Our publishing work is not supported by advertising, so our sole focus is on you, the reader. It’s no wonder that Mara Baum, Healthcare Sustainable Design Leader at HOK, says, “I’ve relied on BuildingGreen for over a decade— it’s one of the most reputable sources for cutting-edge green building news and product research.”

How we got started

In 1985, Alex Wilson saw the need for a company that would translate technical information on energy efficiency and other environmental topics to the public and to building professionals.

Working at first out of a timber-framed barn in Vermont, Alex later brought on Nadav Malin and together they launched Environmental Building News. Predating the U.S. Green Building Council by one year and LEED by several, EBN became the bible of the emerging green building movement, quickly finding subscribers in all 50 states and around the globe.

From the beginning, BuildingGreen turned down advertising and sponsorships in its publications, maintaining its exclusive focus on providing unbiased, trustworthy information and guidance to its customers. In Alex’s words, “We wanted to be able to say whatever we wanted about particular products and technologies” without interference.

In 1997, BuildingGreen expanded a niche of its newsletter a full-fledged product screening service, GreenSpec, which continues to set a stringent bar for health and sustainability in products today as BuildingGreen Approved. As the company grew through the 2000s, it added expertise in building science, process facilitation, and LEED. Experts at the now 15-person firm continuously stayed abreast of the rapidly evolving products and materials field, which veered from a near-crisis during a glut of certifications in the late 2000s to the turmoil of transparency data and formats in recent years.

BuildingGreen’s publications now reach over 20,000 readers annually, including students and professionals at over 200 architectural firms and campuses. All along, BuildingGreen has continued to serve firms, nonprofits, government agencies, and others who need customized consulting services. BuildingGreen’s hands-on, practical work on individual buildings and major projects informs the incisive insights it offers its members, and its expertise in putting actionable intelligence in the hands of professionals informs the advice it gives individual clients.

A mission-driven company

Our purpose is to foster a thriving and equitable world through a regenerative and resilient built environment.

To this end, BuildingGreen facilitates collaboration, learning, and trust to accelerate the transformation of the building industry into a force for positive change.

Environmental Building News (EBN)