Attend A Better City's Landlord-Tenant Forum on April 5th!

By USGBC MA


Next Wednesday, April 5th, A Better City will be holding their Landlord-Tenant Forum, a morning workshop designed to increase communication and planning opportunities between landlords, tenants, and other key stakeholders involved in tenant fit-outs and improvements made to office spaces.

Two of our sponsors will be speaking at this exciting event – Dan Shanahan of Boston Properties, and James Cater & Kimberly Cullinane at Eversource

Dan and Kyle Cahill of Blue Cross Blue Shield will present a case study demonstrating strong landlord-tenant sustainability collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield's move into Boston Properties' 101 Huntington Avenue building.

James and Kimberly will present on the utility's two key programmatic and funding resources for supporting office fit-outs or improvements to existing spaces.

The morning will also include:

  • Highlights from the Sustainable Tenant Fit-out and Improvement Guide developed by A Better City as part of our work for the Green Ribbon Commission's Commercial Real Estate Working Group
  • Small group discussions with industry experts to learn from shared experiences about key aspects of commercial office fit-out and retrofit processes

Register here!

Wednesday, April 5th, 8:30am-10:30am
Atlantic Wharf, Fort Point Room
290 Congress Street
Boston, MA, 02210

We're Unveiling Exclusive News at the Greenbuild Networking Night this Thursday!

By Alexander Landa


This Thursday, we're holding our quarterly Greenbuild networking night. This won't be a regular event – we have the inside scoop of some exciting Greenbuild 2017 news that you won't hear anywhere else for weeks to come. As the Host Chapter for this year's conference, we're excited to be able to relay this news to you first. Aside from the inside scoop, we will also be giving you the current status of Greenbuild.

Register here!

Don't forget – this is a Chapter members only event. If you aren't already a member and become one between now and Thursday, you will get a ticket to this networking night for FREE!

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

April 11: Energy Star Portfolio Manager Training with the City of Boston

By USGBC MA


We're happy to announce that we are working with the City of Boston to bring you a training session on how to use Energy Star Portfolio Manager and comply with BERDO on April 11th. 

Learn more and register HERE.

In the first half of the session, we will go over BERDO ordinance basics, compliance requirements, and steps to comply. The second half of the training will go into further detail on utility data aggregation and how to use Portfolio Manager, the free software used for energy benchmarking.

Part I (30 mins): Overview of Boston Energy Benchmarking Ordinance 

  1. Provide Ordinance Overview
  2. Identify Covered Properties and Review the Notification Process
  3. Review Compliance Timeline and Requirements
  4. Explain Benchmarking Roles and Discuss the Compliance Steps
  5. Q&A

Part II (45 mins): Step-by-Step Ordinance Compliance Requirements

  1. How to Set up ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Account
  2. How to Request Whole Building Energy Use Information from Utilities
  3. How to Meet Energy Data Verification Requirements
  4. How to Report Building Data to the City of Chicago
  5. Review Additional Support and Resources
  6. Q&A

Advocacy Alert: We need your help to save EPA programs

By USGBC MA


We're sure that you've seen recent news regarding potential cuts to Environmental Protection Agency programs. The EPA is important – they're the force that's helping our environment, and their mission is our mission. Global warming isn't a hoax, and we need to step up our game to make sure that our government is taking all necessary measures to combat this risk. 

The Office of Management and Budget released its plan for the proposed 2018 budget, which includes elimination of or deep cuts to vital programs.

The Environmental Agency Energy StarWaterSense, and Safer Choice are all at risk here.  

USGBC is working with Congress to preserve vital funding for these and other programs, and they need everyone's help to do it. 

Sign the USGBC letter now

You can also contact your elected official directly and let your support for these programs be heard.

This is a fight we all need to take part in, and we can't lose it.

Thank you!
The Advocacy Team at USGBC Massachusetts
 

March 2017 EPMA Meeting – All About Low-Impact Stormwater Management

By Alex Testa


Monday’s night EPMA meeting ended with a great discussion about our responsibility as emerging professionals and brought new perspectives to the table.

Lindsey Machamer gave a thought-provoking presentation on Low Impact Stormwater Management, highlighting her work at Plymouth South High School. The decentralized system she designed was triggered by a number of influences we can all relate to: MassDEP guidelines; Plymouth stormwater bylaw; USGBC/LEED. Lindsey navigated through each set of standards, demonstrating how engineering innovation and design can be applied to meet a variety of criteria (within a budget!). She also outlined the site conditions in Plymouth, which had sandy soil and a deep ground water table.

Making use of bioretention areas, water swales, separate discharge points, a turf field, and tree box filters, the final design is one that mimics the natural hydrology of southeastern Massachusetts and takes advantage of everything the site offers. Although not everyone was familiar with stormwater management, Lindsey’s case study opened our eyes to a different aspect of building design and how stormwater management factors into a green building. Lindsey’s presentation motivated a fascinating, open discussion with Boston city councilor Tito Jackson, who had dropped in the meeting, about green buildings and Boston’s future.

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