It's Always a Day of Service at Hingham High School!

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


This past Saturday was the international Green Apple Day of Service, but for the Hingham High School Green Team it was just another normal day of sustainability work, albeit with sponsorship by HMFH Architects.

HHS's Green Team is composed of around 50 dedicated students who do everything from energy saving advocacy projects to maintaining a composting program on site. It was their composting program that they focused on during their service day Saturday. The team cleaned out and rotated their 12 compost piles to keep them working efficiently to process the 50 pounds of food waste from the cafeteria that is added during each school day. They took the finished compost to the garden beds near the greenhouse which will soon house spinach seeds.

 

 


The Team cleans out and refills the compost bins and transfers the finished compost to wheelbarrows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Assistant Principal Rick Swanson does some edging work around the garden beds near the greenhouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Students fill the garden beds with finished compost in preparation for seed planting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green Breakfast Re-cap: Designing for Sustainable Transportation

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow


Thank you to Wednesday's Green Breakfast Club presenters Alyson Fletcher and Carrie Havey, who shared perspectives on sustainable transportation design to a receptive audience mixed with new and familiar faces.


Alyson Fletcher, an Associate at Nelson/Nygaard, discussed best practices for sustainable transportation, and prompted the audience to think of the vested interests of people using each mode of transportation. Alyson detailed the best (and worst) practices in the Boston area and nation-wide. These myriad concepts include complete streets, sustainable parking policies, downtown and regional mobility, transit-oriented development and transportation demand management. 

Carrie Harvey, Project Manager with The Green Engineer, Inc., elaborated on the LEED v4 Location and Transportation (LT) credits. She walked us through these new credit categories, shared helpful tips for documenting credits and gave creative options for developers. The audience followed up the presentations by brainstorming about potential improvements in future LEED versions…and then had a chuckle about not wanting to go through a LEED updating process any time soon!

Next month: Go Green to Save Green!

Our next Green Breakfast will be on 10/22 at 8:30am, featuring Jerome Garciano, a USGBC Board Member and attorney in the Robinson & Cole LLP's Real Estate Group. He will explain tax rebates and incentives for renewable and energy efficiency projects. Register today and join the Club! 

Green Breakfast Club is always a great way to meet fellow professionals in our industry and learn about an important aspect of green building.

 


 


More About the Presenters:

Carrie Havey is a Project Manager with The Green Engineer, Inc. (one our USGBC MA's Sponsoring Partners), and has over fourteen years of experience in the fields of planning, landscape architecture, and sustainable design. As a project manager, she works with development and design teams from the visioning stage through construction completion, managing the LEED certification process and providing sustainable design guidance. Carrie is on the USGBC Massachusetts Board of Directors, is a member of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools Operations and Metrics Subcommittee, and is a member of the USGBC Location and Transportation Technical Advisory Group.

With a background in landscape architecture and architecture, Alyson Fletcher brings an interdisciplinary approach to transportation planning. She has specific expertise in multimodal, parking, and transportation demand projects as well as drafting designs for improved intersections and streetscape facilities. Before joining NelsonNygaard as a transportation planner, Alyson was an intern on the Neighborhood Bikeways Campaign at the Active Transportation Alliance in Chicago and a Public Landscape Design and Management Intern at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in Philadelphia.

Elkus Manfredi's New Balance

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Congratulations to Elkus Manfredi Architects for the grand opening of their New Balance World Headquarters project last week! The 250,000-square-foot facility is positioned within the 15-acre Boston Landing development and features an open, communal-style layout with high ceilings and integrated digital media elements. Its glass-clad, streamlined exterior was designed to resemble a ship.


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the full article showing the interior design here.

At Elkus Manfredi their collective wealth of design and planning experience, built across a rich diversity of project and building types, energizes all of their work. They are well-versed in the ways that connectivity, location, market pressures, sustainability, and other elements play into the unique matrix that each project represents. They have gained insight into what has historically worked and what hasn’t, and can take an educated look into the future to anticipate needs not yet evident. This adds enormous substance to their work.

Check out some of the sustainable projects that they have completed:

Dassault Systèmes, Americas Campus, Waltham, Massachusetts


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CBRE New England Headquarters, Boston, Massachusetts


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvard University, Graduate Commons, Cambridge, Massachusetts


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenbuild 2015 is in DC!

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Let us know if you will be attending! Our chapter is planning transportation down to the event and discounted group accomodations, email here for more information. Register here as soon as you can. 

Some of our colleagues are already planning on attending and even presenting! Check out their courses and the many other courses offered during Greenbuild. It will be a great exploration into the design, science, sociology, and economics of green buildings. The educational sessions can help with your credential maintenance and make important connections & insights. 

 

Our Chapter's Board Chair, Jim Newman of Linnean Solutions is in a duo presenting on Climate Ready Multifamily Buildings – Resilient Communities – an important topic for us all to consider.

 

Chapter volunteer all-star Craig Foley will be presenting Make it Matter! How to Sell When “Green” Doesn't Mean “Go” 

 

Chapter Board member Barbra Batshalom of the Sustainable Performance Institute will be presenting: Getting to 2030: Institutionalizing sustainability firm-wide

 

Chapter member Darien Crimmin of WinnDevelopment is on a panel for When the Market Drives Neighborhood Change

 

Chapter Member Janelle Chan of Asian Community Development Corporation is part of a panel presenting New Approaches to Equitable Community Development

 

Ian Finlayson of the Massachusetts Dept. of Energy & Resources (DOER) and Kevin Rose of Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP) are presenting on Commercial Asset Rating – New Methods for Driving Investment

 

And of course there are more to explore – take a look at the session catalogue and schedule here.

Meet our Members: Adrian Charest, PE, LEED AP BD+C

By Celis Brisbin


I have been involved with USGBC Massachusetts for a few years and it has been a pleasure being part of such a great growing community.  I was the Co-Chair of the Membership Committee, which I re-formed into Outreach (and Chaired) to better align volunteering efforts with the Chapter.  Now I assist the Committee as an active member with their efforts as well as work with other volunteers.  Some fun stuff I’ve been involved with include planning the Annual Meeting at Wentworth and spreading the word about the Chapter at our booth during Boston Greenfest.

I grew up in construction, starting my career swinging hammers and have been involved in some way, shape, or form ever since.  I am a Senior Engineer at RSMeans from The Gordian Group leading a team in Research and Development for our Architecture, Engineering, and Construction data.  I am also the Senior Editor of the Green Construction Cost Data Book and have published articles regarding building technologies as well as other subjects.  Some recent articles include, “LED Versus Fluorescent Lighting“ in EDC Magazine, “Cost Comparison: SIPS Versus Traditional Construction” in Architectural Products Magazine, and “Facility Lifecycle Costs with RSMeans” in The Gordian Group’s blog.  Also, “Access to Quality Transit? Prove it!” appeared in the USGBC Massachusetts blog.

I’m an active person and my interests reflect that.  Hiking in conservation lands with my dog, playing ice hockey on a couple of teams, and the occasional home brew are just a few of the activities I like to do.


Saving Energy with Mass Save

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Our chapter is comprised of many of the best leaders in the sustainability field and we are always excited to see what new strides they have made in their work. Their ingenuity and tireless commitment to sustainability are what make our chapter such a wonderful community of professionals. Mass Save tackles sustainability through energy saving programs. It is an initiative sponsored by Massachusetts’ gas and electric utilities and energy efficiency service providers. They work closely to provide a wide range of energy efficiency services to help residents and businesses manage energy use and related costs.

Mass Save believes everyone has a role to play in creating more energy efficient communities and that when we make smart energy choices, we can manage our energy costs, enhance the value and comfort of our homes and businesses, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Whether you’re a renter, homeowner, or business, they have lots of ways to help you save energy and money.

They also support education in the Boston area, and are providing Energy Code Training sessions for code officials, builders, subcontractors, and design professionals to learn more specifics about Massachusetts residential and commercial Energy Codes. The Code topics that will be included are Envelope and Building Science, HVAC and Indoor Air Quality, and Mechanical Provisions. If you are interested, you can register for these sessions here.

Introducing our new Advocacy Fellow:

By Grey Lee


I'm Maria Vietz, the new Advocacy Fellow at the USGBC MA Chapter. I'm excited to meet and collaborate with all of you over the next few months, to boost USGBC's advocacy capacity, increase Chapter involvement, and spread awareness of our target issues to stakeholders.

A bit about me: I'm originally from Scranton, PA (Yes, the hometown of “The Office.” No, I haven't met Steve Carell). This May, I graduated from Boston University's Pardee School with a Masters in International Affairs & Political Economy. At BU, I assisted in teaching a few environmental courses for undergrads, and worked with some of my classmates to host an intercollegiate graduate conference.

Before grad school, I went to the University of Pittsburgh to get my B.Phil. in International Relations, with a focus on Sustainable Development. While at Pitt, I had the amazing opportunity to comparatively study sustainability in Argentina, the Czech Republic, and China. Being exposed to environmental and energy policies across the globe solidified my interest in advancing sustainability, and contextualized a lot of US environmental issues.

I'm planning to use my degrees to address global development issues–of which environmental policy and energy use are, of course, vital components. From both my academic research and professional experience, I've found that one of the most effective–but underutilized–ways of advancing development is through more collaboration between the public and private sectors. 

The USGBC is especially remarkable to me because it functions so effectively right at that intersection of the public and private spheres. This framework seems highly translatable for making progress on other development goals, so I'm really looking forward to learning how the USGBC is able to make such great strides promoting green buildings. I hope my background in policy and our shared passion for sustainable development will make the next few months fun and productive.

Hoping to meet many of you next Thursday at the Showcase!

GRESB 2015 Results Presentation at EnerNOC

By Grey Lee

The power of data:

The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) was created in 2009 by a team of economists and statisticians from the Netherlands. Co-founded by Nils Kok at the University of Maastricht, GRESB was developed as a way for asset managers to more complexly assess real estate assets to uncover greater territories of value for owners.

GRESB is a process – not a certification, not an analysis, but a process of assessment which enables the multi-faceted aspects of property to be tracked over time in greater detail than has ever been done before. Through the GRESB process, an asset is rated in a new way, and the management entity is evaluated in a new way, which creates new data about the underlying asset. With this data, and with the identification of component processes, asset managers can see into real estate and how non-financial aspects affect their financial performance.

 


Yesterday evening, EnerNOC hosted a discussion and networking event with Boston commercial real estate developers and investors, featuring a presentation and conversation centering around GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) data. GRESB is committed to assessing the sustainability performance of real-estate portfolios around the globe. This useful tool encourages better management, more action and improving outcomes.


COO Chris Pyke presented recent survey data, highlighting global trends and explaining their impact on investors, GRESB survey participants, and the green building market. The 707 Participants–whose institutional capital represents $2.3 trillion of property value–have made many great strides in sustainability since 2014. The in-depth survey focuses on 7 thematic targets. This survey impressively revealed an average improvement from GRESB participants in each category:

Management: 96% have a specific person with responsibility for implementing sustainability objectives
Disclosure & Assurance: 92% report having specific sustainability objectives
Tenant & Community Engagement: 60% now have best-practice lease clauses 
Health and Well-Being: 84% increase in new construction measures to support health and well-being
Climate Risk & Resilience: -3.04% reduction in GHG emissions
Water & Waste: -1.65% decrease in water use
Energy: -2.87% reduction in energy consumption



Of the 155 North American participants in this globally diversified survey, the highest-ranking REIT on the East Coast was Boston Properties, which was represented in the event Q&A by Amy Gindel, SVP of Finance & Planning, and Ben Myers, Sustainability Manager and USGBC Board member. Dan Winters, Head of N. America for GRESB, asked panelists to elaborate on the value of GRESB data for Boston Properties' sustainability goals. They emphasized the importance of a comprehensive plan initiated from the top-level management. Jon Hartnett, EnerNOC's Commercial Real Estate Team Lead, detailed how the EnerNOC – Boston Properties' partnership helped developers and engineers immediately realize the impact of their efforts.


In summary: GRESB data provides participants and investors with evidence-based, actionable targets to increase real estate asset values. Check out www.gresb.com for more information, and to download the full 2015 report.

Thank you to Dan Winters and Chris Pyke for coming up from Washington DC to present, and to Lisa Park and the team at EnerNOC for hosting this great event!




On the cutting edge: Suffolk Construction

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


The leaders in the sustainability field who comprise our chapter continue to excite and amaze us with the new strides they make in their work. Their ingenuity and tireless commitment to sustainability are what make our chapter such a wonderful community of professionals. Suffolk Construction is transforming the construction industry by building smart.

Over the last few years they have transformed themselves from a successful building construction management firm into an innovative, forward-thinking organization that has big ambitions—to change the construction industry as we know it. In fact, Suffolk’s vision is to transform the construction experience by building smart. To achieve this ambitious goal, they are committed to three corporate strategies: 1) Advance the power of innovation to provide answers; 2) Empower their people to create high-performing teams; and 3) Engage in the community to make a difference. At Suffolk they also understand that there are misconceptions about “being green”. Green is not just recycling, it’s not just climate change, and it’s not just LEED building. These are all components of sustainability, but they don’t tell the whole story. Ideally, sustainability is the convergence of consumer, business and environmental value.

We are also happy to have Suffolk as a Gold Sponsor for our Green Building Showcase and Awards next week!

Check out some of the sustainable projects they have created:

Adobe Systems, Inc. – Overlook Center, Waltham, MA


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INOVA Fair Oaks Hospital Medical Office Building IV, Fairfax, VA


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palm Avenue, Sarasota, FL


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green Associate Exam Preparation Course

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


In just a few weeks our Chapter will be hosting a LEED Green Associate Training Course here in our Boston office. The Course is designed to review the majority of the information which will be covered in the LEED Green Associate Exam. It's a full day course which lasts from 8:30-5:30, which is ideal for commuters and busy professionals who wish to finish the training within one day.

The topics that will be covered include Location and Transportation / Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency / Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation / Regional Priority / Certification Process, and a period of exam format review and sample exam questions. These topics will cover the scope of the information on the exam.

Our instructor for this session is Steven Burke, a Sustainability Coordinator at SMMA, an integrated multi-disciplinary design and engineering firm. He is responsible for acting as a resource for all those in his firm that need LEED assistance, thereby guiding the LEED process for SMMA’s MEP/FP, Commissioning, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interiors, and Specifications disciplines. Steven has also delivered presentations covering the changes from LEED v3 to LEED v4 and conducted LEED v4 feasibility studies for his firm’s clients. We're looking forward to working with him as an instructor!

To register for the course, visit our event page.