Sustainable Building Week (SBW) 2022 was like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a global pandemic, adapting to a whole new world and returning stronger than ever.  In its fifth consecutive year,  this inspiring series of events continues to grow, bringing a diversity of topics and media for sharing project stories in person and online, demonstrating new technologies, engaging stakeholders and serving up the fun.  The uniqueness of this movement was on display through building tours, documentaries, panel discussions, civic engagement sessions, virtual events and happy hours. 

This year we learned about Embodied Carbon Reduction Strategies presented by the Carbon Leadership Form.  We hosted the documentary  ELEMENTAL and learned ways to make our homes and forests more resilient in the face of ever present wildfires.  We collaborated with Mahlum Architects to host Women in Sustainable Endeavors - WISE in an engaging round table discussion.  We celebrated Skanska becoming the Northwest's first Salmon-safe Contractor, toured Meyer Memorial Trust's award winning headquarters, and dove into Uncovering Imbedded Inequities virtually with Portland's Materials Transparency Collaborative.  

With over 30 events, both virtual and in person, SBW covered topics from Mass Timber to Material Success for PAE Living Building,  Housing Injustice to a Human-Centered Sustainable Workplace, Electrification to Zero Energy Retrofits --  all for the sake of bringing sustainability professionals out of their silos to connect, educate and inspire future collaborations. 

SBW Co-founder Webly Bowles said it so well “Sometimes we forget that to be sustainable as a society, we need to connect and care for one another. We need those side conversations and to hear about topics that might not come up if we weren’t there in person together,” Bowles explains. “Participants have said that a local event like this allows us to hold each other accountable and makes it easier to help people reach their goals by calling on each other for ideas.”

Moving forward, SBW is committed to deepening the connections between designers, architects, engineers, contractors, material specialists, consultants, academics, community activists, building material suppliers, and others throughout Oregon to make this a statewide series of events.  To learn more and join the movement, visit SustainableBuildingWeek.com