency can help to end intergenerational poverty, strengthen economically diverse communities and aid in neighborhood revitalization.