GREEN BUILDING NEWS

Good news for homeowners looking to protect themselves from wildfires by using noncombustible materials like masonry. ~Tina

Colorado HOAs cannot stop homeowners from hardening homes against wildfires

CPR

Colorado’s new state law voids homeowner association rules that prevent residents from using more fire-resistant building materials. The new law references several building codes and design standards that were used to determine which fire-resistant materials would be legally protected. The legally protected materials include concrete, masonry, and other composite materials. Learn more. 

State of embodied carbon: A shifting policy landscape

BUILDING ENCLOSURE ONLINE

In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in the building industry towards recognizing the importance of embodied carbon. With increasing awareness of climate change and the urgent need to curb carbon emissions, stakeholders are reevaluating traditional approaches to construction and exploring innovative strategies to minimize environmental impact. Read more.

Greenwashing-related lawsuits have affected nearly every major industry in recent years

CONSTRUCTION DIVE

Issues around greenwashing practices have hit home with industries across the country in the past five years as numerous government and private plaintiffs have filed lawsuits alleging that companies’ claims about sustainability achievements and environmental friendliness are overstated. At its core, greenwashing occurs when a company makes an untrue or unverifiable claim or gives the impression that its products, services, or supply chain are more environmentally friendly than they actually are. Click here to learn more.

CODES and STANDARDS NEWS

Data on the treatment of materials at the end of life is often lacking in life cycle assessment tools. A recent report from the Carbon Leadership Forum tries to fill some of the gap, though masonry is not among the materials explored. Interestingly, the report estimates that 70% of CLT and glulam products are landfilled at the end of life, while 17% of concrete is landfilled (most is recycled as aggregate). ~Tina

CALGreen requirements on lower carbon footprint go into effect July 1, 2024

AIA CALIFORNIA

California has enacted new requirements to lower the carbon footprint of buildings through the CALGreen Code. Effective July 1, 2024, nonresidential commercial building projects over 100,000 square feet and school building projects over 50,000 square feet will be required to comply with one of three pathways:

• Building Reuse: Reuse at least 45% of an existing structure and exterior. When reuse is combined with new construction, the total additional area using this pathway is limited to double the area of the existing structure.
• Performance: Complete a whole building lifecycle assessment (WBLCA) demonstrating 10% lower embodied carbon emission than a baseline project design.
• Prescriptive: Document environmental product declarations (EPDs) for listed materials (steel, glass, mineral wool, concrete) that are on average lower than a specified threshold of global warming potential. 

The changes are summarized in this table.

CLF publishes report on end-of-life modeling and data in North American whole building life cycle assessment tools

CARBON LEADERSHIP FORUM

The Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) has published a pivotal research document titled "End of Life Modeling and Data in North American Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment Tools." This publication is a result of a collaborative effort with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), Building Transparency (BT), and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). The research provides an in-depth analysis of end-of-life (EOL) processes for building materials, a critical aspect often overlooked in sustainability assessments. By conducting interviews, surveys, and workshops with industry experts, CLF researchers gathered comprehensive insights into the functionalities and data requirements of whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) tools. Explore the report.

GREEN PRODUCTS NEWS

Sustainability in practice

ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

The April edition of Architectural Record features several articles on Sustainability in Practice. Of particular note is the article on structural stone masonry.

EDUCATIONAL NEWS

We've listed some recent announcements of upcoming masonry conferences with links where you can find more information. ~Tina

Check out the TMS Masonry Education Hub

THE MASONRY SOCIETY

The Masonry Society’s (TMS) Masonry Education Hub is a Learning Management System that allows 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 from sustainability to strength design and more.

The 18th International Brick and Block Masonry Conference will be held July 21-24, 2024 at the University of Birmingham, in Birmingham, United Kingdom

The 15th Canadian Masonry Symposium will be held June 2-5, 2025 at the Fairmont Chateau in Laurier, Ottawa.