Green Building News

An international alliance of world-leading green building rating system organizations announced June 26th the launch of the first global practical guide to facilitate the $35 trillion investment needed by 2030 to meet global energy transition goals. Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans details how various building verification and certification standards can be used to comply with global classifications and bond frameworks, setting a trajectory for the global built environment to meet a sustainable 1.5°C climate threshold.

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Weeks after launching a new endeavor to sell thin-triple and thin-quad insulating glass units to other door and window manufacturers, officials for Alpen High Performance Products (Alpen) have announced $18 million in funding to fuel its new project. A new $5.9 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) was awarded to the company as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Recovery Act (BIL/IRA). The grant helped to “catalyze” an additional $12.1 million in private capital funds, Alpen CEO Andrew Zech tells DWM. The influx of capital will be used to bolster production of its AlpenGlass brand of thin-glass IGUs “by 20-fold.”

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a national blueprint to decarbonize the building sector by 90% before 2050. The plan includes retrofitting windows on millions of commercial and residential buildings throughout the U.S.

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April 3, 2024 (Washington, DC) – Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the leading authority on green building and the global developer of the LEED green building program, announced the opening of the first public comment period for its draft rating system, LEED v5.

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A team of researchers has designed a new composite decking material that actually stores more carbon dioxide (CO2) than is required to manufacture it, making it a “carbon-negative” option that could help reduce the environmental impact of building construction. The new decking, which meets building codes and is less expensive than standard composite decking, could be available at building supply retailers as early as next summer.

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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) signed onto an international climate declaration during the United Nations Buildings and Climate Forum in Paris last week, described as “a foundational document for international cooperation that will enable progress towards a rapid, fair, and effective transition of the building sector to zero emissions,” according to a HUD announcement.

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Each of the major green building rating systems for the UK, Australia, and the USA have announced a first-of-its-kind alliance aiming to unlock sustainable finance for the built environment. The UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will demonstrate the critical role that verification and certification schemes play in supporting ESG reporting.

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As the Biden administration drafts a national definition for zero-emissions buildings, industry stakeholders have until Feb. 5 to provide information for Part 1, which addresses operational emissions, according to a Jan. 3rd news release from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO).

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An increased frequency of extreme weather events costing the U.S. more than $1 billion over two decades prompted the Department of Energy (DOE) to commission research that assessed how increased energy efficiency can impact building resilience under extreme temperatures. The study, Enhancing Resilience in Buildings Through Energy Efficiency, was published in July and was prompted by DOE’s Building Technologies Office.

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Two up-and-coming window glass technologies could see further advancement in the coming years after the Biden administration announced an initiative that aims to “slash” the costs for energy efficient upgrades in affordable housing. The Affordable Home Energy Shot program aims to cut the costs for energy-related upgrades in half within a decade.

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