General Sustainability Links


Many of the sites documented herein provide detailed information on particular topics of sustainability (such as water efficiency or energy).  Others provide examples and/or overall guidance on achieving sustainability and could be applicable to many, if not all of the specific sustainability topics.

The links are organized into the following categories with the intent that specific links were placed in the most appropriate category, but could likely have applicability in other categories:

 

GENERAL GUIDANCE

  • Smart Growth Network:  A coalition of developers, planners, government officials, lending institutions, and others involved in the development process of US cities and states. They encourage development that serves the economy, community, and environment.

    http://www.smartgrowth.org
  • U.S. Department of the Army: Information on Sustainable Design and Development –
    Provides an index of documents, references, training materials, sustainable design and development success stories, and other sites that relate to the military.

    https://eko.usace.army.mil/fa/sdd/

  • U.S. Department of Defense:  Defense Environmental Network & Information Exchange.  Provides access to environmental legislative, compliance, restoration, cleanup, and Department of Defense guidance information. It is intended to serve as a central electronic “meeting place” where information can be exchanged among environmental professionals worldwide.

    https://www.denix.osd.mil/portal/page/portal/denix
  • U.S. Department of Energy:  Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development.  Sustainable Building Technical Manual, case studies, monthly newsletter, and sustainable development toolkit.

    http://www.smartcommunities.ncat.org/

GUIDANCE ON SUSTAINABILITY IN BUILDINGS

  • Advanced Building Technologies:  A database of building-related, environmentally appropriate technologies. Extensive descriptive and contact information for products in several categories, including air quality, day-lighting, non-toxic materials, waste management, electricity production, water conservation, energy efficiency, and recycled materials.

http://www.advancedbuildings.org/

  • ATHENA Environmental Impact Estimator:  A modeling tool designed to make life-cycle analysis more accessible to building designers.

http://www.athenasmi.ca/

  • BuildingGreen.com:  Provides accurate, unbiased, and timely information designed to help building-industry professionals and policy makers improve the environmental performance, and reduce the adverse impacts of buildings.

http://www.buildinggreen.com

  • Energy and Environmental Building Association (EEBA):  EEBA promotes the awareness, education and development of energy efficient, environmentally responsible buildings and communities. Diverse membership base includes architects, builders, developers, manufacturers, engineers, utilities, code officials, researchers, educators, and environmentalists.

http://www.eeba.org/

  • Environmental Design and Construction:  Trade magazine with useful articles on all aspects of environmentally responsible design and construction.

http://www.edcmag.com

  • Green Building Design and Construction:  Information from various California state agencies on green buildings including a recycled-content products database, technical documents on indoor air quality, and links to green specifications.

http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/greenbuilding/

  • Guiding Principles of Sustainable Design:  Written for National Park facilities, a resource for designers of any buildings or landscapes.
    http://nps.gov/dsc/dsgncnstr/gpsd/
  • King County Construction Recycling and Green Building Program:  The King County, Washington Department of Natural Resources website provides free green building resources to the public.

http://dnr.metrokc.gov/swd/bizprog/sus_build/susbuild.htm

  • Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide:  The Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide is a design tool that can be used to overlay environmental issues on the design, construction, and operation of both new and renovated facilities.

http://www.sustainabledesignguide.umn.edu/

  • Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC):  The Cities and Green Living section of NRDC's site has information and resources for green building, including descriptions and photographs of the organization's environmentally-friendly offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

http://www.nrdc.org/cities/building/

  • New Buildings Institute:  Promotes energy efficiency through policy development, research, guidelines, and codes. Includes links to guidelines, reports, and tools for energy-efficient lighting, architecture, and mechanical system

http://www.newbuildings.org/

  • Oikos:  A site devoted to serving professionals whose work promotes sustainable design and construction. Includes an extensive green products directory, recent news stories, a bookstore, green project articles, and marketing information.

http://www.oikos.com/

  • Sustainable Architecture, Building and Culture Resources Relating to Green Buildings:

http://www.sustainableabc.com/

 

  • Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC):  A nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the design, affordability, energy performance, and environmental soundness of residential, institutional, and commercial buildings in the US.

http://www.sbicouncil.org/

  • Sustainable Sources:  Sustainable building Sourcebook, events calendar, and email discussion groups.

http://www.greenbuilder.com/

  • Whole Building Design Guide:  An effort by the U.S. government to consolidate design guidelines into one easily updateable reference. Web resources managed by the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) and the National Institute of Building Science (NIBS).

http://www.wbdg.org/

 

  • U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC):  Promotes understanding, development, and implementation of green building policies, technologies, and design practices. Extensive information about the LEED Green Building Rating system. Members gain access to product database case studies and directories.

Roadmap to Sustainable Government Buildings

http://www.usgbc.org/

 

  • Building Commissioning Association:  The Building Commissioning Association (BCA) is an international non-profit organization that serves as the recognized authority and resource on commissioning. Our membership is made up of professionals from all across the commercial buildings industry who maintain the highest standards and practices for the commissioning process. Our organization is education-driven. We develop technical resources, form collaborative relationships with related organizations within the building community, hold an annual conference on the latest innovations in the industry, and manage a certification program that sets the highest industry standards for credentialed commissioning professionals.

http://www.bcxa.org

 

AABC Commissioning Group (ACG):  The AABC Commissioning Group (ACG) is a non-profit association of certified commissioning authorities, dedicated to the advancement of professional, independent commissioning services through education, training, and certification of qualified architects and engineers.

http://www.commissioning.org

 

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT and WATER EFFICIENCY

  • WaterWiser:  The American Water Works Association's water efficiency clearinghouse website. Offers reliable information on water conservation strategies.

http://www.awwa.org/waterwiser/

 

 GROUND TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES

  • Smart Communities Network – Sustainable Transportation:  Demonstrates how sustainable cities meet their transportation problem

http://www.smartcommunities.ncat.org/transprt/trintro.shtml

 

 LANDSCAPE AND EXTERIOR DESIGN

  • Green Roofs for Healthy Cities:  Working to promote the green roof industry throughout North America. Provides professional training courses, promotes green roof research, and helps to develop supportive public policies for a green roof infrastructure.

http://www.greenroofs.org/

 

  • International Dark-Sky Association (IDA):  The primary source for information on light pollution worldwide. Their goal is to stop the adverse environmental impact on dark skies by building awareness of light pollution while educating people about the value and effectiveness of quality nighttime lighting.

http://www.darksky.org/

 

  • GreenRoofs.com:  A provider of green roof system

http://www.greenroofs.com/

 

  • Lighting Research Center:  Technical information relating to the design and specification of energy-efficient lighting.

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/

 

  • A Source Book on Natural Landscaping for Public Officials:  Explains the basic principals and benefits of natural landscaping and provides information to help local officials encourage the use of natural landscaping.

http://epa.gov/greenacres/toolkit/index.html

 

  • Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series:  Provides a sequence for designing a sustainable landscape to guide you through planning, plant selection, implementation, and maintenance.

http://www.sustland.umn.edu/

 

  • Wild Ones:  Promotes environmentally sound, natural landscaping practices, including the use of native plants and ecological restoration of damaged landscapes.

http://www.for-wild.org/

 

ENERGY AND ATMOSPHERE

  • Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy:  A comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and selected federal incentives that promote renewable energy.

http://www.dsireusa.org/

 

  • Energy Information Administration:  Information on all forms of energy, including petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear, renewables, and alternative fuels. Also provides environmental, international, and forecast information about electricity.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/

 

  • Energy Star Program:  Participate in the Energy Star program, search for builders in the program and learn about Energy Star appliances.

http://www.energystar.gov/

 

  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory:  Includes research on all aspects of building energy efficiency.

http://www.lbl.gov/

 

  • The Power Scorecard:  A rating mechanism that assesses the environmental impact of different types of electricity generation. Gives users comprehensive environmental information on green power providers.

http://www.powerscorecard.org/

 

  • Solar Living Institute:  A nonprofit that offers hands-on workshops on renewable energy, ecological design, sustainable living practices, and alternative construction techniques.

http://www.solarliving.org/

 

  • U.S. Department of Energy:  Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network.  Links to web sites and online documents on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/

 

  • The Green Power Network:  The Green Power Network (GPN) provides news and information on green power markets and related activities. The site provides up-to-date information on green power providers, product offerings, consumer protection issues, and policies affecting green power markets. It also includes a reference library of relevant papers, articles and reports. The Green Power Network is operated and maintained by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/

 

  • State Energy Alternatives:  State-by-state information about renewable energy. Also includes summaries of renewable energy technologies and policy issues.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/states/alternatives/

 

  • Ask an Energy Expert: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC):  Provides free general and technical information to the public on a wide spectrum of topics and technologies pertaining to energy efficiency and renewable energy.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/informationcenter/

 

 

INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

  • EPA Indoor Air Quality:  Covers general indoor air quality topics, including radon, asthma, and mold. Also highlights an extensive list of EPA publications.

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/

 

  • Greenguard:  A registry for products that have been tested and found to meet applicable government and NGO standards for emissions to ensure healthy indoor air quality.

http://www.greenguard.org/

 

FACILITIES OPERATIONS

  • The Noise Pollution Clearinghouse:  Extensive resource for myriad information on noise and its control. Includes a technical reference on noise impacts and frequently updated resources section for current publications and articles.

http://www.nonoise.org/

 

 MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

  • Development Center for Appropriate Technology:  A leading organization promoting building codes that protect the planet as well as building occupants. The site offers many valuable resources on alternative building materials and technologies, such as strawbale and earthen construction.

http://www.dcat.net/

 

  • Environmentally Preferable Purchasing:  Government program under the U.S. EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention that is promoting the use of recycled and other green products.

http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/epp/

 

  • Forest Certification Resource Center:  Offers clear, well-organized background materials on forest product certification. Its primary feature is a series of databases tied directly to the Forest Stewardship Council's official listing of certified organizations. Also features a toolkit that helps designers specify certified wood.

http://certifiedwood.org/

 

  • Forest Stewardship Council (FSC):  An independent, nonprofit organization that promotes responsible forest management by evaluating and accrediting certifiers, encouraging the development of national and regional forest management standards, and providing public education about independent, third-party certification.

http://www.fscus.org/

 

  • Forest World:  Provides contact and certification information for manufacturers of forest products. Categorizes over 6,000 industry-related sites by description, company name, or category. Also includes information about more than 900 species of wood, including uses, distribution, physical properties, and environmental profiles.

http://www.forestworld.com/

 

  • GreenerBuilding.org:   Building products, local dealers, and helpful program. A place for you to share your personal expertise about products with the sustainable building community.

http://www.greenerbuilding.org/

 

  • GreenSpec Directory:  Includes over 1,650 environmentally preferable building products.

http://greenspec.com/

 

  • Guide to Resource Efficient Building Elements:  Listing of resource-efficient building materials is now available online as a free, searchable, continuously updated database.

http://www.crbt.org/

 

  • SmartWood:  SmartWood, a program of the Rainforest Alliance, works to reduce the negative impact of commercial forestry by rewarding its seal of approval to responsible forest managers.

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/forestry/smartwood/

 

 CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES

  • California Integrated Waste Management Board:  Site includes information on recycling construction waste.

http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/

 

  • WasteSpec:  Model specifications for construction, waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. Available free online.

http://www.tjcog.dst.nc.us/regplan/wastspec.shtml