Past Conference Session Recordings

KEYNOTE - Billions for Buildings: Transformational Federal Funding for Sustainable Projects

We have arrived at a pivotal moment as an industry—a moment when we have both tremendous willpower and resources to decarbonize and move toward a green economy. The passage of the Inflation… Full Description

Pretty Good Reno: The Greenest House Is an Existing House

An existing house represents an enormous amount of “up front” carbon that has already been committed. The more we can re-use it, the less carbon we are releasing per unit of housing. But when is… Full Description

Biomaterials: A Regional and Global Movement for Climate Justice and Resilience

Building with bio-based materials allow us to address the combined crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequity. Workforce development, housing access, regional supply chains,… Full Description

Resilience and Sustainable Design for Laboratories: Harvard Science and Engineering Complex Case Study

This session will present a case study of the 544,000 sf Harvard Science and Engineering Complex, one of the most sustainable and resilient buildings ever constructed. The project employed a… Full Description

Tuesday Keynote - Climate Changed: What Will You Do When Your Project Floods?

In light of the catastrophic flooding which occurred throughout the Northeast region in 2023, we must challenge ourselves to confront the increased likelihood of extreme weather events and… Full Description

The Deep Energy Retrofit Controversy Revisited

Our window to avoid catastrophic climate change is closing. Existing buildings are one of the largest sources of emissions and among the hardest to decarbonize. At BuildingEnergy Boston 2023,… Full Description

Keynote - Building Decarbonizing for All: Where Policy Meets Practice

Our community is better equipped to decarbonize our built environment than ever before, with data-driven knowledge, new technologies, proven solutions, and a growing consensus that climate justice… Full Description

Saving Energy in Hospitals with Passive House Techniques

As the energy and carbon landscape evolves, the design and construction of hospitals must change to meet new challenges. New techniques, perspectives and methodologies must be applied to drive… Full Description

New England’s Favorite Roof Retrofit: Moisture Data from Three MA Case Studies

Dense packing cellulose in roof slopes has been a common insulation retrofit strategy in New England for a long time, however technically it has not been allowed by code without the inclusion of… Full Description

Creating Healthy, Decarbonized Classrooms

Many classroom environments are unhealthy and uncomfortable, creating poor learning environments with high absenteeism. Older, unventilated classrooms can be economically decarbonized with… Full Description

Windows and Fenestration: Basics and Beyond

Windows are a key part of the building enclosure, but they are also the costliest, most fragile, and worst thermally performing component. We will present on windows from our viewpoint as building… Full Description

Wednesday Keynote — Why We Stopped Doing Deep Energy Retrofits

After completing many Deep Energy Retrofit projects (DERs) in the late 2000s early 2010s here in Massachusetts, our residential design-build remodeling company's approach to energy retrofit work… Full Description

Design for Freedom: A Call to Action

Monday Keynote - Making Ourselves Heard: The Building Sector as Leaders in Carbon Neutrality

As the nation strives for carbon neutrality by 2050, the role of the building sector is both critical and often overlooked. As clients, manufacturers, designers, engineers, constructors and… Full Description

Care and Feeding of Brick: Interior Insulation Retrofits of Mass Masonry Buildings

Solid mass masonry buildings are a significant fraction of the existing building stock, and many contribute to the historic fabric of neighborhoods. However, with wall R-values of R-3 to R-5, they… Full Description

The Climate Impact of Retrofits: Embodied and Operational Emissions in Weatherization

As buildings become part of the climate change solution, more building professionals and their customers want to know how they can reduce carbon emissions in home retrofits. The presenters… Full Description

Take Charge and Electrify That Building!

Most of our existing buildings are already constructed with fossil fuels as the heat source. In this session, BEC will demonstrate the successes of retrofitting high performance electrification,… Full Description

Tuesday Keynote - A Framework for Action: What's Our Role?

Global change requires local action! While the climate crisis has been well articulated at the global level by the United Nations, national governments, and scientific consensus, climate solutions… Full Description

Your Building as Workforce Training- Integrating Students into High Performance Projects

The Lloyd Center for the Environment is an environmental education building on a coastal nature preserve. This building is pursuing the most stringent environmental certification – LBC – and it is… Full Description

Local Mass Timber: A Paradox

Bowdoin College is currently constructing a pair of connected campus buildings, both with mass timber structures. Located in the Pine Tree State, the project is ironically using timber sourced… Full Description

Design with a Carbon Conscience: Estimating Embodied Carbon at the Planning Level

Transform your practice by taking responsibility for the carbon footprint of your work. This session reviews existing tools and frameworks, from planning scale to site and garden design,… Full Description

At the Finish Line- How Two Affordable Passive Projects Crossed the Hardest Hurdles

Multifamily Passive House new construction can be built today for low incremental cost and dramatic energy reduction. Join us for a review of eight affordable passive house projects, demonstrating… Full Description