The Green Builder Media Network

The Housing Reset Is Already Underway with housing policy, energy codes, and affordable housing innovation. Judge blocks requirements from HUD and USDA enforcing 2021 IECC energy code on federally financed housing White House executive order eliminates housing regulatory barriers ROAD to Housing Act HUD Green and Resilient Retrofit Program Missouri HB2384 Link to oppose HB2384 Santa Monica’s modul...

Mike and Kate talk about Burning Man, AI and a whole lot more on the Impact Series.

The biggest stories shaping sustainable building this week: In this episode of This Week’s Sustainable Building News, Cati O’Keefe breaks down a new report on green building news, housing policy, energy codes, Editors’ Product Pick, calendar of events for the building industry, and more.  This week’s stories include: NAR’s report on green shift in housing on MLS Kansas City, MO City Council walks...

 For decades, businesses have optimized for short-term returns—quarterly earnings, first costs, and price per square foot. But as climate risk, resource constraints, and economic instability rise, a new question is emerging:  Are we using the wrong metrics entirely?  In this episode of The Valuation Metric, Sara Gutterman sits down with sustainability leader Scott Tew of Trane Technologies to expl...

In this episode of This Week in Sustainability, Cati O’Keefe breaks down the most important housing and building news shaping the industry right now.  This episode covers: House bill on housing policy Florida bill for climate and building policy Oregon offers a blueprint for how communities can rebuild after climate disasters Aeroseal’s AeroBarrier COGNITION data on flooring preferences Metropolis...

 This isn’t a future problem. It’s already happening.  In this episode of The Impact Series, Mike Collignon sits down with Dr. Jim White—leading climate scientist and Dean at UNC Chapel Hill—to break down what decades of research are telling us:  Sea level rise is inevitable. And once it starts, it doesn’t simply reverse. From melting ice sheets to warming oceans and shifting global systems, the c...

The system is broken. And everyone knows it. In this episode of The Valuation Metric, Sarah Gutterman sits down with Steve Byers (Energy Logic) to expose a hard truth: The housing market rewards the wrong things.  Builders who invest in energy efficiency, resilience, and healthier homes? They’re often forced to cut those features just to compete. Why? Because everything still comes down to one out...

In this episode of This Week in Sustainability, Cati O’Keefe breaks down how the intersection of energy volatility, AI expansion, and building/code policy is creating new pressures—and perhaps opportunities—for sustainable housing. Iran War Temporary construction towns built to support AI data centers Utilities across North America push back on aggressive building electrification timelines How Uti...

In this episode of This Week in Sustainability, Cati O’Keefe breaks down the most important housing and building news shaping the industry right now.  This episode covers:  Baldwin Village by Thrive Living built over a Costco . https://www.grocerydive.com/news/more-than-a-store-costco-apartments-residential-development/811639/ Mayor Mamdani Addresses Affordable Housing with President Trump . https...

 Everyone’s talking about affordability. Almost no one is defining it correctly.  In this episode of The Impact Series, Mike Collignon sits down with Bill Lazar—affordable housing leader with nearly four decades of experience—to break down what’s really driving the housing crisis.  Spoiler: it’s not just supply and demand. From corporate investors buying up single-family homes to broken valuation...

In this episode of This Week in Sustainability, Cati O’Keefe breaks down the most important housing and building news shaping the industry right now.  This episode covers:  IBS/KBIS Update! The products and sessions relevant for green professionals. SPAN MLO24 SKS BuildXact The Farnsworth Group AARP HomeAid Fotile 3-in-1 sink Cosentino Eclos and Dekton Amazonik Westlake Royal Building Products New...

This news wrap-up drops every Wednesday. Subscribe, share, and help us grow the Green Builder Media Network! In this episode of This Week's Sustainable Building News , Cati O’Keefe breaks down the most important housing and building news shaping the industry right now.  This episode covers:  New York City’s adoption of updated Energy Conservation and Existing Building Codes . The FRAMER Act a...

Price per square foot built the last century of housing. Value per square foot should build the next. For most of the 20th century, the American housing market was fundamentally local. Small and mid-sized builders worked hand-in-hand with local banks and savings-and-loans (S&Ls) to finance homes for families in their communities. This system created a virtuous cycle: homes created wealth for l...

 What if we’ve been building communities completely backward? In this episode of The Valuation Metric, Sarah Gutterman talks with Lucienne Pears of Babcock Ranch—the first fully solar-powered town in the U.S.—about a radical idea: Build with nature. Not against it. When Hurricane Ian hit Florida, entire communities flooded and lost power. Babcock Ranch didn’t. No power loss. No major damage. No li...

It looks like there’s water everywhere. There isn’t.  In this episode of The Impact Series, Mike Collignon sits down with Deirdre Irwin—water conservation leader with over 30 years at the St. Johns River Water Management District—to unpack a surprising reality: Florida doesn’t have a water shortage. It has a cheap water shortage.  Behind the palm trees, rainfall, and coastlines is a system under p...

 “The battle to prevent climate change… may already be lost.” In this episode of The Impact Series, Mike Collignon sits down with Nathan Good—renowned sustainable architect and early LEED pioneer—to confront a shift the industry doesn’t want to admit: It’s no longer just about sustainability. It’s about survival.  From wildfires to hurricanes to prolonged power outages, the conversation is changin...