2017 Mayor's Greenovate Awards Deadline Extended to 4/2

By USGBC MA


Greenovate has extended the deadline to nominate a local green hero for the Mayor’s Greenovate Awards!

You now have until Sunday, April 2nd to share the story of a local business, organization, institution, or individual who works to make Boston a greener city.  Submit your nomination today! Then forward this email along to your family, friends, and neighbors who may know someone to nominate too.

This year, the awards process will include an online voting period where YOU and all Bostonians will be able to vote for nominees. Online voting will begin as soon as nominations close. Greenovate will send you a reminder closer to that date.

Save the date! Greenovate will be hosting an Earth Day party on the evening of April 19, 2017 to celebrate the Greenovate Award winners and allow you to connect with local environmental, climate, and sustainability leaders in Boston. We’re hosting the party a bit earlier this year because there’s a lot of great events going on in the city, and we didn’t want you to have to choose just one!

Reminder: LEED Green Associate Exam Prep Course Tomorrow!

By USGBC MA


Tomorrow, Thursday, March 23rd, is our next LEED Green Associate exam prep course! Join us for our all-day training session with an incredibly high success rate of getting people ready to take their exam.

The LEED Exam Prep Course is a comprehensive course which will prepare attendees for the Green Associate and other specialty exams. The day long curriculum is designed to cover the segments of the Green Associate Exam and to lightly cover the AP specialty exams. If you have specific questions regarding a specialty exam, feel free to bring these questions to class and have the instructor cover these identified areas.

Come join us for this session! We have only had positive feedback and success stories from previous classes.

This is a fast-paced class for real estate professionals, architects, engineers, students and anyone else interested in green building practices and LEED. The majority of attendees have little previous knowledge of the LEED rating system, green building operations, and green building construction. Upon completion of the class employees will be eligible to sit for the LEED Green Associate exam at a local testing center. Please note that the national office has lowered their student rate to 100 dollars, read more at usbgc.org. By passing the exam, employees will earn the LEED Green Associate credential. If interested in attending a LEED Green Associate Exam Prep class, please email celis@usgbcma.org, groups welcome.

Register here.

Thursday, March 23rd, 2017
8:30am-5:00pm
50 Milk St, 20th Floor, Anchor Room
Boston, MA, 02109

Tomorrow is Our Introduction to the Living Building Challenge Morning Session

By USGBC MA


Join us for an introductory session on the newest and most rigorous standard in high-performance buildings today. If you are new to the standard or have a few unanswered questions come visit this session. We will be briefly covering projects in the Commonwealth and will have mediated discussion after the comprehensive presentation. Breakfast will be provided.

Register here!

The Living Building Challenge is the built environment's most rigorous performance standard. It calls for the creation of building projects that operate as cleanly, beautifully and efficiently as nature's architecture. Participants will gain a basic understanding of the Living Building Challenge – a philosophy, advocacy tool, and certification program that addresses development at all scales. To be certified under the Challenge, projects must meet a series of ambitious performance requirements, including Net Zero Energy, Waste, and Water, over a minimum of 12 months of continuous occupancy. Participants will learn to describe the key components of the program and discuss the rationale for restorative design principles.

Learning objectives:

1. Understand the basic philosophy of the Living Building Challenge

2. Describe the key components of the program

3. Discuss the rationale for restorative design principles

4. Identify and locate the resources provided by the International Living Future Institute for deeper engagement

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017
8:30am-10:00am
50 Milk St., 18th Floor
Hemingway Room
Boston, MA, 02109

Register here!

The End of ENERGY STAR?

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow


UPDATE 3/21/17: The National USGBC created a call to action for companies and organizations to support the ENERGY STAR, Safer Choice, and WaterSense programs. If you are part of an organization that supports this, please sign the letter here. USGBC MA has signed on and encourages all other organizations concerned about energy efficiency to sign on as well!

President Trump's federal budget proposal will eliminate a number of vital energy efficiency programs from ENERGY STAR to ARPA-E. ENERGY STAR, which was started in 1992 by the EPA and DOE, has had unprecedented success in reducing consumer energy use. The program has prevented 2.7 billion metric tons GHG emissions and saved Americans $430 billion on their utility bills since the program’s inception in 1992. It has seen continuous increases in energy savings, emission reductions, and has become a paragon of sustainable branding with almost 90% of people associating the label with energy efficiency and quality. The budget cuts will leave at least 18,000 American jobless and endanger the 1.9 million American workers that work for the federally supported energy efficiency industry. 

While the program may be transferred to a private company, with a transition cost of $5 million, removing the ENERGY STAR label from federal control could discredit program, will likely prevent true third-party evaluation and verification, and will reduce American prominence in the energy efficiency field around the world. It will also hinder net zero energy building and LEED compliance and expansion. 

ENERGY STAR will be one of 60 other programs and 19 agencies to lose discretionary funding. Other energy-related programs to be cut include the Clean Power Plan, the International climate change programs, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, the State Energy Program, and the Rural Business and Cooperative Service’s discretionary programs.

On the other hand, as military budgets increase (by $54 billion) they will have more opportunities to invest in renewable energy technologies. In the name of efficiency, safety, and security, the DoD doubled its renewable power generation from 2011 to 2015 to 10,534 billion BTU and supported hundreds of millions in solar power contracts. The military plans to continue investing in renewables and the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 established the DoD’s voluntary goal of 25% renewable energy consumption by 2025. The military desires to expand renewables and hybrid technologies to increase security by reducing the threat of grid attacks and current dangers of explosive fuels instead of to reduce emissions and save the planet.

However, as the current Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, has repeatedly noted his support for weaning the military off its fossil fuel dependence for national security reasons the military will likely continue on its path to clean energy and national security. Still, Trumps budget cuts to the energy programs like ARPA-E will actively hinder the expansion of new safe energy systems for the military and prevent new advancements and improvements in military technology.

Overall, the loss of ENERGY STAR will seriously weaken US energy efficiency standards and slow progress to a safe and sustainable future. Some hope can be found in expanded military clean energy use but much progress will be lost unless this budget is amended and improved to protect the American people. If you think ENERGY STAR should be protected then contact your congressional representatives and tell them to stop these cuts. 

 

 

Grey Lee Departure Statement

By Grey Lee

Hello Volunteer Leader Colleagues of the Chapter,

Thank you again for your hard work to move our mission forward.
 


I have a special announcement. I have been accepted to a Master's in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School, starting this summer.

I will be leaving USGBC MA at the end of May, after almost five years. 

The Board is managing a rapid transition process and seeks to find and install the next Executive Director of our organization in the early summer. Celis Brisbin will take on the acting director role as needed. You can read a statement from Andrea Love, our Board Chair's, describing the transition process here.

I am leaving only because of the opportunity to enhance my capacity to pursue our mission to transform the built environment toward sustainability. There is nothing else I would leave for.

I love what I do, I love our mission and I love our organization. I know it is in excellent shape financially and staffing-wise. We have an amazing community of volunteers and excellent goodwill in the industry. 

I know that we will continue on an excellent trajectory and new ideas and new leadership will help that. When I started, we were half the size and it was a one-man shop. Now we have five employees and five interns. Think of this like repotting a plant. It's going to thrive!

 

You can read our Board's statement with a link to the advertised position description here.

Thank you for your continued commitment to our progress. I look forward to working with you in the future and I know we will stay in touch.

Thank you again,
See you at the Greenbuild Night on the 30th,
Grey
 

PS: Grid Modernization – Tues 3/21 ///// Intro to the Living Building Challenge – Weds 3/22 ///// LEED Green Associate Exam Prep – Thurs 3/22

 

The Search for a New Executive Director

By Andrea Love, Chair of the Board


A Story of New Opportunities at USGBC MA

To Our Community in Green Building:

The US Green Building Council, MA Chapter, would like to announce our search for a new Executive Director.

Our current Executive Director, Grey Lee, has chosen to take an opportunity to pursue a mid-career Master’s in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School. We are saddened to lose his leadership at the Chapter but know he will use this opportunity to step up to a new level of leadership, advocacy, and activism that will benefit us all. He is devoted to the transformation of real estate toward sustainability and our efforts for #MoreGreenBuildings!

Please join us in wishing Grey great success as he begins this new phase.

 

With Change Comes Energy

We are guided by our mission to “drive sustainable and regenerative design, construction, and operation of the built environment.” Our vision for “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” compels us to action.

We convene a diverse community of practitioners working across industry sectors and at all levels of expertise. We work to advance the opportunities of our members and to maximize the positive impacts of our practices. Since our founding in 2009, and especially in the last three years, we have grown our Chapter and developed into the voice for the dynamic green building industry of our region. We continue to bring more and more people into the green building space and to galvanize our community for action. And this November, we plan to host the greatest Greenbuild conference ever, right here in Boston.

Today we launch our search for our next Executive Director. We seek an entrepreneurial and passionate professional to continue our momentum, to advance our net positive focus, and to lead the green building movement in Massachusetts. Please visit our Executive Director posting for additional information on the position and application process at: usgbcma.org/job-opportunities

 

Celis Brisbin, Director of Operations, to assist with the transition and fill in as Acting Director.
 

The Staff share the Board’s excitement and are committed to working with Grey over the coming months, and the new Executive Director upon hiring, to ensure our momentum continues to build as we advance our mission and vision and accelerate toward Greenbuild.

The Board of Directors, our members and partners, and all of our stakeholders take great pride in our accomplishments and ongoing growth. Our #1 ranking for LEED Certifications in 2016 is a reflection of the strength and commitment of our community and our collective efforts.

We look forward to a new phase in our journey and new leadership, new energy, and new successes. If you have questions or concerns, or you would like to share feedback, please send us a note at info@usbcma.org.

 

Thank you for your continued support as we move forward,

Andrea Love,

on behalf of the Board of Directors,

USGBC MA Chapter, Inc.

 

You can read Grey Lee's departure statement here.

March 13th Residential Meeting Recap – All About WELL!

By Molly Cox and Bill Womeldorf


The Residential Green Building Committee met on March 13th, 2017.  We had a guest presentation from Jennifer Taranto, the Director of Sustainability at Structure Tone, on the WELL Building Standard (see her presentation attached).

She began by explaining who benefits from WELL, and what the standard is intended to do. WELL gauges the impact buildings have on the people surrounding/in them. Essentially, WELL benefits the people, whereas LEED benefits the environment. While some may think LEED and WELL are similar standards, there is actually about a 20% overlap between LEED and WELL, mostly related to indoor air quality.

The WELL standard is a performance-based system in which a 3rd party (Green Business Certification Inc.) verifies compliance with the requirements. After three years, WELL requires a re-certification to confirm the compliance still remains. There are three levels of certification: Silver, Gold, and Platinum (similar to LEED rankings). And in March 2017, there were 12 certified WELL projects.

Cost Structure of WELL:

Often in a business, the people (workforce) contribute to the lionshare of costs, with a smaller percentage making up the overhead costs (such as energy bills). Jennifer mentioned that investing in a standard benefiting the people of a business, yields a higher return for the business itself. To register, there is a $5,500 fee, and the cost to certify is based on a square foot price. Jennifer said that in her WELL project, there was only a 2% cost increase to use the WELL standard (1.4% came from soft costs such as an acoustical consultant).

Seven Main Concepts of WELL:

  • Air: HVAC optimizing, healthy materials, low VOCs (similar to the Living Building Challenge's Red List), CO monitors
  • Water: Filtered water, access to water for occupants
  • Nourishment: Access to healthy food for occupants, low sugar food, etc.
  • Light: Circadian lighting (blue light in morning that switches to yellow light in the evening) daylighting, and task lighting control
  • Fitness: Inviting outdoor spaces, prioritizing staircases, sit and stand adjustable desks, along with subsidized bike shares, yoga, and gyms.
  • Comfort: Thermal comfort, acoustical comfort, ADA compliance, Ergonomics (occupant-adjustable workstations)
  • Mind: Stakeholder engagement, wellness library (information sharing), Altruism (example, 8 billable hours to any volunteering cause)

We enjoyed having Jennifer at our meeting this month, stay tuned for upcoming presenters at the RGBC meetings! Please join us at our next committee meeting on Monday, April 10th, at 5:45!

Become a Member Between Now and 3/30, Come to Our Greenbuild Networking Night for Free

By Alexander Landa


The title says it all – become a member between now and March 30th, and you will get a free ticket to our upcoming Greenbuild 2017 Networking Night! This is a members-only event, meaning you'll only be networking with some of the best in the green building business.

This goes for any ticket type. Chapter memberships are $95/year, emerging professionals are $39/year, Government officials are $39/year, and students are only $25/year.

We also have higher-level Chapter memberships, and these make a huge difference in our advocacy campaigns – all for a more sustainable Massachusetts. 

Become a member now!

5:30-6:00: Networking and drinks
6:00-6:30: Opening remarks, state of “The Road to Greenbuild,” and words from our sponsors.
6:30-7:30: Networking

Boston has embarked toward a defining moment in its green building story: Greenbuild 2017.

In 2008, Boston made history with the largest Greenbuild to date. We intend to make this 2017 Greenbuild the largest on record, outdoing ourselves from our 2008 showing.

Greenbuild is getting everyone excited. Students, architects, construction workers, sustainability managers, operators, anyone with a stake in green buildings from around the world will be coming to Boston this November. 

Join us on March 30th to meet other USGBC MA Chapter members, share excitement for Greenbuild, network with like-minded individuals, and most important, have fun and celebrate all things green building!

 

Upcoming USGBC MA Presinars

By USGBC MA


Do you need to maintain GBCI CE and/or LEED-NC credits to maintain accreditation? Do you just want to learn about new trends in sustainability and how to improve your designs? We offer a pretty simple way of doing this – you can attend one of our after work presinars in either Boston or Worcester.

Here's what's coming up in the near future:

 

April 12th: US Nippert Stadium Renovation Case Study
Sustainability Hub
912 Main St.
Worcester, MA, 01610

How can a building with nearly 60 percent glass on the exterior—one that is operated for only a few days per year and served by existing central plant systems—achieve LEED certification? The answer is: not easily.

April 19th: The Business Case for Sustainable Design
50 Milk St., 17th Floor, Hercules Room
Boston, MA, 02109

This lesson is intended to provide students with the foundational knowledge to understand and make the business argument for Sustainable Design and Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting. It covers the high-level effects of climate change on business, as well as decisions that individual organizations must consider.

Arc: The Wave of the Future for High Performance Buildings

By USGBC MA Communications

 

Cadmus gets a lot of questions about how the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) new Arc program works. We have worked in depth with the USGBC to fully understand the program intent and the specific differences between this program and EB O&M recertification. In short, Arc—formerly called Dynamic Plaque—is where the USGBC would like to eventually redirect market focus for tracking current and ongoing performance.

If you are familiar with ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, think of Arc as the LEED equivalent of that program. Building performance data is entered online on a monthly and annual basis, the LEED score will shift with each data update, and at the end of the year, the annual dataset is submitted to the USGBC for review. In essence, it is like recertifying every year.

Unlike the current LEED ratings systems, only performance-based data is entered into Arc. This includes utility bills, water bills, waste diversion reports, occupant survey data, occupant transportation data, waste audit data, and indoor air quality readings. There are no prescriptive tasks required, like commissioning or energy auditing: the USBGC is only interested in the resulting energy performance.

The intended path through this program is for the building to pursue one of the traditional LEED certification rating systems, then enter into the Arc program. For example, a new construction project might pursue LEED BD+C, then start the Arc program and begin tracking these performance metrics once the building has been operating for at least one year. Similarly, a building can pursue a LEED EB O&M certification, then enter the Arc program instead of following the recertification path. While originally intended only for LEED certified projects, Arc is now open to all buildings, regardless of certification status.

How it Works

There are five Arc categories (Energy, Water, Waste, Transportation and Human Experience) and one static category, which is based on the credits earned in the initial certification and is worth 10 total points.

As shown in Figure 1, each Arc category is worth varying points, with Energy being the most impactful category at 33 total points and Waste Management the least impactful at 8 points. Like the other rating systems, the score will be between 0 and 100 points, with the same thresholds for levels of certification as the other rating systems. Each category has essentially only one metric.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: Arc score breakdown

Energy and Water

For both the Energy and Water categories, you can either enter utility bills manually or just set up Arc to link directly to your ENERGY STAR portfolio. Much like ENERGY STAR, the utility data is compared to a dataset of buildings to determine how many of the total possible points the building’s performance earns (33 for Energy, 15 for Water). The graphic within each category will show how the current month’s data compares to the prior month and the prior year data (see Figure 2).


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2: Example of energy use visualization

Waste

There are two metrics for the Waste category: the ongoing waste and recycling values, and the results of an annual waste audit. Again, the ongoing diversion data is compared to a dataset of buildings to evaluate the diversion rate as well as the total amount of waste material you are generating. A compliant waste audit needs to be conducted annually, with that report submitted for annual USGBC review.

Transportation

For the Transportation category, much like the LEED EB O&M rating system, a survey needs to be sent to all occupants annually to collect data on how they typically travel to the building. Arc has integrated this survey into its online platform, so you can provide occupants with a link and the data will be automatically collected and analyzed within the Arc platform, which is very handy.

Human Experience

There are a couple of different metrics for the Human Experience category. Again, much like the LEED EB O&M rating system, a survey must to be sent to all occupants annually to collect data on their satisfaction with the thermal environment. This is part of the same survey used for the Transportation category.

The other metric for this category is building-wide testing for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and CO2 concentrations, which must be conducted at least once annually.

Both metrics are reported within the Arc platform, and a final report is required for the annual USGBC review. There are very specific requirements as to how many readings are needed, the timeframe between readings, and the equipment used to take the readings.

Base Score

The static category is the base score, which is derived from your initial certification. The base score is not shown on the graphic. There are specific credits and points for each rating system and version. The base credits for LEED EB O&M v2009 are outlined below:

SSc2 Building Exterior and Hardscape Management (1 point)

SSc3 Integrated Pest Management, Erosion Control, and Landscape Management (1 point)

SSc5 Site Development—Protect and Restore Open Space (1 point)

SSc6 Stormwater Quantity Control (1 point)

1 Heat Island Reduction—Non Roof (1 point)

2 Heat Island Reduction—Roof (1 point)

SSc8 Light Pollution Reduction (1 point)

EAc5 Enhanced Refrigerant Management (1 point)

6 Green Cleaning—Indoor Integrated Pest Management (1 point)

2 Controllability of Systems—Lighting (1 point)

3 Occupant Comfort—Thermal Comfort Monitoring (1 point)

4 Daylight and Views (1 point)

If the building earned any of these credits in the initial LEED EB O&M certification, it earns one point in Arc for each, up to a maximum of 10 points. If the building did not earn some of these credits, but you would like to achieve them to increase the base score, you can submit documentation at any point to demonstrate that you are currently meeting the requirements of the base credit. Much like a Credit Interpretation Ruling (CIR) (in process and cost), you can submit all of the required documentation and credit from the EB O&M rating system for USGBC review. For example, if you did not attempt SSc8 in the original certification because the building’s exterior lighting configuration was not compliant, but you have redesigned it to be compliant in the interim, you can submit documentation for that individual credit to confirm compliance. Note that this isn’t currently an automated feature in the platforms for already certified projects, but likely will be in the future.

For non-certified projects, the project will need to submit all prerequisite documentation applicable to their project type (NC, EB, etc.), and can submit any base credit documentation for USGBC review within the Arc platform. This extra step for non-certified buildings ensure all buildings that become certified under Arc meet the same prerequisites for the program, whether the project used LEED online or Arc. For single-building non-certified projects, at this time Cadmus recommends going through the traditional LEED program to earn certification rather than using the Arc program right away. There are significant benefits to developing standardized documentation for many of the LEED strategies, which are largely bypassed in the Arc platform. Exceptions might include large groupings or portfolios of buildings where the relative ease of scalability of Arc is an asset.

Costs

In the past, this program was subscription based, requiring annual payment for access to the platform. However, with the change from Dynamic Plaque to Arc, the subscription format was replaced by a certification cost—similar to LEED EB—built on a five-year time horizon. The full certification cost is due at the time of the first submittal for USGBC review. The certification cost buys you access to the platform functionality to provide a dynamic score, as well as an annual USGBC review for the five-year duration. Certification costs vary based on the size of the building, and the pricing structure was updated by the USGBC on December 1, 2016.

While the Dynamic Plaque name has been retired, Arc retains the physical plaque that formed its predecessor’s centerpiece. The plaque itself is an interactive display showing the current score and allowing occupants, guests, or any other passersby a view of the metrics behind the score. This plaque is an optional purchase of $6,000, and the platform is accessible without purchasing the plaque, much like ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

 

Depending on your comfort level with this material and your access to equipment, both options will likely require some assistance from consultants, adding associated services and fees.

For EB certified buildings seeking recertification, the traditional EB recertification option requires more documentation and significant time dedicated to the effort once every five years, but little effort between recertifications. The Arc certification option advocates monthly or quarterly check-ins with some annual efforts, but overall requires significantly less documentation. Based on Cadmus’ assessment, the building team will spend equal or less time to maintain Arc over a five-year period compared to a recertification. Similarly, if you engage consultants, they will spend time on the site annually in several performance areas for Arc certification, rather than conducting a large on-site documentation effort every five years; Cadmus has assessed that consulting fees for both options will end up being roughly equal over the five-year duration.

Benefits of Arc Over Recertification

There is a more even and predictable internal time commitment and consultant costs because these items occur each year rather than being consolidated once every five years.

The score is primarily performance based, so increased performance translates quickly to an increased score (of course, the opposite is true as well!).

It is easier to enter data into the online platform, much like ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, which most building teams are already familiar with.

This program represents the direction the USGBC would like to take recertification efforts, so early adoption will likely be beneficial.

Only performance data is needed, and you no longer need to provide documents for several documentation-heavy credits already earned in the initial LEED EB O&M certification.

The base credits are from the certification that was already earned, so there is no need to relearn each new version of the EB O&M rating system (such as v4).

You will receive more regular attention from your consultant to discuss your current and goal sustainability efforts.

Benefits of Recertification Over Arc

It does not require an annual effort, which helps when budgets are variable or if the team loses track of this effort.

Falling short of the base credits will not hurt you, as they would under Arc. If your base credits are less than you desired, you may want to pursue another recertification and target those credits before pursuing Arc.

The base credits are largely static and based on the version of the EB O&M rating system used. To earn more base credits, you will need to submit individual credit documentation, likely at CIR prices. If you want to apply a newer rating system, Cadmus recommends pursuing an EB O&M recertification in the newer rating system instead of submitting all 10 base credits individually through Arc.

The certification earned is easily recognized, while the certification within Arc just becomes a “LEED certification,” no longer a “LEED EB O&M certification.” It is unclear how this will be recognized by various states and cities that have legislation referencing specific rating systems; however, this will likely be resolved once governments become more familiar with this new program.

The certification will show up in the LEED Project Directory, unlike LEED certifications earned through Arc. Recertified projects are, therefore, currently easier for the public to verify than Arc projects (though this will also likely be resolved in time).

For buildings that were certified under BD+C, C+S or ID+C, the Arc platform can help you to understand how the building is actively performing in operational mode.  While recertification is not required for these rating systems, often the building tenants and ownership entities are interested in understanding how well the operation of the building aligns with what the design expectations were, and Arc is a great platform to visually demonstrate that performance data in real time.  Since the design and construction rating systems are centered around the event of the development of the building, the Arc platform helps to bridge the gap between the performance during construction versus the performance during operation.

If your buildings already have a certification, you can activate your existing LEED certified project within Arc to figure out what score your building might currently receive before you commit to it completely. Note that you should activate your most recently certified project, not your registered-but-uncertified projects (in the case of registrations prepared for future recertification). Any projects that do not currently have a certification can create a new project in Arc by registering a new project and paying the registration fee.

Cadmus is excited about Arc, which feels like a natural extension of all the rating systems, and is focused on performance and optimization over time rather than the documentation of static strategies. Feel free to visit the Arc website for more information. Contact Cadmus today to discuss the specifics of your project and how it might best fit into this platform.