A group of builders in the Pacific Northwest specializing in sustainable building practices is hoping to enlarge its Code Innovations Database with an online Crowdrise campaign to raise $40,000 by January 7.

The Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, based in Seattle, says that the database already is filled with information about innovative designs, technology, and materials, but the Guild would like to add hundreds more case studies and profiles on green-building codes and make the database useful to more builders.

Despite 20 years of groundbreaking efforts to advance sustainable building, innovative builders “still face an uphill climb and regulatory hurdles that can slow or even stop their best ideas from being adopted more broadly,” a statement posted at the organization’s website says.

The money will be used to publish additional case studies on successful projects, add profiles on innovative green-building codes, and advocate for policy innovation.

“EcoBuilders,” as the site calls them, are advocating designs that go beyond LEED certification to meet the requirements of more rigorous programs such as the Living Building Challenge or Passive House. However, as a video on the website explains, they often discover that the process is “fraught with regulatory disconnects from building codes and policies that haven’t caught up with the pace of innovation.”

The video continues: “We can’t let the slow moving, bureaucratic process stall or even stop proven technology from being adopted more broadly. We have to make it easier to build green.”

The guild believes that if builders, code-enforcement officials, and developers share information freely, green-building practices can advance more rapidly.