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  Much has changed since I first described a good day in 2016. As I arrive in the morning, my personalized digital device (attached to my wrist) provides a schedule of today’s activities. Moving toward my desk activates my computer and turns it on and a retinal scan confirms my identity. I see that one of…

In honor of Net Zero Buildings Week June 13-17, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) highlighted a milestone reflecting the growing demand for net zero buildings: The organization announced nearly 100 net zero certifications have been earned under the LEED Zero program, representing more than 23 million square feet of space. One-fourth of LEED Zero…

More than a third of world’s largest publicly traded companies now have net-zero targets, up from one-fifth in December 2020, according to a global stocktake of net-zero commitments from the Net Zero Tracker initiative. And at a national level, 80 percent of the global population lives in a country with a national net zero target,…

As the effects of climate change are increasingly felt through more severe storms, wildfires and flooding, the need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — such as by switching to electric vehicles, deploying solar panels and reducing deforestation — is critical. At the same time, the latest climate science indicates that such efforts will not…

President Biden’s new Executive Order signals a shift in federal priorities. It also means now is the time to re-focus on sustainability in the private sector. Here are four specific reasons why. President Biden recently signed the “Federal Sustainability Plan” (Executive Order 14057) which outlines ambitious goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045. These goals apply…

  Conservation and demand management could deliver worldwide annual energy-use avoidance of 95 exajoules (EJ), equivalent to nearly 278 million megawatt-hours, concludes a report released last week at the 7th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency in Sønderborg, Denmark. Canada is among dozens of national delegations in attendance to endorse urgent action on energy efficiency…

  The British Council for Offices (BCO) has released a position paper proposing updated key design criteria, as part of its most recognised publication, the BCO Guide to Specification. The guide, which is normally published every four or five years, provides expert best practice advice on how to specify office space, helping industry practitioners provide…

How much time and money do you and your organization lose every year—or every day!—because someone has been unable to make a decision? It turns out that facility managers may have more influence on decision-making than you realize! As an architect and Certified Facility Manager with over 30 years’ experience helping people make facility-related decisions,…

“What can we do?” This is among the most common questions I get after a major incident of violence. It’s not uncommon for there to be a heightened interest for a while, then things go back to “normal.” However, things feel different this time. As I’m writing this article, the news playing in the background…

Electric trucks have been in the news a lot lately, ever since America’s No. 1 pickup truck, the Ford F-150, went electric. Pickups are just the start. In time, all trucking sectors will go electric, from the delivery vans that drop off your packages to the big rigs that haul freight across the interstates. Here…