Sustainability E-News
Achieving Better Buildings
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From The Editor
As I write this TMS is finishing up our Spring Meeting - our third virtual Society Meeting since the pandemic outbreak. Meeting virtually always has its challenges, but it also brings participation from those that might not otherwise attend. One thing I've noticed is that meeting virtually seems to work best when those meeting have already established relationships from prior in-person meetings - something that points to the benefits of gathering together. TMS hopes to do that at our Annual Meeting in October in Nashville, TN. Look for more information on that over the summer.
In addition to our Spring Meeting, TMS has also been hard at work rolling out a new Masonry Education Hub. This new resource provides on-demand learning opportunities for a wide variety of masonry topics from sustainability to strength design and more. I encourage you to check it out and share the link with your colleagues and friends. It's a great way to obtain continuing education credits and expand your knowledge of masonry from the experts!
Christine "Tina" Subasic, PE, LEED AP
CSubasicPE@gmail.com
NOTE: Inclusion in this newsletter is not an endorsement of the products and materials featured, nor have these products been evaluated by TMS or the editor. Furthermore, the views expressed in the articles featured are those of the article authors.
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GREEN BUILDING NEWS
The first article below highlights the importance of looking at the full building life cycle when discussing carbon impacts. One should consider both what goes into the building (embodied carbon) and building operations, as well as the trade-offs that occur between the two. The resource featured in the second article below recommends several strategies to achieve healthier buildings that are associated with masonry construction including improved acoustics and reduced VOCs. ~Tina
The dirty secret of so-called 'fossil-fuel free' buildings
THE GUARDIAN
According to this article, the "embodied carbon" of glass and steel in buildings makes them anything but green. “It’s also crucial to understand the relationship between improving operational emissions and the carbon costs of doing so. Triple-glazed windows might reduce heating requirements, but their embodied carbon is vast.” The environmental engineer Clara Bagenal George recently produced a guidance document for assessing the embodied carbon of building services equipment (including heating, lighting, plumbing, etc), a crucial part of the jigsaw that has largely been ignored until now. “When you do a retrofit project, the services equipment can represent 80% of the embodied carbon,” she says. “It’s the hidden element, which often needs upgrading over time.”
New resource from USGBC promotes healthy buildings
USGBC
USGBC has published a new resource, the Research Anthology of Health-Promoting Building Strategies, in support of healthy buildings and healthy people. The new anthology is intended to support project teams in designing and building projects that reflect proven health strategies. Incorporating the best and latest research, the anthology is broken down into eight key strategies, ranging from indoor air quality to acoustic comfort to active design. For each strategy area, the links between specific strategies, design metrics and health outcomes are explained. Readers will find representative research studies summarized, with links and citations. Learn more.
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CODES and STANDARDS NEWS
Increasing the stringency of building codes is one way to improve performance. Energy efficiency and fire rating requirements are the focus in two of the articles below. ~Tina
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ASTM International forms new subcommittee on Climate and Community
ASTM
ASTM International’s environmental assessment, risk management and corrective action committee (E50) has formed a new Subcommittee, E50.07, that will focus on Climate and Community. Professionals with expertise in community issues related to climate impacts and resiliency projects are encouraged to join in developing new standards. For more information or to join, click here.
DOE issues preliminary determination of energy savings for commercial buildings
ENERGYCODES.GOV
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is announcing its preliminary determination of energy savings for ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2019, preliminarily affirming that the updated code will increase energy efficiency in commercial buildings. The Department’s analysis indicates that buildings meeting Standard 90.1-2019 (as compared to the previous 2016 edition) would result in national average energy savings of approximately 4.2 - 4.7% depending on the parameter considered. Interested stakeholders are invited to submit public comments within 30 days from publication of this Notice in the Federal Register. More information, including supplemental energy and cost savings analysis, is available via the DOE Building Energy Codes Program.
City of Los Angeles moves to increase building standards for new construction
JDSUPRA.COM
On April 6, 2021, the Los Angeles City Council adopted a motion that would significantly expand the fire rating requirements for new buildings and restrict the use of light wood-frame construction throughout large parts of the City of Los Angeles. The Motion directs City staff to prepare and present ordinances to expand requirements for fire rating to all areas with high population density and those subject to California's Very High Fire Severity Zone and the City's High Wind Velocity Zone. Read more here.
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GREEN PRODUCT NEWS
EC3 Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator updates material baselines
CARBON LEADERSHIP FORUM
In order to set achievable targets, it is necessary to have a baseline from which to compare products within a material or product category. In January, the Carbon Leadership Forum published the 2021 Material Baselines document which forms the basis of the latest information contained within the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool.
Short version of MIT CSHub webinar on EPDs
CONCRETE SUSTAINABILITY HUB
For those that may have seen the MIT CSHub presentation on comparability and environmental product declarations (EPDs), a 4-page summary is now available: Adding environmental impacts into the procurement of buildings. It looks at the shortcomings of EPDs and strategies that can be implemented to improve them or make them unnecessary in some cases.
Winners named in CO2 conversion tech competition
CONCRETE PRODUCTS
Two companies that have developed technology to inject carbon dioxide into concrete and store it there are the latest winners of the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE. CarbonBuilt and CarbonCure Technologies will each receive $7.5 million to continuing developing their technologies. Read more.
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EDUCATIONAL NEWS
NEW Masonry Education Hub Launched by TMS
TMS
The Masonry Society (TMS) has launched the Masonry Education Hub, a Learning Management System that allows designers, professors, students, and other users to obtain on-demand masonry education. The Masonry Education Hub provides a central location for excellent and accessible training sessions on a variety of masonry topics. Currently over 40-course offerings are available for “on-demand” learning on topics including masonry basics, inspection, testing, codes and standards, sustainability, and strength design of masonry. Explore the Hub at https://learn.masonrysociety.org/.
Registration Open for 14th Canadian Masonry Symposium
TMS
The 14th Canadian Masonry Symposium will be held virtually May 16-19, 2021. Thanks to generous support from sponsors, registration for the conference is FREE. For more information, visit the conference website.
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