Webinars on Demand

Learn about green building and sustainability concepts at your convenience!

Simply register for a webinar and receive a confirmation email with a link to view the content in your own time. Webinars are available for continuing education credit* and can help you maintain GBCI, AIA, and other professional credentials via self-reporting. Make sure to check out our events page for live education, as well as events hosted by external partners.

*Many webinars are previously recorded content from Green Building United conferences and events. If you attended the live webinar version or in-person session and have already received credit, you cannot receive duplicate credit.

Webinar Cost (each)*

Green Building United Member: FREE

Non-member: $10 

Members receive a variety of benefits beyond webinar access. Learn more and join/renew today!

*Excludes bundled conference deals ($25 for members / $50 for non-members) 

Have a webinar idea? We want to about hear it!

Webinars should: 

 

Webinar submissions will be reviewed/selected based on topic and learning level need and interest, as well as CEU availability. Submit yours today using the button below!

Bundled Conference Deals

The webinar bundles listed below were captured during Green Building United conferences and can be purchased at a greatly discounted rate of $25/bundle for Green Building United members or $50 for non-members. These bundles offer an efficient opportunity to gain access to diverse content while maintaining your continuing education requirements. 

 

2021 Sustainability Symposium 

 The theme for Green Building United's 11th Annual Sustainability Symposium was equitable decarbonization with sessions covering health, energy, and climate resilience. 

  • Keynote Speaker Donnel Baird, CEO of BlocPower
  • 4 Sessions
    • Operationalizing the Whole Life Cycle Carbon Approach
    • Climate Activism Through Design
    • Health in Resilient Housing
    • Diverse Voices for Change – Women Architects in a Quest for Regenerative Design

 

Recorded in September 2021

Worth 5 AIA (HSW) and 5 GBCI credits 

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2021 New Gravity: Accelerated Edition

Green Building United’s 5th annual New Gravity Housing Conference was a virtual collaboration with Passive House Accelerator LLC - a creative catalyst for zero energy carbon building. New Gravity is focused on discussing and promoting policies and practices that support high-performance affordable housing. This year will feature four interactive sessions ranging from technical insight on projects to broader market transformation discussions, and participants will be joining across the globe!


  • 4 sessions (recorded live)
  • Keynote Speaker Dr. Kwesi Daniels

 

Recorded in July 2021

Worth 5 AIA LU|HSWs, 4 GBCI CEs, and 4 CPHC credits

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2020 Sustainability Symposium 

This 10th annual conference featured two days of content - from beginner to advanced - around environmental justice, net zero energy, the green economy, sustainability policy, and much more. This bundle gives you access to: 

 

Recorded in October 2020

Worth 28 AIA (HSW) and GBCI credits 

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2020 New Gravity Housing Conference 

This 4th annual conference, coordinated in partnership with Illinois Green Alliance,  explored the tools, techniques, and practices around high-performance, multi-family, affordable housing. This bundle gives you access to:  

 

Recorded in  August 2020

Worth 12 AIA (HSW), 12 GBCI, 12 PHIUS CPHC, and 6 PHI credits

Climate Change + Resilience

Incorporating Microgrids into Climate Resilience Strategies

We know climate change is having dramatic impacts on the region, including increased storm events, heat waves, and flooding. What are communities in the Lehigh Valley doing to prepare? There are several approaches we can take to design, build, and modify our built environments to adapt to these climate impacts, making our region, cities, towns, neighborhoods, and communities more resilient.

One of these solutions is the implementation of microgrids - learn more in this timely webinar, coordinated by our Lehigh Valley Community.

Recorded in August 2020

Worth AIA (HSW) and GBCI credit (1 hour)

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Floodplain Management 101

Flooding is the #1 natural hazard to affect all Pennsylvanians. Tune into this webinar to gain a holistic understanding of the regulatory requirements for development in floodplains.

This webinar provides an overview on NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) and current Pennsylvania floodplain regulations in the context of the Pennsylvania State's model ordinance as well as International Construction Codes (ICC). Best practices and resources are also highlighted.

Attendees will learn the responsibilities for design professionals and local floodplain administrators/managers for managing flood risks and loss through proper planning, permitting, and design.

Recorded in June 2020

Worth AIA, GBCI, CFM, and ASLA credit (1 hour)

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Water Water Everywhere: Planning for resilience in our region

Many of our daily decisions - from washing the dishes, to buying food, to managing flood plain development - are related to water. As building owners, managers, and occupants, design professionals, and citizens - our energy, materials, location, and operational decisions affect water on many levels. Understanding how these decisions impact the region and what we can do to design and build for resiliency will better prepare us for the risks of climate change.   

In this ever relevant webinar, we look at water from the local to regional scale to better understand the implications of our everyday and long-term water decisions.

Attendees will walk away understanding the interdependency of these water systems and how they impact and are impacted by climate change.

Recorded in May 2020

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour)

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Regenerative Community Redevelopment: From disinvestment to regeneration

For too long, sustainablility has been understood as incremental Improvements to business as usual. True sustainability of life on the planet would imply that every human intervention and every design decision, would serve to meet our current needs while not impairing future generations from doing the same. Our industrial economy is inherently destructive and the planet is decidedly finite. As runaway climate change, appalling plastics, and chemical pollution illustrate, we need a total reversal from “less-badism” to “regeneration”. Drawing on a half-century history of regenerative design and systems thinking practice, our team endeavors to achieve regenerative design and practice while working within the constraints of the affordable housing and construction industry. We will share an introduction to regenerative design principles and process, and case studies from three projects in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Special focus will be placed on community engagement and equity.

Learning Level 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2019 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA (HSW) and GBCI credit (1 hour)

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Regenerative Agriculture and Climate Change: Saving the planet with food

Global climate change is accelerating. Extremely aggressive emissions reductions are required to limit the damage from these changes - over and above those negotiated in the 2016 Paris Agreement. Learn the state of the world from a climate scientist and explore solutions through agriculture. Carbon Farming is farming in a way that reduces greenhouse gas emissions or captures and holds carbon in vegetation and soils. It is managing land, water, plants and animals to restore ecosystems, ameliorate climate change, and provide nutrient dense food and educational opportunities. Also described as Regenerative Agriculture, these goals are achieved through a focus on lower-sequestration strategies like no-till organic annual cropping, perennial crops, and managed grazing.

Learning Level 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2019 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour) 

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Resilience in Multifamily Housing: From assessment to implementation

Extreme weather events in recent years have disproportionately affected low-income communities and multifamily housing. Given limited resources for assessment and implementation of resilience strategies in such sectors, decision-making requires streamlined tools that enable evaluation and prioritization of building-specific climate
change hazards. In this webinar, speakers discuss a resilience assessment protocol that assesses multifamily buildings’ vulnerability to weather hazards and develops solutions that support resilience. The assessment tool provides concrete, actionable recommendations, which often complement energy and healthy housing initiatives, so building owners and operators can make targeted improvements to resist damage from severe weather and to bounce back more quickly when damage occurs. Speakers discuss property- and community-scale engagement in projects in New York City, New Orleans, and Washington, DC. 

Learning Level 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2018 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, and PHIUS credit (1 hour) 

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Resilient Communities: Climate Ready Philadelphia

This webinar covers what changes climate scientists are projecting for Philadelphia, the basics of climate adaptation planning, and how government, developers, and transit agencies can prepare for a hotter, wetter future. 

Speakers will describe the process for developing a preparedness strategy for climate impacts and discuss specific strategies for dealing with vulnerable assets in the face of climate change. Additionally, local transportation officials will present how they manage extreme weather events

Learning Level 100: Awareness

Recorded during the 2016 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour)  

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bMORE Resilient: A Baltimore regenerative community design

In response to devastating disinvestment in minority-majority neighborhoods in Baltimore, and the simultaneous phenomena of high vacancy rates and an affordable housing crisis, the bMORE Resilient Co-op design team proposed a neighborhood design that would be resilient to potentially catastrophic climate events and infrastructure failures. Using a permaculture inspired approach, the design included integrated design solutions for sustainability and resiliency as well as education and workforce development models in all aspects of redevelopment. Alternative financing and ownership models including Community Land Trusts and Cooperative and employee owned enterprises would build the local economy and provide for the dramatic improvement of quality of life without the threat of displacement of current residents. 

Learning Level 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2018 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour) 

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Zero Energy Modular Homes as an Affordable Housing Solution

Over the course of just two days in 2011, hundreds of Vermont homes were destroyed during Hurricane Irene. The disproportionate effect of the storm on low-income Vermonters and mobile home residents inspired a call to action. As a result of a collaborate effort, the ZEM Program now provides low- and moderate-income homeowners with a comfortable, healthy, affordable, and above all, resilient housing option.

During this webinar program partners from Vermont and Delaware will discuss program design, ZEM technical specs, construction techniques, and case studies of both individual ZEM buyers and community redevelopment projects.

Learning Level 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2018 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour)

Energy, Performance, + Renewables

Fine Tuning your BAS 

This course will provide prescriptive best practices for maintaining good operations, and an overview of the re-tuning process using building automation system (BAS) trend data.  Attendees will learn how to look for and optimize the control strategy for many of the common energy-saving opportunities such as occupancy scheduling, temperature, and static pressure control, and economizer function.   

This course is ideal for onsite O&M staff responsible for day-to-day building operation; O&M staff management looking to integrate energy efficiency into their O&M procedures; and offsite contractors (retro-commissioning agents or control vendors) hired to improve a building's energy efficiency. 

Recorded May 2021 as part of the Sustainable Building Maintenance Series

Series is worth 4 AIA LU|HSW

Delaware Pathways to Green Schools, Energize Delaware Program, and Philadelphia 2030 District participants can view  the webinar for free by emailing lharvey@greenbuildingunited.org.

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Efficient Building Operations & Maintenance

The purpose of this course is to help operations and maintenance (O&M) staff learn how to operate buildings more efficiently, reduce operating cost, and provide energy savings. This course will provide prescriptive best practices for maintaining good operations.  Attendees will learn the basic principles of preventative maintenance, electrical diagnostics, building commissioning, and demand response. 

This course is ideal for onsite O&M staff responsible for day-to-day building operation; O&M staff management looking to integrate energy efficiency into their O&M procedures; and offsite contractors (retro-commissioning agents or control vendors) hired to improve a building's energy efficiency. 

Recorded May 2021 as part of the Sustainable Building Maintenance Series

Series is worth 4 AIA LU|HSW

Delaware Pathways to Green Schools, Energize Delaware Program, and Philadelphia 2030 District participants can view  the webinar for free by emailing lharvey@greenbuildingunited.org.

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Building Science of Commercial Buildings

The purpose of this course is to introduce building staff and management to the primary systems in commercial buildings that use energy.  This course will explain how the HVAC, lighting, and building envelope operates, interact, and use energy.  The attendees will learn examples of and good practices for energy efficiency opportunities, overview, and tools for making sound economic decisions related to energy efficiency upgrades, and understand when to use nationally recognized energy efficiency tools and their expected level of effort and cost. 

This course is ideal for onsite O&M staff responsible for day-to-day building operation; O&M staff management looking to integrate energy efficiency into their O&M procedures; and offsite contractors (retro-commissioning agents or control vendors) hired to improve a building's energy efficiency.

Recorded April 2021 as part of the Sustainable Building Maintenance Series

Series is worth 4 AIA LU|HSW

Delaware Pathways to Green Schools, Energize Delaware Program, and Philadelphia 2030 District participants can view  the webinar for free by emailing lharvey@greenbuildingunited.org.

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Passive House Demonstration Project - Final Presentation 

In 2020 the Passive House Community kicked off a Demonstration Project with Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia. The focus was on Habitat's Oxford Green Project, and the feasibility of implementing Passive House principles into design and construction. After a year of charrettes and many hours spent reviewing the information we gathered, the group shared a final summary with the public.  

Check out this presentation to hear a recap of the opportunities and constraints that were identified throughout the process. 

Recorded in June 2021 

Worth AIA LU and PHIUS CPHC credit (1 hour) 

 

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C-PACE Update: Case studies from our region

Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) provides financing for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation in new construction, gut rehab, and renovation projects.

This new-to-Pennsylvania and -Delaware financing mechanism benefits projects by overcoming several common barriers to reducing the carbon footprint of buildings: 100 percent upfront financing, up to 30-year terms, and the special assessment stays with the property if a sale occurs. Representatives from Delaware C-PACE, Pennsylvania C-PACE, and Philadelphia C-PACE will discuss how the program works and review some early success stories.

Learn how C-PACE can be used to help push one of your projects over the finish line or invest more deeply in energy and water efficiency.

Recorded in April 2021

Worth AIA credit (1 hour)

 

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Bending the Curve: Four case studies showcasing the adaptability of Passive House design

As architects and clients tackle climate change in the design of the built environment, the Passive House design standard has become a common strategy towards reducing net energy use of buildings by 60-80 percent while also providing a healthy interior environment that improves the wellness of occupants. As a performance-based standard, Passive House allows the design team flexibility during the architectural process to respond to various program requirements, client expectations, and construction budgets.

This webinar explores the Passive House standard’s adaptability by comparing four case studies: The House at Cornell Tech graduate student housing, Sender Verde affordable housing and mixed-use project, Winthrop Square mixed-use commercial office, and University of Toronto Scarborough undergraduate student housing and dining hall. This is an intermediate level course, focused on professionals who already know the basics of Passive House design.

Recorded in September 2020

Worth AIA-HSW, GBCI, and PHIUS credit (1 hour)

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Below Slab Vapor Barriers: Nuisance or necessity?

This webinar provides an in-depth look at below-slab moisture protection. It examine show below-slab water vapor migration has become the leading cause of floor failures and a very real contributor to mold/mildew growth in the United States. Moreover, the webinar is designed to update viewers on current standards and recommendations from ASTM, ACI, and PCA, as well as flooring and concrete experts from the industry.

Questions about vapor retarders vs. vapor barriers, the use of poly/visqueen, the location of the vapor barrier, radon gas, concrete moisture testing, concrete drying, installation, and product sustainability are addressed as well.

Learning Level: 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2020 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, PHIUS, and PHI credit (1 hour)

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What to Expect When You’re Expecting Passive House Verification

This presentation focuses on the technical requirements of PHIUS verification that have design implications for both single family and multifamily dwellings. While some requirements, such as blower door testing, are generally well-understood by Passive House designers, others are more opaque. While it is the job of the Verifier, not the Designer, to perform all required tests and inspections, Designers can benefit from an understanding of which specific parts of their design will ultimately be tested.

By gaining a basic understanding of these requirements and additional certifications, Designers can position their projects for a higher degree of success within the Passive House system. Panelists include current PHIUS+ Verifiers and a construction manager for Habitat for Humanity, who will all provide insight into the construction process.

Learning Level: 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2020 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, PHIUS, and PHI credit (1 hour)

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LIHTC: The gateway to multi-family Passive House projects

Meriden Commons is a multi-phase, transit-oriented mixed-use, mixed-income community bringing renewed energy and excitement to downtown Meriden, CT. Phase 1, a four-story building with 75 high-quality units, was completed in 2018. Phase 2 includes a four-story mixed-use building with 49 units and 1,500-square-feet of commercial space, as well as two three-story stacked town house buildings of 15 and 12 units, all designed to meet Passive House standards.

In this webinar, the Master Developer discusses the strategies for funding this high-quality redevelopment including the project’s transformative impact on Meriden. The General Contractor discusses challenges and lessons learned in their first Passive House construction project. The Passive House Rater presents the verification process of the two building types. The discussion is moderated by WRT, who served as grant writer, planning coordinator, master planner, architect and Passive House Consultant to the developer and their partners.

Learning Level: 100: Awareness

Recorded during the 2020 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, PHIUS, and PHI credit (1 hour)

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Passive Performance: Using data to drive Passive House construction and financing

In order to effectively underwrite a Passive House project and leverage utility savings to support higher costs, lenders need to understand how Passive House buildings perform compared to their non-Passive peers. This includes understanding all of the benefits, financial and otherwise, that can accrue to building owners and tenants. Armed with this information, lenders can begin to develop more aggressive underwriting standards to help overcome the cost barriers that prevent wider adoption of these principles.

In this webinar, we explore operational data and analysis from a study focused on multifamily Passive House buildings in NYC. The study — a collaboration between the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Bright Power, Steven Winter Associates, and Community Preservation Corporation — works to demystify Passive performance and incremental costs.

Learning Level: 100: Awareness

Recorded during the 2020 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, PHIUS, and PHI credit (1 hour)

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How Not to Fail at Passive House: Harrowing tales of survival and critical strategies for success

This presentation is a distillation of pitfalls, lessons learned, and proactive risk management strategies for conceptual design through construction and close out from our collective 15 years and 1.5 million sf of Passive House (PH) projects. Through the lens of large scale residential and non-residential projects, lessons relevant for all PH project types will be shared, illustrating how cut corners and seemingly innocuous decisions can have a substantial ripple effect through the rest of the project.

Covered design topics include PHIUS prerequisites, a critical path approach for PH design, specifications, procurement, coordination between trades to ensure material continuity and sequencing at the thermal and airtight boundaries, and shop drawings oversight. All lessons presented are based on actual projects and are intended to flag common pitfalls so you don't get caught in them!

Learning Level: 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2020 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, PHIUS, and PHI credit (1 hour)

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Energy Efficiency Solutions for Your Business

Green Building United members play an integral role in ensuring that energy efficiency is incorporated in new construction, gut-rehabilitation, and renovation projects. Businesses have an ideal opportunity to make smart choices during the design phase and to specify equipment that will reduce clients' energy use, right from the start. By integrating energy efficiency into plans for renovations and new construction, businesses can save on operating costs and create a more comfortable, safer environment for their clients' employees and customers. This also differentiates businesses and clients as environmental stewards by reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

This webinar will explain how to incorporate PECO Commercial and Industrial Solutions into projects and receive financial incentives that help offset the cost of installing high efficiency measures. It also provides information about additional funding resources specifically designated for energy efficiency projects.

Recorded by PECO, a Platinum Sustaining Partner of Green Building United

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour) 

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The High-Performance Affordable Housing Design MANUAL

One of the most significant challenges the design and construction industries face in the next 11 years is normalizing the design of net-zero energy (NZE) housing for everyday developers, architects, engineers, and builders. Simplified, demystified, and comprehensive straightforward strategies for approaching any-sized NZE multifamily building will be necessary in order to effectively and quickly train industry professionals. While there is an ever-increasing array of products and systems currently flooding the sustainable building market, how does one begin to ask the right questions?

Informed by 20 years of designing multi-family high-performance buildings and more recently, five years of working on multifamily Affordable Passive House projects, this lecture is designed to provide design, development, and building professionals with a step-by-step guide to cost-effective strategies for approaching multi-family, Affordable Passive House buildings. 

Learning Level 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2019 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, and PHIUS credit (1 hour)

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The Tricky Business of Financing Solar on Affordable Housing

Climate action requires a steep reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and utilizing all tools in the clean energy toolbox. If aff ordable housing projects are to reach net zero energy usage and contribute to GHG emission reductions in meaningful ways, viable financing options to incorporate renewable energy systems into projects are critical. Multifamily buildings have great real estate for rooftop solar, yet solar installations are especially diffi cult to finance on aff ordable housing. Over the past five years, the National Housing Trust (NHT) and its partners have become experts in deploying diff erent fi nancing options to get solar installed on aff ordable housing. NHT’s portfolio financing model aligns solar incentives for property owners, investors, and lenders. This webinar elaborates on how to think through the different financing options available for solar on affordable housing, how to evaluate the best option for a project, and shares an affordable housing solar installation success story.

Learning Level 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2019 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, and PHIUS credit (1 hour)

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Lessons from a Certified EnerPHit Industrial Building in Sri Lanka

Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture and Steven Winter Associates have been working remotely with a project team across the world to retrofit an outdated factory in Katunayake, Sri Lanka and turn it into an EnerPHit certified garment manufacturing facility. Construction began on the facility in Fall 2016, preliminary testing and verification took place in fall 2017, and final testing was conducted in the spring of 2018. The project was certified to as EnerPHit Pilot project in summer of 2018 and over a year’s worth of utility data is showing up to 60 percent in energy savings when compared to the pre-retrofit factory. This webinar focuses on the challenges of: 1) Certifying projects in hot humid regions of the world, and 2) Remotely performing QA/QC to ensure the Passive House standard is being met, and 3) Performing air leakage testing in remote areas.

Learning Level 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2019 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour)

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Grid-Scale Solar: Elevating Southwestern PA’s impact on the state’s solar future

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) established a goal for increasing solar electricity generation across Pennsylvania to 10 percent by 2030. Although Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard requires only 0.5 percent, the current capacity is less than 0.25 percent. For the state to reach this ambitious new goal, 10 to 12 gigawatts of new production are needed across the Commonwealth. 

In partnership with DEP, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) studied the feasibility of deployment in a pilot nine-county region. A working collaboration of stakeholders, including solar developers, policymakers, residents and commercial owners, and universities, this webinar outlines CMU's environmental, economic, technical, and policy-related impacts and feasibility results and findings.

Learning Level 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2019 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour) 

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How Do We Get from Passive House to Truly Low-Carbon Net-Zero Buildings? 

The PHIUS Passive House Primary Energy (PE) criteria is currently set at 6200 kWh/occupant/year, but is slated to change to 3840 KWhr/occupant/year under the proposed PHIUS+ 2018 standard. In the presenters’ experience with recent affordable multifamily passive house projects, passive measures alone have often not been
sufficient to meet the PHIUS+2015 PE criteria, resulting in on-site renewable energy generation being added. With the more rigorous PHIUS+ 2018 target, is active renewable energy effectively a requirement of Passive House under PHIUS? Using Weinberg Commons, the 2017 PHIUS Affordable Project of the year, and Gilford Village Knolls III, the first affordable multifamily Passive House project in New Hampshire as examples, the presenters evaluate Primary Energy reduction strategies through both passive and active measures and discuss the benefi ts of energy storage for resiliency and operational carbon emission reductions. 

Learning Level 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2018 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, and PHIUS credit (1 hour)

Beyond the BTUs: The non-energy benefits of building performance

Do you realize that the energy and money savings from increasing your building’s performance is just the tip of the iceberg? This webinar explores the non-energy benefits of building performance, and highlights the financial incentives to help you achieve your goals. Many upgrades fail to reflect improvements in the soft costs that often dwarf the energy savings and associated operating cost reductions. Enhanced building performance improves tenant attraction and retention, occupant satisfaction, enhances worker productivity, builds net operating income, and raises facility value. Buildings with enhanced performance are also safer to operate and occupy, and carry less risk.

If lowering your capital and operating costs will enable you to invest in your business, and reap more from your investment, then this webinar is a must!

Learning Level 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2018 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour) 

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Aiming Beyond Zero Energy: A look at the Millersville University net positive energy building

The Lombardo Welcome Center at Millersville University is aiming to be Positive Energy. Located at the heart of campus, the building makes a statement about Millersville’s commitment to sustainability. The owner and project team wanted a building that went beyond just positive energy and also included a focus on feng shui, responsible stormwater management, and an educational experience for occupants on how the building saves energy and how it generates energy from three different PV strategies.

Learn how the project team, owner, and occupants worked together to design, construct, and monitor the building as it completes its performance period. In this webinar,
attendees will gain an understanding of the factors that need to be considered when designing for positive energy from the perspectives of the architect, engineer, owner, and occupants. 

Learning Level 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2018 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour)

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Bringing Community Solar to Pennsylvania

As many as 70 percent of Pennsylvanians cannot benefit from solar energy due to the shading of their roofs; they may be renters, or may not qualify for conventional financing. Advocates statewide are currently working to develop the right framework for community solar in order to bring the benefits of solar energy to all businesses and residential  customers.

This webinar will help participants understand the issues involved, diving into
the details of how community solar can be implemented statewide. This has significant benefits for multi-family building owners, small businesses, and residential customers, offering the promise of switching to clean, renew- able energy, while also reducing cost.

Learning Level 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2018 Sustainability Symposium

Worth 1 GBCI CE hour and 1 AIA LU-HSW 

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From Existing Building to High-Performance Workplace

In 2016, CR Magazine published a list of the most sustainable corporate headquarters. On the list were leading companies including Saint-Gobain CertainTeed. This webinar will take a deep dive into how Saint-Gobain Corporation transformed a 275,000 SF existing office building into a state-of-art headquarters incorporating innovative solutions for energy use and a premier environment for employees.

This innovative and vibrant building is a living laboratory, showcasing many of Saint-Gobain CertainTeed's own energy conserving products. The project notable received LEED v2009 for Core & Shell Development Platinum certification and LEED v2009 for Commercial Interiors Platinum certification.

Learning Level 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2017 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI (LEED AP BD+C, Green Associate) credit (1 hour)

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From First Cost to Net Zero 

This webinar explores how a shift in design philosophy allows project teams to look beyond first-cost in order to achieve ambitious goals on healthy, high performance built environments. Presenters will share examples of how to get the best results and lessons learned when building to the highest standards. Presenters will explain the design paradigm shift used to reach increasingly ambitious performance goals as well as the unique combination of building materials, construction methods, energy management strategies and renewable energy sources employed to approach net-zero. 

Learning Level 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2016 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour)


Embodied Carbon + Materials

Spaghetti Carbon-Era: Disentangling operational and embodied carbon

Passive House is fundamentally a tool for combating global climate change by reducing carbon emissions; however, as a system, Passive House focuses on reducing operational energy which is only responsible for part of a larger carbon footprint. Without a full accounting we are left asking the question: Have we built a Passive House or a Massive House?  In order to determine whether a Passive House makes a positive, negative, or neutral contribution to carbon emissions, we must account for the embodied carbon of the building's materials. This includes the creation, transport, and life-cycle in addition to the operational energy/carbon that Passive House focuses on so well.  

This webinar (which will be featured as a live session at our 2020 Sustainability Symposium) discusses  embodied and operational carbon accounting, and the comparison results of operational and embodied carbon for each building will be analyzed.  The webinar concludes with solutions for making low carbon buildings more accessible for diverse project types.

Recorded in March 2020 by PHIUS

Worth AIA, GBCI, and PHIUS credit (1 hour)

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Can Your Spec Reverse Global Warming?

The building sector is the world’s single largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs), accounting for 30 - 40 percent of total global GHG emissions. Although operational emissions account for more of a building's carbon footprint over its entire life, between now and 2030 almost 75 percent of the carbon footprint of that 900 billion square feet will be embodied carbon, not operational emissions. Building products can reduce their carbon footprints and even become carbon sinks that help remove excess greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. This webinar will equip manufacturers, architects, designers, and other building industry professionals with specific and practical strategies for selecting products and materials that reduce embodied carbon emissions and move the industry toward making buildings part of the solution instead of less of the problem.

Learning Level 100: Awareness

Recorded during the 2019 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1 hour) 

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Net Positive Impacts and Sustainable Materials

The Living Product Challenge, a complement to the Living Building Challenge, aims to reimagine the design and construction of products to function as elegantly and efficiently as anything found in the natural world. The challenge addresses regenerative design, material transparency, and biomimicry. One of its early adopters was Humanscale, the first manufacturer to achieve full certification for their Float Table and Smart Chair, and their robust Corporate Social Responsibility program uses the Living Product Challenge to measure success. In this webinar you will learn how these advancements in sustainable materials can be applied to documenting the Living Building Challenge and LEED BD+C v4.

Learning Level 300: Application/Implementation

Recorded during the 2017 Sustainability Symposium

Worth AIA and GBCI credit (1.5 hours)

Health, Safety, + Wellness

Balancing Health and Energy Efficiency

This course will discuss the COVID-19 related adaptations commercial buildings have implemented. From changing schedules from full-space to partial-space operations, to increased ventilation, to new technologies, participants will explore the benefits, challenges, and energy impacts of each strategy.   

This course is ideal for onsite O&M staff responsible for day-to-day building operation; O&M staff management looking to integrate energy efficiency into their O&M procedures; and offsite contractors (retro-commissioning agents or control vendors) hired to improve a building's energy efficiency. 

Recorded in June 2021 as part of the Sustainable Building Maintenance Series

Series is worth 4 AIA LU|HSW

Delaware Pathways to Green Schools, Energize Delaware Program, and Philadelphia 2030 District participants can view  the webinar for free by emailing lharvey@greenbuildingunited.org.

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Affordable Passive House Lifestyle and Performance 

Join us for a presentation on an occupied Passive House building that considers the human perspective of high performance. Anthony Wayne Senior (AWS) Housing Phase 3 presents a unique opportunity to gain a better understanding of Passive House building performance and occupant experience. By speaking with residents, we can gain invaluable insights on what it is like to live in an Affordable apartment certified to Passive House standards.

The stories of the occupants of AWS 3 will help designers and developers gain a better understanding how affordable housing residents experience the features of a highly energy efficient apartment building. By sharing this social perspective alongside with some building consumption data, we can more fully understand design and development decisions on future Passive House Affordable Housing projects.

Learning Level: 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2020 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, PHIUS, and PHI credit (1 hour)

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Indoor Air Quality: Health and Passive House design explored

Passive House design environments are tailored around the metrics of comfort and health. For example its psychometric constraints, its elimination of condensation and continuous filtered fresh air speak to dependable indoor temperature and humidity, lack of mold growth and the elimination of pollen and pollution. This should produce not only comfortable but also healthy environments with potential to remediate many health problems that are related to the built environment.

This webinar features studies and pilot projects that have been done that allow us to better understand the relationships between Passive House Design and resident health and will include presentations by specialists.

Learning Level: 200: Understanding/Comprehension

Recorded during the 2020 New Gravity Housing Conference

Worth AIA, GBCI, PHIUS, and PHI credit (1 hour)

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