YEAR IN REVIEW

The U.S. Green Building Council Massachusetts Chapter & You in 2019

 

Our Mission & Vision

We drive sustainable and regenerative design, construction, and operation of the built environment!

We envision a thriving and diverse community, creating a built environment of net positive systems of water and energy, of financial and social equity, and of ecological and human health.

Executive Summary

2019 continued the streak of good in the Commonwealth. Massachusetts was named the most energy efficient state for the 9th year in a row, clean energy jobs are growing, and Boston signed an Executive Order mandating all new municipal construction be Zero Net Carbon; a win for our advocacy work. While LEED Certifications, WELL Certifications, and Living Building Challenge registrations were down slightly, PHIUS+ Certifications stayed steady. For LEED in 2019 we saw an increase of projects achieving Gold certification, with percentages dropping in Silver and Certified compared to last year. We are seeing more projects hit higher benchmarks!

This year USGBC MA had over 6,000 people hours of interaction, sold 1958 tickets to 80 events, with 1264 unique individual attendees.  We continued our roundtable discussions series and hosted 6 building tours. Though we had less events than last year, by holding bigger events, we were able to increase the number of individuals we engage with and added over 1600 additional hours of interaction.

We held 5 major events this year including our Annual General Meeting, the Building Tech Forum, Healthy Building Summit, Green Building Showcase and our first Design for People Conference. Our Women in Green event was postponed this year due to weather, but we were still able to keep our community together through 3 additional gatherings. We also held two partnered events, Mindful Material and Start Smart. Both increased our level in engagement with more individuals.

We launched a series of practice and topic area roundtables last year to engage our community in answering the question, “How do we accelerate the sustainability of the built environment in Massachusetts?”  The roundtables are a way to build community and direct our activities.

Thanks to a grant from the Barr Foundation we completed the report Zero Energy Building in MA: Saving Moment from the Start. We were able to release the report with a clear message: Zero energy buildings can be constructed or retrofitted for minimal upfront costs, if any, and owners can start making money off of their investment sooner than they expect. We continued the momentum from the report into advocacy for Net Zero legislation by holding a Buildings and Energy Roundtable: Net Zero Stretch Code Support Mobilization. This led to the creation of a letter with 70+ undersigned companies and 1000+ individuals that was presented to the Board of Building Regulations and Standards meeting.

Health + Wellness Roundtables continued to support the growing movement from Healthy Building Summit to investigate and change how we design for occupant health. After Governor Baker’s veto of the bill banning certain flame retardants, we held our Health + Wellness: Flame Retardants Roundtable to educate and engage. Our community followed up with a Flame Retardant Legislation Letter to Governor Baker.

While our education this year still emphasized LEED we continued to promote other systems like LBC, WELL, Passive House, and SITES. Passive House was the only system with growth, and actually significant growth, which aligns with the steady continuation of certified projects.

Last September we launched our Green Building Leadership Institute. This year we welcomed in 7 new participants. The program is fostering the next generation of Green Building Professionals. In order to increase the capacity of building professionals we are promoting a program of the MA Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development that grants companies up to $225,000 for instructor hours over two years. We are forming consortiums of companies, creating a curriculum, applying for and managing the grant.  A high percentage of the educational content is sustainability related. Our first consortium completed the program.  We have 1 consortium that started in 2019.

USGBC MA’s Board of Directors along with this report, is sharing our new strategic plan at our Annual Meeting and voted to approved our rebranding.

It has been an honor serving as Executive Director this past year.

Meredith Elbaum AIA, LEED AP

USGBC MA Executive Director

State

#1 Most Energy Efficient State

Massachusetts retained it position for the 9th consecutive year as the most energy efficient state by the ACEEE. The state scored a 44.5 out of 50. California ranked at #2 with a 43.5.

#4 State for LEED Projects 2019

The USGBC’s annual ranking released in 2019 listed Massachusetts as number four with 3.74 certified GSF per capita. Colorado is first with 4.76 GSF per capita.

111,800+ Clean Energy Workers

The 2019 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report shows that the clean energy sector continues to grow, with more than 111,800 clean energy workers in Massachusetts, 3.1% of the workforce. In the last year, Massachusetts added 1,000 clean energy jobs, and the industry contributes almost $14 billion to the Massachusetts Gross State Product. Clean energy employment has grown 86%, or nearly 52,000 jobs, since 2010.

Massachusetts Becomes First in the Nation to Put Batteries into Efficiency Plan

This marks the first time any state has included batteries in an energy efficiency plan. Making batteries eligible for energy efficiency programs opens a new and steady source of funding to pay incentives to customers that install batteries at their home, business or rental property..

Baker-Polito Administration Launches Resilient MA Action Team

The Inter-agency team will work to implement the nation-leading State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plans and improve resilience to climate change across state government.

State Officials Recognize 32 Programs for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education

32 energy and environmental education programs at Massachusetts schools and nonprofits were recognized as part of the 25th Annual Secretary’s Awards for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education.

$6 Million for Municipal Park Projects

The Baker-Polito Administration awarded $6,412,900 in grant funding for park and recreation improvements in 19 Massachusetts communities. The grants, administered through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ PARC grant program and funded through the capital budget, will be used to help municipalities develop new parks, renovate existing parks, and acquire 13.85 acres of land for park and outdoor recreation purposes.

City

#1 Most Energy Efficient City

Boston was ranked the Most Energy Efficient City by the ACEEE with a score of 77.50 out of 100. Beating out San Francisco by 6 points!

Boston Mayor signs Executive Order for Zero Net Carbon municipal new construction

New municipal building construction will have to be low-energy and fossil fuel-free, while meeting its annual energy needs from a mix of on- and off-site renewable energy assets.

Brookline is one of the first communities on the East Coast to adopt a natural gas and heating oil ban

The town voted to ban gas and oil piping in future construction projects in hopes of reducing its carbon footprint. This includes major renovations as well, not just new construction.

$14.9 Million in Green Communities Grants

The Baker-Polito Administration  awarded Green Communities competitive grants totaling $14,948,478 to 91 municipalities across Massachusetts to fund clean energy projects. The DOER has awarded over $118 million to 240 Green Communities in Designation Grants and Competitive Grants since 2010.

$12 Million to Municipalities to Prepare for Climate Change 

The Baker-Polito Administration has awarded $12 million in grants to municipalities across the Commonwealth to plan for and implement climate change resilience projects through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program.

$18 Million in Climate Change Funding for Cities and Towns

Baker-Polito Administration made two announcements this year increasing availability of funding that will help communities plan for climate impacts and implement priorities through the municipal vulnerability preparedness program.

$40 Million Energy Efficiency Partnership with MBTA, Eversource and National Grid

The Baker-Polito Administration announced a three-year, $40 million energy efficiency partnership with the MBTA, Eversource and National Grid. This partnership will reduce energy consumption across dozens of MBTA stations and facilities, reduce MBTA operating costs, enhance rider experience through improved lighting and substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Projects

Distillery North achieves Passive House Certification

The Distillery North Appartments, a luxury apartment development in South Boston, Massachusetts, achieved its PHIUS+ Certification.

Cambridge’s ‘Passive House’ Is Built With Focus On Affordable Housing, Climate Change

It’s designed to simultaneously address two of today’s toughest problems: the climate crisis and the urgent need for affordable housing. When construction is finished next spring, Finch Cambridge will become the city’s largest affordable housing project built in the last 40 years.

First-in-the-Nation Offshore Wind Training Facility Opens at Massachusetts Maritime Academy

The training facility, which received a total of $1.73 million from the Administration and MassCEC, will provide education, training and certification to thousands of residents, including Mass Maritime cadets, as well as skilled labor including electricians, pile drivers, divers and welders, enabling them to work in the emerging offshore wind industry.

$1.73 Million to Support Energy Efficient Affordable Housing

The grants, awarded to eight affordable housing developments in Cambridge, Gloucester, Hanson, Northampton, Holbrook and Boston totaling 540 high-efficiency units, provide energy savings and improved indoor air quality for low-income households.

$12.9 Million in Grants for Land Conservation, Urban Parks and Climate Resilience Projects

The Baker-Polito Administration announced $12.9 million in grants to protect and conserve land and natural resources, create and restore parks, improve land use within the Commonwealth, and increase resilience to climate change.

$2.4 Million for Projects Promoting Coastal Resilience to Climate Change

The Baker-Polito Administration today announced more than $2.4 million in funding to support local and regional efforts to proactively plan for and reduce coastal storm and climate change impacts, including storm surge, flooding, erosion and sea level rise.

CHAPTER ACTION SCORECARD

People Hours of Interaction

Chapter Members

Chapter Sponsors

Chapter Events

Tickets Sold in Total

Roundtables

Building Tours

Unique Attendees

People Hours of Interaction

Chapter Members

Chapter Sponsors

Chapter Events

Tickets Sold in Total

Roundtables

Building Tours

Unique Attendees

2019 LEED Certifications

2019 PHIUS+ Certification

2019 Well Certifications

2019 LBC Registrations

2018 LEED Certifications

2018 PHIUS+ Certification

2018 Well Certifications

2018 LBC Registrations

CONNECTING OUR COMMUNITY

THIS YEAR'S BIG EVENTS

 

 

At BTF ’19, green technology firms and building product companies answered this question and explored the future of building science.

We started the night with drinks and networking, followed by a series of 30 presentations where industry leaders discussed advances in building technologies. All presentations were split into one of 3 education tracks organized by topic. 

We all gathered back in the end by polishing the night off with more drinks and a table top networking session.

Attendees this Year

Attendees Last Year

Presenting Companies

Green Venue

In the year since our last Healthy Building Summit, we have been busy keeping this conversation alive: we formed a Health and Wellness Roundtable. We learned about Well V2, heard about the effects of indoor air quality on cognitive function, and discussed flame retardants in building products. We heard from leading manufacturers about their commitment to promoting transparency, eliminating chemicals of concern, and to evolving the Mindful Materials program. Now that we’re informed of the issues and understand the many facets that come into creating healthy buildings, we now face the next issue: how do we act on this knowledge and drive change?

This year we held our Healthy Building Summit at Harvard University’s Gutman Library where we rolled up our sleeves and got to work on improving materials transparency and eliminating chemical classes of concern from the built environment.

The event was co-hosted by Harvard University. We learned how they are turning research into action by using their campus as a testbed to optimize for health in their spaces and throughout the supply chain.

We learned the latest science related to health and the built environment and how to translate this research into practice with tangible takeaways and actions.

Dr. Joseph Allen, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, provided a high-level overview of several aspects of health in the built environment and specifically communicated the science behind chemical classes of concern commonly found in building products. Heather Henriksen, Managing Director of Harvard University’s Office for Sustainability, explained how the University is reducing these chemical classes from its campus. With a diverse array of stakeholders in attendance, everyone explored the opportunities, challenges, and barriers associated with healthier buildings, and collectively identify effective, scalable solutions. Together, we will leave this summit informed and ready to pursue the next steps to creating healthier buildings and communities.

Nadav Malin – Moderator

President, BuildingGreen

Dr. Joseph Allen, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Associate Director, Environment Health & Safety US at EMD Serono, Inc.

Heather Henriksen

Managing Director, Harvard University Office for Sustainability

Attendees This Year

Attendees Last Year

Industry Leaders

Generous Sponsors

This year we hosted our first Design 4 People conference. It is the first of its kind that will inspire, celebrate, energize, and help you discover new ways to help people through design. Many years ago, the green movement began with design that protected the environment and today we are exploring how we can design for people.

Design 4 People brings you, design leaders, to raise your work to a new level and help you understand how to improve human output within the built environment. You will have the ability to exchange ideas and learn best practices. Through inspiring speakers, interactive sessions, and networking time, you’ll leave with new ideas on how to incorporate innovative methods into your projects, facilities, and design.

By participating, you are helping spread the message to the industry. By attending Design 4 People, you assist the industry in fulfilling its mission to advance design and promote wellness within the built environment through initiatives in design, advocacy, education, public engagement, and many more. Be a part of an exclusive group of design leaders that will gather at Design 4 People.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attendees

Presenters

Days

Business as Usual

On the first evening of the conference, we had an amazing time at our annual Green Building Showcase!

From the hilarious opening skit performed by Jim Stanislaski, Jim Newman, Jill Pinsky, and Lindsey Machamer to Arrowstreet’s King Open/Cambridge Street Upper Schools & Community Complex winning Green Building of the Year, there were some memorable moments. 

This event would not have been possible without support from all of our sponsors, judges, and our wonderful community. From the beginning, USGBC MA has been a team effort, and we firmly believe it’s your community. 

The USGBC MA community works hard to advance sustainable and regenerative design, construction, and operation of the built environment. Once a year, we gather to celebrate industry success and innovation at USGBC MA’s Green Building Showcase (GBS ‘19). 

At GBS ‘19, community members celebrate the best efforts, designs, and products in the Commonwealth. It is a night of project boards, short presentations, discussions, and awards. 

Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Science, was recognized by Eversource and Nationalgrid, receiving the Eversource / Nationalgrid Energy Optimization Award.

Attendees at the event included architects, engineers, contractors, developers, owners, facility managers, building users, lenders, suppliers…everyone who plays a role in designing, operating and constructing the built environment. 

Attendees

Submissions

Winning Projects

Industry Judges

Thank you to our amazing judges for selecting our award winners!

Alex Wilson –  Voted on Innovation / Resilience
Founder, BuildingGreen Resilient Design Institute

Anne Hicks Harney – Voted on Health & Wellness
FAIA LEED Fellow, Long Green Specs

Betsy del Monte – Voted on Resilience / Site
Sustainability Consultant, Cameron MacAllister Group

Bill Walsh – Voted on Health & Wellness
Founder & President of the Board, Healthy Building Network

Greg Mella – Voted on Resilience / Energy & Water Efficiency
Vice President, Director of Sustainable Design, Smith Group

Jennifer Preston – Voted on Green Building of the Year / Energy & Water Efficiency
Founder, Shelter Stories

Jodi Smits Anderson – Voted on Innovation / Site
Director Sustainability Programs, DASNY

Lauren Wallace – Voted on Green Building of the Year
Principal & Director of Certificaitons and Consulting, Epsten Group, Inc.

Matt Edlen – Voted on Green Building of the Year
Developer, Gerding Edlen

Shawn Hesse – Voted on Energy & Water Efficiency / Site
Associate Director, International Living Future Institute

Tristen Roberts – Voted on Innovation / Health & Wellness
Director Technical & Education Programs, Health Product Declaration Collaborative

Green Building of the Year

King Open/Cambridge Street
Upper Schools & Community Complex

Submitted by Arrowstreet

Photo Credit: Robert Benson Photography

Site: Xuhui Runway Park submitted by Sasaki

 

Innovation: New Science Center – Amherst College submitted by Payette

 

Healthy & Wellness: Community Living Center DCAMM Chelsea Soldiers’ Home submitted by Payette

 

Resilience: Boston Coastal Flood Resilience Design Guidelines & Zoning Overlay District submitted by Utile

 

Energy & Water Efficiency: Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society submitted by Goody Clancy

 

People’s Choice: New Science Center – Amherst College submitted by Payette

 

 

 

Eversource / National Grid Energy Optimization Award

Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Science
Submitted by BR+A

Photo Credit: BR+A

Women are driving the sustainability of the built environment. We are tasked with the most important mission of all: healing the earth.

Our second annual Women in Green event was postponed this year due to weather, and will be resceduled in early 2020. The event is for professionals to network and connect with leaders in the field, promote women’s leadership across the environmental and built environment industry, and to channel our efforts to build a better world where all people have equal access to and are involved in leadership and decision-making.

At Women in Green 2019 we will share examples of when we’ve been courageous and hear from a panel of women as they discuss their own journeys and the need to be fearless.

Carol Gladstone

Commissioner, DCAMM

Laura Keenan

Corporate Sustainability Officer / Vice President, Communications and Change Management, Fidelity

Kimberly Lewis

Senior Vice President, Market Transformation and Development, USGBC

Penni McLean-Connor

Chief Customer Officer and Senior VP of Customer Group, Eversource Energy and ACEEE Chair

          

          

 

After the success of our first Women in Green event in 2018, we kept the momentum going by hosting our community through multiple events during 2019.

We hosted a Women in Green: Cocktail Evening at the Knoll Showroom in April. Our community was able to network with fellow women involved in green industries and enjoyed complimentary food and drinks. This also served as an opportunity to learn more about our plans for future Women in Green events in 2019.

 

What is personal branding and what is not personal branding? How do you create a personal brand that cuts through the noise? How do you stand out in a burgeoning population of people with similar qualifications looking for the same job or the same clients? Those grappling with those questions joined the USGBC MA and networking coach, Julie Brown, at the Elkus Manfredi Office in July for our Women in Green Breakfast and Workshop.

At this workshop, they learned the necessary steps to building their own personal brand and improving networking skills.

Instead of packing lunch for work, why not join the USGBC MA for our Women in Green: Community Lunch! On Wednesday, October 2nd, come meet other women in the Massachusetts, sustainable design community and enjoy a variety of dim sum dishes at China Pearl. There are only 40 seats available, so make sure to register early.

ADVOCACY

INITIATIVES

ZERO NET ENERGY COALITION + COST REPORT

In 2017 USGBC MA began gathering various stakeholders including MCAN, MAPC, and NEEP to address barriers to Massachusetts communities becoming Zero Net Energy. The coalition has met several times and we often hear the cost and perception of increased cost is a major obstacle.

We also held a ZNE Municipal Roundtable in the summer of 2018 to engage our local community leaders by asking them to share obstacles and solutions to becoming zero net energy communities.

With funding from the Barr Foundation, USGBC MA initiated a report to analyze the cost of Zero Net Energy buildings in Massachusetts.

Zero Energy Buildings in MA: Saving Money from the Start

The report, Zero Energy Buildings in MA: Saving Money from the Start, assesses zero energy (ZE) upfront building costs, model performance, and life-cycle costs in Massachusetts. With buildings being a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, scientists, advocates, and local leaders are working to curb emissions and reduce energy use in the built environment by both retrofitting existing buildings and constructing new buildings to achieve Zero Energy Standards. While stakeholders and decision makers frequently cite high costs as the primary barrier to ZE buildings, we and report lead Integral Group found that many types of ZE buildings can be built with no added upfront cost and some commercial buildings can see return on investment in as little as one year.

“Many people already know the environmental benefits green buildings bring to our communities and our world, but few understand the economic benefits of this investment. Zero energy buildings can be constructed or retrofitted for minimal upfront costs, if any, and owners can start making money off of their investment sooner than they expect. Our hope is that this report demonstrates that owning, operating, and living in a zero energy building is within reach for many of us here in Massachusetts.”

Meredith Elbaum, Executive Director of USGBC MA

Roundtables evolve to catalyze community advocacy.

A goal last year, and for the chapter this year as we grow, is to continue to be the glue that holds our green building community together. We want to engage, educate, and connect the people that are making a difference for Massachusetts, and are becoming the leading experts in the nation.

We devised a series of roundtables by trade and topic areas to help connect and understand the needs of those in our industry. We have held 10 roundtables so far this year with focuses on architects, engineers, landscape, solar, contractors, and owners to name a few. We hosted some with our great partners as well. This year we continued to expand our roundtables.

Our Building + Energy and Health + Wellness Roundtables were our most attended this year, and both served as important links to greater advocacy within our communities. 

BUILDINGS + ENERGY

Our 2018 ZNE Municipal Roundtable kept our momentum going into the release of the report, Zero Energy Buildings in MA: Saving Money from the Start. We continued our advocacy of Net Zero Energy Buildings by hosting the Buildings and Energy Roundtable: Net Zero Stretch Code Support Mobilization. 

The Roundtable enabled like-minded professionals to gather and explore specific issues, define actions, develop strategies and explore solutions related to energy in the green building industry. We focused on mobilizing our community to show support for the Net Zero Stretch Code being brought before the legislature. It was an important step in moving the needle towards a net positive environment, society, and economy.

The roundtable attendees and our greater community came together to craft our next piece of advocacy, the Massachusetts Net Zero Stretch Code Building Industry Support Letter. With 200+ undersigned companies and 1300+ individuals and building, the movement is strong. Our Net Zero Hero Jacob Knowles, seen above, presented the letter to the Board of Building Regulations and Standards.

Massachusetts Net Zero Stretch Code Building Industry Support Letter

Net Zero Stretch Code legislation has been proposed in the Massachusetts House and Senate, and draft code language is currently being developed by the Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS).  The Net Zero Stretch Code is currently the greatest single opportunity to support reduced building emissions in MA.

Read more to help in this pivotal moment.

 

HEALTH + WELLNESS 

Our Roundtable on Heath + Wellness: Flame Retardants followed Governor Baker’s veto of a bill banning certain flame retardants.

We understood that we must continue to educate and engage all members of the product supply chain. The Roundtable led by Kathryn Rodgers, Staff Scientist at the Silent Spring Institute, and Monica Nakielski, Director, Sustainability & Environmental Health, Corporate Citizenship at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, was a conversation sharing national and state trends, history around flame retardants in Boston and MA, and what we can do based upon our respective industries and positions.

The USGBC MA lead advocacy by creating a sign on letter for our community to show support of legislation that bans flame retardants.

We continue to grow and expand with our community through our increased focus on Health + Wellness. This year we also hosted a Roundtable on WELL, a Tour of the Jacobs office, and held our second annual Healthy Building Summit. New this year, we continued the discussion in our first ever Design for People Conference.

Flame Retardant Legislation Letter 

The letter is writing to support H3500/S2349 An Act to Protect Children, Families and Firefighters from Harmful Flame Retardants. The undersigned on the letter represent members of the Building Community practicing in Massachusetts: architects, engineers, owners, specification writers, and consultants. 

We have joined others in support of this bill after we learned of your veto last year. Toxic chemicals do not belong in the built environment or in products that people bring into their homes.

EPMA

EMERGING PROFESSIONALS OF MASSACHUSETTS

The Emerging Professionals of Massachusetts (EPMA) Committee is a community of ascending professionals across the green building industry and allied fields providing professional support, development and advocacy tools through active networking, monthly programming and community events.

The EPMA is proud to sponsor the USGBC-MA Green Building Leadership Institute (GBLI), an 18 month program to advance leadership skills, build credibility and deepen network connections in the green building community.

To learn more about EPMA, join the mailing list by following this link (select the Emerging Professionals e-mail list), visit our EPMA facebook group or send an email to emergingprofessionals@usgbcma.org.

 

This Year’s Events:

  • Walking tour of MIT w/ MIT’s Office of Sustainability
  • 2019 Charles River Cleanup
  • USGBC MA Advocacy Mixer
  • Food Sovereignty Panel Discussion at Boston Nature Center
  • 2019 Green Building Bike Tour
  • Summer Picnic at SW Corridor Park
  • Careers in Sustainability: Charging into a Career in Renewables
  • The Power of Networking

Committee Leadership

Co-Chairs – Lindsey Machamer & Jasmine Abdollahi

Treasurer/Secretary – Jasmine Abdollahi

Outreach Chair/Student Liaison – Andrew Breiter-Wu

Communications Manager – Alex Testa

Social Media ManagerKavita Karmarkar

Events Manager – Nathan Kingery-Gallagher

They held 11 presentations by their members at EPMA committee meetings. Thank you to those who shared their work!

Water Management and Resilient Communities – Kara Slocum, Sasaki 

How Do We Get to 100% Renewable Energy? – Aliza Vaida, Solar Storage 

Bringing Sustainable Design to Life – Roland Jenkins, BW Kennedy

A Net Zero Frame of Mind: Exploring the Brock Center Through COTE Eyes – Abigail Keilman, Brock Center, Smith Group

Making Green Building Accessible For All: A Community Engagement Project  – Alex Testa, Siena Construction 

GIS & Agriculture – Jennifer Laponte

Green Acoustics – Kristen Murphy

Artificial Intelligence to Empower Buildings to Become Grid Assets – Ying Lucy Fan, Peak Power Energy

Combining Multiple Green Standards – Bethany Robertson, GBLI

Prefab Architecture – Oliver Bautista

Carbon Committee @ Commodore Builders Michael J. Orbank II

EDUCATION

OUR TRAINING & RESOURCES

From 1 Hour, 8 Hours, to Multi-day. 

This year we have continued our work bringing education in the form of trainings and resources to our community of emerging professionals and our more established members. Rating system introductions and prep courses showed to be popular, but our greatest growth was with our engagement with Passive House. We continued two foundational programs this year: our Green Building Leadership Institute for emerging professionals, and our Workforce Training Grant Coalition to connect the current and emerging workforce to knowledge that empowers. We hosted many trainings and events at our office space, and also outside our walls with our partners.

As a proud member of USGBC MA GBLI, I am thrilled to dive deeper into the green building community. Sponsored attendance to events such as the Women in Green Breakfast deepened my commitment to advocating for policy change and inspired me to utilize my resources at hand to support those around me. I was happy to reconnect with many colleagues at the Breakfast and even able to introduce some female job seekers to scouting employers. I look forward to continuing my commitment to USGBC and becoming strategic, relational leaders with my fellow GBLI cohort.

Aminah McNulty

Our Second Year, Preparing the Next Generation of Green Building Leaders.

In 2018 we launched the Green Building Leadership Institute (GBLI) and its program the Emerging Professionals Certificate Program (EPCP). This program is for emerging professionals and students looking to advance their sustainable building knowledge, leadership skills, community engagement and professional brand to the next level.

In 2019 we added Seven new participants, two male and five females. Our inaugural participants are still in session and they have up to 18 months to finish the program. Participants track progress through a point-based system with points accrued in 4 categories.

  • Accreditations/Certifications (20 Points)
  • Chapter Involvement and Community Involvement (30 Points)
  • Leadership Skill Development. (20 Points)
  • Community Service (30 Points)

Benefits include access to all USGBC MA programs (exceptions may apply),  one on one support and stewardship from USGBC MA staff on career success, as well as networking nights and program completion celebrations, plus a free chapter membership.

Funding Continues into 2019

With our first consortium of Elkus Manfredi Architects, The Green Engineer, Kalin Associates and ICO Engineering and Energy we were able to provide over 248 hours of training to their professionals in 2018. After a successful year, this consortium came to an end.

A new consortium is underway that started in 2019. In the last year we were able to provide over 2,000 people hours of training.

USGBC MA Workforce Training Consortium

The Workforce Training Fund is a program of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and is administered by The Commonwealth Corporation. The Workforce Training Fund General Program helps address business productivity and competitiveness by providing resources to Massachusetts businesses to fund training for current and newly hired employees. The program is funded by unemployment insurance taxes. All for profit companies and nonprofits that pay unemployment insurance are also eligible.

The workforce training fund allows Companies in Massachusetts to pay an employee training tax as part of their payroll taxes. On average, over $8 per employee is paid into the fund each year yet many employers fail to onshore workforce training funds back to the business to help grow the business, address business challenges, and empower employee’s performance.

The Consortium has developed a portfolio of sustainable development professional development trainings to help employers realize increased value from their employees. The multi-disciplinary curriculum leverages the Chapter’s deep relationships with technology partners throughout the State to build skills to better meet client needs and expectations, increase margins, further employee hiring and retention, and address specific business challenges. 

 

OUR SUSTAINABILITY

OPERATIONS AND FINANCE

2020 + YOU

We Are Rebranding. Why?

January 13th, 2020

The Board of Directors of the US Green Building Council Massachusetts Chapter, Inc. (USGBC MA) voted to change the name of the organization to Built Environment Plus.  In order to make this change official, two-thirds of our current members must vote in favor of this change.

This change reflects our growth and evolution as an organization, our new continued strong relationship with USGBC national, and our partnerships with other industry leaders. We will continue to be our own member driven 501c3 organization. We will continue to promote USGBC national as its local partner and LEED remains integral to our mission. And we will continue to partner with ILFI, as the home of the New England Collaborative, and to promote WELL, Fitwell, Passive House, Envision, and others partners advancing our mission.

We are currently working on a new strategic plan that we will present to the community at our annual meeting in January 28th.  The plan is based on five key areas: education, community & celebration, research & resources, advocacy, and organizational excellence.  We believe the rebranding effort, in combination with the new strategic plan, will further enable us to meet our mission. We hope you agree.

Barbra Batshalom, USGBC MA Board Chair
Meredith Elbaum, USGBC MA Executive Director
 

OUR PEOPLE

ALL THOSE THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLE

OUR CHAPTER SPONSORS

Platinum Sponsors
Boston Properties

Silver Sponsors
National Grid
Sasaki
Daikin
The Green Engineer
MP Boston

Bronze Sponsors
ChargePoint
EMD Serono
Eversource
Excel
MassCEC
WSP
ReEnergy
FreMarq Innovations

Green Sponsors
AHA Consulting Engineers
ARUP
Bergmeyer
BR+A
Bruner/Cott
Burohappold Engineering
Elkus Manfredi Architects
Placetailor
Gensler
SGH
Payette
Thornton Tomasette
Rubinstein Partners
Tarkett
StructureTone

Advocate Sponsors
Assa Abloy
Cadmus
EnVerid
SMMA
Nitsch Engineering
Gerding Edlen
LDA
Sustainable Performance Institute
Linnean Solutions
Siena Construction
Perkins Eastman

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR 2019 INTERNS!

Kai Palmer-Dunning

Shelley Lui 

BOARD MEMBERS

Barbra Batshalom, Chair

Sustainable Performance Institute, Founder

John Dalzell, Vice-Chair

Boston Redevelopment Authority, Senior Architect

Carrie Havey, Secretary

The Green Engineer, Project Manager

John “JC” Courtney, Treasurer

Business Development Manager, Data Analytics, Siemens

Kimberly Cullinane, At Large Member

Senior Energy Efficiency Consultant, Eversource

Brad Mahoney, Director

Senior Project Manager, MP Boston

Jim Stanislaski, Director

Senior Associate, Gensler

Jana Silsby, Director

Principal, Perkins Eastman

Rebecca Hatchadorian, Director

Associate, Arup

Jenna Dancewicz, Director

Project Manager, Suffolk

Henrietta Davis, Director

Former Mayor, City of Cambridge

Samira Ahmadi, Director

Founding Principal, enviENERGY Studio

Michael Fiorillo, Director

Director of Sustainable Design, Boston Architectural College

Johanna Jobin, Director

Corporate Affairs, PO&T, Biogen

Galen Nelson, Director

Senior Director of Innovation and Industry Support, MassCEC

STAFF

Meredith Elbaum

Executive Director

Vernette Allen

Grant Operations Manager

Casey Williams

Marketing and Graphics Associate

James Robe – Left in 2019

Outreach and Communications Manager

Ethan Vonderheide

Special Projects Lead