Projects / Products / Research / Policy
The GAB Report Library
Projects, products, research, policy, and practical intelligence from across the sustainable built environment.
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Six Classes of Chemicals
The basic fact of life is that it is very difficult to avoid them – any one of the Six Classes of chemicals of concern. In buildings, examples such as flame retardants and solvents can be found in many items such as the chairs that we sit in and the painted walls that surround us…
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Fighting for Our Message: Energy Efficiency and Beyond
The 2017 Beyond Energy Efficiency Conference hosted by Build It Green was an inspirational success, well attended by over 250 attendees including 43 speakers and 13 exhibitors. It took place at the Zero Net Energy Center in San Leandro, California, a training center for electrical apprentices from IBEW Local 595 and NECA, and the first…
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Student Competition: Czech Off-Grid Houses
What more could a successful project wish for? Attention and continuity! Project Czech Off-Grid Houses has launched its second year of operations this February through a visionary architectural competition targeted at students of major Czech universities. Hundreds of architecture students are expected to come up with a detailed draft plans for evolutionary off-grid housing systems. The…
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Build It Green’s Beyond Energy Efficiency Conference
The What: The building industry is moving quickly beyond the standard practices on energy efficiency. Today’s ultra-efficient homes produce as much energy as they consume, and then some. Groundbreaking developments in building materials and technology ensure that homes are not only efficient, but also healthy for occupants. Build It Green’s Beyond Energy Efficiency Conference aims to…
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2016 ZNE School Leadership Awards
California leads the U.S. in the transformation of K-12 schools and community colleges to achieving zero net energy (ZNE) performance that combines energy efficiency and renewable energy resources to produce at least as much energy as they consume annually. California’s K-12 public schools’ energy bills total more than $700 million a year. Schools built and renovated…
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Building Below Zero: The Net Zero Plus Transformation
Thank you PBS for spreading the word – net zero buildings are front and center now. American public TV station PBS recently aired “Building Below Zero: The Net Zero Plus Transformation,” a documentary written, produced and directed by Jim Jackson. Actor and environmentalist Ted Danson narrates this examination of moving beyond net zero to net…
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International Zero Net Carbon Conference in China
The What: Architecture 2030 and CEDAAB are hosting an important international conference on China’s move towards a Zero Net Carbon built environment. China ratified the historic Paris Agreement on climate change on September 3, 2016 and committed to taking a global leadership role in addressing this crisis. China is currently urbanizing at a rate unmatched in human…
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BuildingGreen’s Top 10 Green Products for 2017
BuildingGreen’s team announced its 2017 Top 10 Products List at last week’s Greenbuild in Los Angeles. For the past 15 years, BuildingGreen has recognized green building products that significantly improve upon standard “business-as-usual” practices. These products help transform the industry by conserving energy and water, reducing emissions, and fundamentally changing how we approach our building…
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Catalyzing the Future of Zero Energy Buildings This Week
The What: Join the 2016 Getting to Zero National Forum this week to help catalyze the future of zero energy buildings and participate in three jam-packed days of tours, workshops, networking opportunities, interactive sessions and thought leadership about the growing trend toward zero net energy (ZNE) buildings. Luminaries in this field will set the stage with a vision…
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Why Green Building Materials Are Here to Stay
Editor’s Note: Contributing author Megan Ray Nichols created and writes for her own blog Schooled by Science. Green building practices and materials are growing in popularity in the United States as well as throughout the world. Indeed, given the increasing need for sustainability and the finite nature of the world’s resources, almost all buildings will…
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Open-sourcing: Taking Sustainability to Another Level
Can you imagine receiving free tools and instructions to build your own house and building materials, and possibly start your own village? Open Building Institute, founded by TED fellow and founding member of the Open Source Hardware Association, Dr. Catarina Mota, has teamed up with Open Source Ecology to open source blueprints and tools for…
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perFORM Design Competition Extended
Calling all emerging architectural professionals! The deadline for the third annual perFORM Design Competition has been extended to Friday, July 15, 2016. Design a Net Zero Energy, mixed-use, multifamily building in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle. $6,000 in awards will go to winning entries by architectural interns and students based in the US and…