Executive Summary

2021 brought us all many more ups and downs, wins and losses. Governor Baker signed the Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy (Climate Bill) and we celebrated this community’s work at the BE+ 2021 Green Building Showcase. Boston and Cambridge announced building disclosure ordinances.  Boston also drafted a Net Zero Carbon Zoning Code and MA DOER worked on the Net Zero Stretch Code. We mourned the loss of many loved ones and colleagues and continued to feel the effects of global events at our doorsteps. With all that happened this past year, we continued our mission and found increased motivation to do the work needed ahead. 

In 2021, Massachusetts fell from first becoming the third state for LEED projects based on Certified GSF per capita. The Commonwealth showed continued financial investment in transitioning the built environment from fossil fuel based to electric systems and to renewable energy sources. We see increased continual awareness of Health & Wellness with the emergence of COVID-19 variants, and this community celebrated a big advocacy win with the passing of the climate bill.

LEED Certifications, WELL Certifications, and Living Building Challenge registrations were up this year. PHIUS+ Certifications remained steady. WELL brought us the most certified projects we have seen in the last three years. For LEED in 2021, though we saw an increase in total projects, it is still below where we were in 2019. Last year we saw an increase of projects achieving Platinum Certification, with percentages dropping in Silver and Certified and this year we see a reversal of that trend.

We continued with another full year of virtual events, and revived our topic area roundtables. Though total tickets sold were down, we have a much higher number of organization members and sponsors than in the last two years. As always, many of our events mirror what is needed in the community, and as such, we held the Zero Carbon Buildings Muni Summit, Dangers of PFAS Chemicals in the Built Environment, and launched the brand new BE+ Sustainability Scavenger Hunt. We also brought back yearly favorites, like Women in Green: What’s your Superpower? and the much desired and enjoyed BE+ Green Building Showcase! We plan to bring the Building Tech Forum and Design for People back in 2022.

Our educational efforts continued extra strong into 2021. With the change by the Commonwealth Corp of the Small Business Direct Access Program into the Express Grant Program, BE+ staff acted swiftly to recalibrate our operations to support this incredible opportunity to bring free training to the green building industry. Because of this, we held fewer training sessions and spent the second half of the year building infrastructure like our Workforce Training Grants page and online Training Catalogue. The efforts launched us off strong at the end of the year and into 2022. We also continued to support and build our Workforce Training General Grant support providing private training directly to offices as built into their multi-year curriculums. LEED focused training continued to be the most relevant to participants in public and private training, with WELL close behind with growing interest. Energy & Carbon, and Health & Wellness categories showed to be the most popular as well. 

By far the biggest success, and item of continual impact, is our Massachusetts is Ready for Net Zero report. We released two updates in 2021, and plan to continue collecting data and publishing results into the foreseeable future. Our community came together swiftly and strongly to provide project data to show the reality of building Net Zero and Net Zero Ready today in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The road to net zero energy has been charted, and actively with your help, we are constructing the roads to net zero carbon, net zero water, and net zero waste.

2021 was a strong year for the organization. We had higher revenue than any previous year and ended the year with a positive cash flow. As the organization continues to develop and mature, we recognize that sustainability without addressing diversity, equity and inclusion is not sustainability. BE+’s support of a diverse network of practitioners who are developing sustainable communities that meet the social, economic and environmental needs of current and future generations, is critical as we transition to a green economy that ensures long-lasting prosperity to all. 

It has been an honor serving as Executive Director this past year and look forward to the year ahead.

Meredith Elbaum AIA, LEED AP

Built Environment Plus Executive Director