Exclusive East Village Tour at Northeastern University!

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


This Wednesday, join us for a tour of a soon-to-be LEED silver certified building at Northeastern University!

The East Village is the newest residence hall at Northeastern University. Standing at 17 floors, it is the second tallest building on campus. It was developed on a Brownfield site, which was cleaned up and will provide a better environment for the area. The building can house over 700 students, and contains suites and apartment style rooms for the students. The building also contains a bike room, classrooms and an event space on the top floor. One of the main features of the building is the destination dispatch elevators.

Representatives from Northeastern and the architectural firm, DiMella Shaffer, will be available to answer all questions about the building’s design, function and sustainable features.

After the tour, join us for a couple of drinks at a networking gathering nearby at around 7pm.

Register for the tour here!

 

Day of Service – Northeastern University Conference

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


Austin Blackmon, chief of Envi­ron­ment, Energy, and Open Space for the city of Boston, addresses the North­eastern Uni­ver­sity Energy Con­fer­ence on Friday in the Curry Stu­dent Center. Blackmon, the event’s keynote speaker, talked about the steps Boston is taking to address the impact of cli­mate change. The con­fer­ence was hosted by the North­eastern Uni­ver­sity Energy Sys­tems Society. Photo by Matthew Modoono/​Northeastern University. 

National Grid was an important sponsor enabling portions of the event to move forward on account of their Green Apple Day of Service mini grant to help the students of Northeastern.

The Conference was attended by over 100 professionals, allowing students at NU and the professionals to share insights and collaborate on today's top energy issues. The conference had a couple of tracks and content throughout the day. 

 

More on the conference can be found here: http://neuess.com/

 

 

November Webinars

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Come join us for some great webinars next month! Webinars that you can check out include

Deep Material Vetting That Won’t Chew Through Your Design Budget will be shown on 11/12/15 in Cambridge at noon. This webinar will explore the new rules surrounding product vetting, materials transparency, and toxicity screening for building materials in your projects. Our experts Chris Lee and Scott Kelly of Re:Vision Architecture also have a rare specialty in product vetting for the Living Building Challenge Red List. Chris and Scott have gotten so good that they travel around, teaching their no-more-tears research strategies and time-saving workflows to other building professionals. And now they're sharing their wisdom in this webcast.

To join this in-person webinar, register here!

Embodied Carbon: The Critical Juncture Where Sustainability Meets Building Structure will be shown on 11/18/15 in Boston at 4:30. It will dive into building life cycle assessment, analysis of embodied carbon, and many things a structural engineer can do to reduce embodied energy and embodied carbon in buildings. The focus is on how structural engineers can reduce embodied cardon in buildings, but this course has valuable information for anyone involved in sustainable building.

To join this webinar, register here!

Don't Build Here: Site Selection Strategies to Protect Our Wild Spaces will be shown on 11/18/15 in Worcester at 6pm. It will focus on selecting a sustainable site for building a LEED project. This course is great for anyone involved in sustainable buildings that wants to reduce the environmental impact from the site selection process for buildings. Participants will learn how to achieve the Sensitive Land Protection credit for the LEED v4 BD+C rating systems and how to utilize tools such as the NRCS web based soil surveys, FEMA Flood Map Service Center, and NatureServe.

To join this webinar, register here!

Meet our Members: Blake Jackson

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Blake Jackson
is a licensed architect, Associate and is the Sustainability Practice Leader with Tsoi/Kobus & Associates in Cambridge, MA. He has over twelve years experience in retail, hospitality, higher education, healthcare, labs, and commercial structures. Blake plays a critical role in bringing measurable environmental stewardship to TK&A's projects and office management. He earned his B-Arch from Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, GA and his M-Arch in Sustainable Environmental Design from the Architectural Association Graduate School in London, UK. He has been an active BSA member since 2010 (co-chairing the Sustainability Education Committee and COTE), is a prolific writer and presenter (chair of the steering committee for the New England Healthy Materials Summit) and is an adjunct faculty at the Boston Architectural College.

Blake will also be instructing our LEED v4 Master Class on November 10th. The class is designed to provide the information needed for high level architects, engineers and designers to use the updated v4 system and to ask any questions on the subject during instruction. To join us for the class, register here!

Defining Zero

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow

A formal definition can give a movement serious traction—and that day has come for net-zero buildings. 

In mid-September, the DOE released their definition for zero-energy buildings, campuses and communities. The purpose of this year-and-a-half long process was to create a definition that could be used universally across the building industry, to increase clarity across the industry and promote more zero-energy buildings. With a clear, accessible definition of net-zero, it will be easier than ever for communities, businesses and developers to work towards achieving this zero-emission standard.

It is through the critical mass created by the millions of Americans in the green-building industry that the DOE was moved to formally define “net-zero. According to Energy.gov, “A zero-energy building produces enough renewable energy to meet its own annual energy consumption requirements, thereby reducing the use of non-renewable energy in the building sector. This definition also applies to campuses, portfolios, and communities.”

Besides clarifying the net-zero goal across the industry, the DOE's publication provides measurement and implementation guidelines. These guidelines specifically explain how the definition can be used for building projects. Brendan Owens, Chief Engineer at USGBC National, emphasized the value of net-zero. “Reducing energy use in buildings must be a major part of the solution as we work to combat the escalating costs and impacts of climate change.”

Owens praised the DOE for this milestone in building a zero-emission society. “While we are making significant progress to save energy in buildings, this Zero Energy Building definition developed by DOE helps increase expectations and orient the buildings industry towards even greater achievements. USGBC applauds DOE's effort to define zero energy buildings and we look forward to continuing to champion the cause of building efficiency and renewable energy applications to meet the ambitious goals of this definition.”

Despite the clarity of the new DOE definition, there are challenges to be seen. While this is an important step, the next steps are not necessarily clear-cut; this DOE net-zero definition refers to source energy, while many zero-net-energy buildings use site energy as their basis for determining energy efficiency. 

Download the DOE's full report here to read about how these guidelines may apply to your green buildings.

Our Chapter's Advocacy committee will be reviewing the new DOE definition in-depth to see how it aligns with our goals of achieving net-zero in Massachusetts. Stay tuned for more updates!

Greenbuild Countdown!

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Greenbuild 2015 is less than a month away! Register now before all the sessions you want are full.

Did you also know that many of our Massachusetts Chapter Members will be attending? Let us know you're going so we can put you on the “Massachusetts Party Patrol List” and alert you to any good receptions we can crash or otherwise experience. Please pencil in the MA Chapter reception for 5:30 on Wednesday, 11/18 – at the BOLD Awards at Lucky Strike in DC – 701 7th St NW. Register here!

Greenbuild is the premier event for sustainable building! It features three exhilarating days of uplifting speakers, unmatched networking opportunities, showcases, LEED workshops, and tours of green buildings in Washington, DC, and offers a place for thousands to gather and renew their commitment to the green movement. Don't miss out!

 

Dennis K. Burke Helps Turn Up the Biodiesel Heat

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Dennis K. Burke has a 15+ year history of working with Biodiesel. They were the first retail outlet to sell biodiesel at the pump within 100 miles of Boston. Additionally, they have held the Massachusetts Biodiesel contract for several years, and supply additional Biodiesel and Bioheat customers all over New England. Bioheat is traditional home heating oil blended with small amounts of Biodiesel, with a range usually between 2% and 5%.

Biodiesel Magazine points out that “biodiesel blended at 5 percent would require approximately 300 million gallons of biodiesel produced per year. So just because you may use a low level of biodiesel in your heating oil, don’t think that it’s not important—because it is.” A switch to Bioheat is certainly an investment in a more sustainable home.

The family owned business is located in Chelsea, Massachusetts and has been delivering premium gasoline, diesel fuel, and lubricants products for over 50 years. They are proud of their loyalty to customers, vendors, and employees. Beyond simple volume, they seek to provide the highest level of customer service possible with clean trucks, metered deliveries, competitive prices, streamlined billing, and contract management.

 

 

Northeastern Energy Conference – This Friday!

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Join the Northeastern University Energy Systems Society (NU-ESS) for a conference that will address the current and future scenario in clean power, entrepreneurship, energy efficiency opportunities in our built environment, the grid of the future, and energy policies in an interdisciplinary manner. Registration includes keynote and panel discussions, showcase area, breakfast, lunch, and a late afternoon networking event.

Register for the conference here!

Included in the fee for the conference is the fee for the Halloween Party. If you would like to attend the annual USGBC MA Chapter Halloween Party separately, you can purchase a ticket for just that event here!
 


Please come dressed in a costume; the optional theme is TRENDS IN GREEN DESIGN. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come Check Out The East Village at Northeastern University!

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Next week join us for a tour of a soon-to-be LEED silver certified building at Northeastern University!

The East Village is the newest residence hall at Northeastern University. Standing at 17 floors, it is the second tallest building on campus. It was developed on a Brownfield site, which was cleaned up and will provide a better environment for the area. The building can house over 700 students, and contains suites and apartment style rooms for the students. The building also contains a bike room, classrooms and an event space on the top floor. One of the main features of the building is the destination dispatch elevators.

Representatives from Northeastern and the architectural firm, DiMella Shaffer, will be available to answer all questions about the building’s design, function and sustainable features.

After the tour, join us for a couple of drinks at a networking gathering nearby at around 7pm.

Register for the tour here!

Nominations due for: The BOLD Awards 2015

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Nominations are due by Wednesday, 10/28/15!

 

The BOLD Awards 2015 recognize Building Optimizers, Leaders, and Disruptors who are pushing boundaries and facilitating the adoption of new technologies in the green building industry.

Judges from USGBC, GreenBiz, Institute for Market Transformation, and other organizations will select one winner from each category. Winners will be announced on the first day of the GreenBuild International Conference & Expo at the most fun party of GreenBuild 2015!

 

Aquicore, Building Robotics, Enlighted, and View have joined forces to establish these important awards and to celebrate exceptional contributions to the built industry. 

 

Finalists will be announced on November 11, 2015 and award winners will be celebrated at a private event during the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C.

Nominations can be made for the 4 following categories:

  • The Champion – An individual or organization who has embraced early adoption of a specific cutting-edge green building technology or strategy in 2015.
  • The Mentor – Innovative ideas can either be encouraged or discouraged by senior leadership. This award is for a senior leader (or leadership team) whose support for a team’s innovative ideas and programs went above and beyond, fostering new ways to take on existing challenges.
  • The Inventor – An individual or team who created a product or service that transforms the way we interact with buildings.
  • The Unsung Hero – An individual or team who has been instrumental in advocating and shaping policies accelerating the adoption of green buildings, but largely does so behind the scenes.

Nominees will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Environmental impact: What environmental impact has the nominee created or expected?
  • Human impact: How did the nominee change comfort, productivity, or the general well-being of the community?
  • Innovation: Did the nominees implement an innovative project?

Nominations will be accepted until October 28. Finalists will be notified by November 11, and winners will be announced at an exclusive party during the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C. on November 18, 2015.