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Read and explore the following links to learn more about High Performance Buildings. These, and other resources are also available in our hard copy books available for order. If you know of a free tool or resource not listed below, please contact us.

Tools and Resources:

Building Green www.BuildingGreen.com BuildingGreen helps building industry professionals broaden their expertise with authoritative, independent information on environment al ly responsible design and construction. Their online and print resources include:

• BuildingGreen Suite™, an online information service offering instant access to thousands of articles, in-depth features, product reviews, news and opinions are cross-referenced with more than 1,800 green building product listings and a database of over 90 high-performance building case studies.
• Environment al Building News™, an independent monthly newsletter featuring comprehensive, practic al information on a wide range of topics related to sustainable building – from renewable energy and recycled-content materi al s to land-use planning and indoor air quality.
• GreenSpec® Directory, featuring information on more than 1,750 green building products carefully screened by the editors of Environmental Building News

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) www.fscus.org: The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes the responsible management of the world's working forests through the development of standards, a certification system, and trademark recognition. A critical component of this system is the recognition of FSC's role as a facilitator of a collaborative process that brings extremely diverse members together to form the FSC standard of forest management.

GreenBiz: http://www.greenbiz.com GreenBiz is the leading information resource on how to align environmental responsibility with business success. We provide valuable news and resources to large and small businesses through a combination of web sites, workshops, daily news feeds, electronic newsletters, and briefing papers. Our resources are free to all users. The mission is to provide clear, concise, accurate, and balanced information, resources, and learning opportunities to help companies of all sizes and sectors integrate environmental responsibility into their operations in a manner that supports profitable business practices.

GreenClips www.greenclips.com: GreenClips is a summary of news on sustainable building design and related government and business issues published every two weeks by email.

Green Home Guide: http://www.greenhomeguide.com/ GreenHomeGuide helps close the gap between intentions and practical realities. We're a trusted, community-based resource whose combination of tips, case studies, expert Q&A articles and regional directories of products and services helps millions of homeowners create homes that make them feel good. Includes a product directory.

The Green Matrix: http://www.greenmatrix.net The Green Matrix is designed to cross-reference topics of sustainability with the standard phases of project design, thereby illuminating appropriate strategies for a particular phase of work. Within the Green matrix there is a horizontal heading for the five typical sustainable topics: site, water, energy, materials, and indoor environment. Vertically are listed seven design phases: pro-forma, master planning, pre-design, schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction/post occupancy. At the intersection of topics and phases lies the design strategies particular to that condition. The user ‘clicks' the intersection under consideration and is led to more specific information on the strategies and further resource links – some of which may reside on the Green Matrix site, or may be links to independent web sites. 

Healthy Building Network : http://www.healthybuilding.net The Healthy Building Network (HBN) is a national network of green building professionals, environmental and health activists, socially responsible investment advocates and others who are interested in promoting healthier building materials as a means of improving public health and preserving the global environment.

The NAHB Research Center http://www.nahbrc.org: The NAHB Research Center, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nation al Association of Home Builders, is used by Government agencies, manufacturers, builders, and remodelers as a source for expertise and objectivity that are at the very heart of the Research Center and its activities. Uniquely positioned to facilitate invaluable liaisons – between builders and manufacturers, design professionals and housing research, and government and industry – the Research Center is dedicated to advancing housing technology and enhancing housing affordability for the benefit of all Americans.

The Natural Resources Defense Council: Green Building Site: http://www.nrdc.org/buildinggreen/ : In New York City, where NRDC has been based for 35 years, our green building experts field a lot of phone calls from developers: How do I find an environmentally savvy architect? What are the best bangs for the buck in green building technologies? What are the pitfalls? We've advised many developers and we're proud of their successes as well as our own success fostering the growth of green building in New York City and far beyond. With this website, we aim to extend our ability to offer developers, facilities managers and other building professionals practical, tactical advice about green building. The site includes downloadable tools, case studies, fact sheets and LEED Certification info.

New Building Institute http://www.newbuildings.org/: The New Buildings Institute, Inc. (Institute) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public benefits corporation dedicated to making buildings better for people and the environment, and was incorporated in California in December 1997. Our mission is to promote energy efficiency in buildings through policy development, research, guidelines and codes. The Institute works with national, regional, state, and utility groups to promote the basic understanding of this strategy amongst policy makers. It serves as a "carrier" of ideas between states and regions. The Institute also coordinates projects involving building research, design guidelines and code activities to make sure that all of the elements of this chain are available for use by energy efficiency programs in the Northeast, Midwest, Northwest and California .

The New York City Department of Design and Construction, Office of Sustainable Design: http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/ddc/html/ddcgreen/home.html The DDC established this site to disseminate information and provide resources for its managers, consultants, and client agencies.  Since sustainable design is such a rapidly evolving technic al discipline, by locating this information on the Web in downloadable format, the Office of Sustainable Design (OSD) seeks to ease the transition to sustainable building at DDC.

The resources are organized in five categories: Local Law 86, Reports & Manuals, Specifications, Forms and Examples, and Training.  Local Law 86 includes a Commissioner's memo, a timeline, reporting forms, etc. The Reports & Manuals explore subjects in depth, providing both an overview and useful, practic al information.  They cover topics, such as ultra-low sulfur diesel and high qu al ity efficient lighting, where sustainable practices can substantially contribute to New York City 's buildings and its environment.  The Specifications section includes recommended specification language on topics such as environmentally preferable materials and construction and demolition waste management. Written as performance specifications in Microsoft Word, they are easy to download and incorporate into a project specification.  The site also includes downloadable Forms and Examples, such as an example of an Environment al Programming Matrix and reporting forms for NYC's Local Law 77. Finally, powerpoints from DDC's training program are posted in the Training section.

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA): http://www.nesea.org/ The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is the Northeast's leading organization of professionals and concerned citizens working in sustainable energy and whole systems thinking. NESEA facilitates the widespread adoption and use of sustainable energy by providing support to industry professionals and by educating and motivating consumers to learn about, ask for, and adopt sustainable energy and green building practices. NESEA accomplishes this through its Building Energy conference and trade show, K-12 resources, an advocacy network, high profile public events such as the Tour de Sol and the Green Building Open House, its chapters and members, and its Sustainable Yellow Pages.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority www.nyserda.org: The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a public-benefit corporation established by the New York State Legislature in

1975. NYSERDA uses innovation and technology to solve some of New York 's most difficult energy and environment al problems in ways that improve the State's economy. It does so by providing a variety of energy efficiency programs to commerci al , industri al , business, institution al and residenti al customers. NYSERDA has many research and development programs and has produced consumer-oriented campaigns to educate the public about energy efficiency and its effect on the environment.

Rainforest Alliance SmartWood Program: www.rainforest- alliance.org:
SmartWood was the world's first independent forestry certifier and today is the world's leading nonprofit forestry certifier. Through independent auditing, certification and the promotion of certified forest products in all forest types and all types of forest operations, SmartWood's purpose is to improve forest management by providing economic incentives to businesses that practice responsible forestry. SmartWood is a program of the Rainforest Alliance, a global nonprofit conservation organization. Products made from SmartWood-certified operations include lumber, paper, furniture, flooring and even musical instruments and non-timber forest products such as maple syrup and Brazil nuts.

The Rainforest Alliance is accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The Following tools are available online at the above website:
Search for SmartWood certified products and companies
SmartGuide to Paper and Print Resources
SmartGuide to Green Building Wood Sources
LEED for Homes FSC Credits information

Sustainable Buildings Industry Council www.SBICouncil.org: The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the design, affordability, energy performance and environment al soundness of U.S. buildings. The Council offers a large portfolio of practic al , user-friendly, award-winning building design software packages, resource documents, training programs, videos and websites. SBIC teaches and advocates a ‘whole building' approach to design that considers sustainability within the context of other major design objectives, including affordability, security, function al ity and aesthetics. To learn more about the Council, its resources and workshops, and its membership, please visit www.SBICouncil.org .

U.S. Department of Energy www.energy.gov: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports the development of commerci al and residenti al buildings that are energy efficient, he al thy and comfortable places to learn, work and play. The Office of Building Technologies within the DOE's office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy offers a wide range of online resources for builders interested in high performance buildings. Visit the EERE's website for the following types of information on high performance buildings: www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/highperformance/

US Green Building Council www.usgbc.org: The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the nation's foremost co al ition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environment al ly responsible, profitable and he al thy places to live and work. The website homepage, www.usgbc.org , has links to the LEED website, green building resources, industry news, events and membership information. The LEED website is extensive and includes links to information on training workshops, the LEED accr edita tion exam, LEED publications, a certified building project list, as well as the other useful information:

Whole Building Design Guide: http://www.wbdg.org/: The WBDG is the only web-based portal providing government and industry practitioners with one-stop access to up-to-date information on a wide range of building-related guidance, criteria and technology from a 'whole buildings' perspective. Currently organized into two major categories—Design Guidance and Project Management—at the heart of the WBDG are Resource Pages, reductive summaries on particular topics.