CHAPTER 1: THE WHAT & WHY OF HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING

2020 Global Status Report for Buildings & Construction: Environmental data about buildings worldwide. (Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction)
The Impact of High-Performance Buildings: Study comparing 100 GSA high-performance buildings to 100 GSA legacy stock buildings, looking at actual performance data in five key metrics over three years, June, 2018. (U.S. General Services Administration)

CHAPTER 2: WHOLE-BUILDING APPROACH TO CONSTRUCTION

Crushing the Code: Energy code training. (Urban Green Council)
Thermal Bridging Guide: Contains assemblies and details that eliminate thermal bridges. (BC Hydro)
The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function: Study that simulates indoor environmental quality conditions in green and conventional buildings and evaluates the impacts on an objective measure of human performance—cognitive function. (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Center for Health and the Global Environment)
Reducing Embodied Carbon in Buildings: Low-cost, high-value opportunities for reducing embodied carbon in buildings, 2021. (RMI)
UN HQ: The Carbon Case for Retrofits: The interesting story behind how the UN decided to retrofit the iconic Secretariat building in New York City, rather than demolish and rebuild, keeping tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere. (On-demand course, Urban Green Council)

CHAPTER 3: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Planning And Conducting Integrated Design (ID) Charrettes: Overall description of the planning process for ID Charrettes. (Whole Building Design Guidelines)
A Handbook for Planning and Conducting Charrettes for High-Performance Projects: Detailed guidelines for planning an ID Charrette. (National Renewable Energy Lab)
CASE STUDY: Performance-Based Construction Agreement for NREL Research Support Facility: Interesting case study of NREL commercial building project in Golden,CO procured with fixed-price, competitive, performance-based construction agreement, achieved very high performance and developed innovative techniques, 2010. (National Renewable Energy Lab)
Controlling Capital Costs in High Performance Office Buildings: 15 best practices for overcoming cost barriers in project acquisition, design, and construction. (NREL Commercial Buildings Research Group)
CASE STUDY: Renovation & Modernization of Cogswell Laboratory, RPI: Partnering: a creative cost-effective concept for medium-sized construction projects. (Project Management Institute)

CHAPTER 4: EARLY FACTORS THAT ENSURE PERFORMANCE

Roadmap for the Integrated Design Process: Useful summary guide & reference manual. (BC Green Building Roundtable)

CHAPTER 5: BIDDING & VENDOR SELECTION

Federal Green Construction Guide For Specifiers: Guidelines to help federal agencies meet their project-specific environmental goals and mandates. (Whole Building Design Guidelines)
01 81 13 Sustainable Design Requirements: Guidance document with sample specification language. (Whole Building Design Guidelines)

CHAPTER 6: MAKE SUSTAINABILITY A JOBSITE REQUIREMENT

CASE STUDY: Composting Toilets at 1 World Trade Construction Site: The Eco-Friendly Toilet Tech at One World Trade Center. (Popular Mechanics)
CASE STUDY: Diverting waste from landfills: we’re turning vinyl banners into reusable tote bags: (The Source, LA Metro blog)

CHAPTER 7: PRACTICAL TIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS

GREEN BUILDING RATING SYSTEM
Enterprise Green Communities: Enterprise Green Communities is the only national green building program created with and for the affordable housing sector.
Fitwel: Certification system committed to building health for all
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): LEED v.4 resources (U.S. Green Building Council)
Living Building Challenge: Certification system for regenerative design, International Living Future Institute
Passive House (US): PHIUS standard
Passive House New York: Passive House organization with robust training resources
WELL Building Standard: Health and safety based building rating system
Zero Carbon Certification: Zero Carbon building certification, third-party certified standard, International Living Future Institute
Zero Energy Certification: Building certification system for net zero energy projects, based on actual performance, International Living Future Institute
Third Party Certifications and Labels: List of ALL acceptable third party certifications and labels for LEED v4 EQ Credit Low-Emitting Materials

INDOOR AIR QUALITY
LEED v.4.1 Building Design and Construction Guide: (U.S. Green Building Council)
LEED credit for Low-Emitting Materials, LEED v.4.1 Building Design and Construction Guide: (U.S. Green Building Council)
SCAQMD Rule 1168, dated 10/6/17: South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD)
Better Materials: Database for environmentally friendly materials. (Green Business Certifiation Institute)
UL Spot: Database for environmentally friendly materials. (Underwriters Laboratories)

MATERIAL TRANSPARENCY
All about EPDs: (International EPD Systems)
HPD User Guide: (HPD Collaborative)
Architect's Perspective on Materials Transparency: (American Institute of Architects)

CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT
Find an RCI-Certified Recycler: (Recycling Certification Institute)
SMACNA IAQ Guidelines for Occupied Buildings under Construction: Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association, Inc. (SMACNA)
Project Drawdown: Project Drawdown analyzed and prioritized the top 100 strategies for reducing carbon.

CHAPTER 8: STARTUP, TESTING & COMMISSIONING

GPRO Operations and Maintenance Essentials: Green building training for building operations teams (Urban Green Council)
The Hot Wash: Effective method to run an After Action Session (Manager Tools)

Please contact gpro@urbangreencouncil.org for questions or more information.