December 1st South Boston Distillery Tech Talk and Building Tour

By Alexander Landa


Last's nights building tour of the South Boston Distillery was a good time. On this chilly – but not raining for once – night in Boston, we explored the inside of an up-and-coming Passive House, and learned what goes into designing these types of buildings.

Right before we walked through the building, Fred Gordon – manager behind the Distillery – gave us a tech talk on the meaning behind a Passive House, and how this design will be making an impact on the built environment. Thanks for taking the time to teach us!

The walkthrough itself was really cool! Seeing a building in its raw, in-process progress showed off the differences between a Passive House, and a non-sustainable building. Everything from the materials used to the construction methods all contributing to making a difference.

Thanks to everyone for coming, and we look forward to seeing you at future tours!

If you want to learn more about Passive Houses and how it differs from LEED for Homes, we're holding a morning session on Thursday, December 15th from 8:30AM to 10:00 AM comparing the two. Learn more and register here.

One of the attendees, Betsy, had this to say after the tour:

The development is indeed one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen. It’s not just PassiveHouse. It’s creating an entire community, attracting all sorts of artists who will be able to afford to live close to Boston. The outdoor performance space is brilliant, and will become host to performing artists. The café and greenhouse are equally brilliant for their community-building common spaces. Fred Gordon has designed a development that won’t just house people, but that will build creative thought and expression which otherwise would be not represented (priced out) in that neighborhood.

 

Biomimicry & Resilience 4-Day Workshop Hosted by Biomimicry New England June 2017

By Alexander Landa


Next summer, our friends over at Biomimicry New England will be holding a four-day workshop on biomimicry & resilience in Gloucester, MA. From June 4th to 8th, 2017, you can learn how to build a resilient world, but you'll be learning in a unique environment. Really. You'll have the chance to learn about biomimicry by taking courses in a kayak, among other natural settings.

Taken from their event page:

Biomimicry is the practice of emulating life’s time-tested strategies and deep patterns to generate sustainable designs. Resilience is the ability of a system to continue to function following a disturbance such as those brought on by climate destabilization, economic bursts, and social instability. Biomimicry offers a lens to learn about resilience in natural systems, and provides tools to help build community resilience. Biomimicry offers a new way of valuing nature and designing in life-friendly ways that can help us address our pressing need to design and maintain resilient systems in an ever-changing world.

In this 4-day course, we’ll explore the foundations and practice using the tools of Biomimicry to solve resilience challenges. Your instructors will guide your discovery of life’s amazing strategies in local ecosystems and how these strategies can inspire solutions to human challenges. This course is designed for students and professionals who want to learn the core principles and practices of Biomimicry and how they relate to resilience.

Register by February 15th
Sunday 6/4/2017 – Thursday 8/8/2017
Gloucester MA

– Arc – is here: connecting the building performance

By Marisa Long, USGBC

Arc’s mission is to connect all actions through a single platform that delivers a higher quality of life

Washington, D.C. — (Dec. 1, 2016) — A new technology company, Arc Skoru Inc., officially launched today by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). This new venture will be the official host for Arc, a state-of-the-art digital platform available at arcskoru.com. Arc allows any project — whether a single building, a community or an entire city — to measure improvements and benchmark against itself and projects around it.

Scot Horst, who has overseen and led the development of LEED since 2005, has been appointed as the CEO of Arc.

“GBCI developed Arc as a way to provide new and more transparent ways to share information,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, U.S. Green Building Council and GBCI. “Scot Horst brings many years of leadership and expertise to Arc, and we celebrate him in his new role as the CEO. For the past 11 years, Scot has led the evolution of LEED through LEED 2009 and LEED v4. He was also the chief inventor of the LEED Dynamic Plaque, a system designed to tie ongoing building performance to initial certification.”

The goal of Arc is to support the missions of USGBC and GBCI. LEED-certified buildings can use Arc to improve and benchmark against other certified buildings around them. Existing buildings that have not certified can use Arc to make incremental sustainability improvements to eventually achieve LEED certification.

“Arc allows buildings, communities and cities to compare their performance against their peers and also connect to vetted green building strategies,” said Scot Horst, CEO, Arc. “Over the last two decades LEED certification has become a symbol of leadership, signifying that a project is saving energy, resources and water, and is healthier for occupants and the community. A LEED building has become the mark of a high quality building. Now through the Arc platform, all buildings can improve and work toward LEED certification.”

Today more than ever before, the green building movement relies on technology and data, and the future of green buildings is focused on performance. Arc represents a new era for green building; the platform takes LEED to the next level through the shared use of technology, feedback and recognition of excellence.

About the Arc platform:

  • Arc is a simple digital platform for all projects pursuing LEED certification and will eventually include other green building rating systems, standards protocols and guidelines.
  • Arc is inclusive of all projects, even those not pursuing certification, so that all buildings can measure performance and make incremental improvements.
  • Arc facilitates connections to people and projects globally. It encourages innovation, enabling informed decisions on building design, operations and maintenance.

Features of the current Arc platform include:

  • Existing buildings can use Arc to earn LEED Operations + Maintenance certification and precertification using the O+M performance path.
  • Projects that are currently pursuing and planning to register for the LEED for Existing Buildings standard path can also use Arc for performance data reporting.
  • Cities, communities and districts can use Arc to start tracking data and earn LEED pre-certification.
  • All registered and previously certified LEED projects have access to Arc to keep their LEED certification up to date. Project leads can also use Arc for performance data tracking and reporting as per the initial requirements in LEED for data sharing.
  • Projects previously using the LEED Dynamic Plaque will be included in Arc.

The O+M performance path was approved by the LEED Steering Committee in January 2016 and the LEED for Cities Pilot was approved by the LEED steering committee in October 2016. LEED for Cities will be submitted for USGBC member approval following input from pilot users.

Over time, Arc will continue to add rating systems into the platform. The platform provides an entry point for all buildings with the goal of eventually certifying them to LEED or to other GBCI rating systems such as GRESB, WELL, PEER, SITES, Parksmart, etc. As GBCI adds new rating systems, the introduction of Arc makes the certification process as streamlined as possible for the end user. Projects pursuing certification under more than one rating system will realize efficiencies in places where the rating systems share the same or similar requirements.

About Arc

Arc Skoru Inc. was created by GBCI to make USGBC, GBCI and their partners’ visions a reality by connecting people all over the world to actions and inspiring them to make the most informed decisions. This empowers people to connect and collaborate toward a collective higher quality of life. Arc Skoru is the go-to place to track all of the inspirations, connections and actions related to the sustainability of our built environment.

Arc Skoru uses its Arc platform to allow users to measure performance, make improvements and benchmark against other projects. Arc is a complement to LEED and other green building rating systems, standards, protocols and guidelines and allows buildings and spaces to compare performance metrics and connect those metrics to green building strategies. Arc enables incremental improvements and can put a project on track for LEED or other rating system certification. arcskoru.com

Look Forward to Building Cleantech: Smart Cities in Early 2017!

By USGBC MA


Last year's Building Tech Forum was so much fun, that we decided to do it again in 2017! This event will focus on real estate industry leaders coming together to address the problems of building performance, and working on ways to improve it. Firms and individuals will all meet to tackle these issues head-on and move forward. 

We are in a period of extreme urbanization. Around the world, urbanization is taking form with new development. How does this need for more space, converge with resilience, limited/dated grid infrastructure, and emissions? As we pursue, net-zero energy or push on to net-zero carbon, how do our singular building designs connect with the grid of the future? What challenges, emerging technology or opportunities do we see on the horizon of this transition?

We're still solidifying the details of next year's event, but we want you to save the date and get psyched for the details to come!

See pictures from last's years event here.

Healthy Materials Sponsor Profile: Mats Inc.

By Alexander Landa


Following the Healthy Materials Summit in October, we've become more devoted than ever to the subject of healthy materials in sustainable design. Every part of a building's lifecycle is important, and the components going into it are crucial. Mats Inc. has proven to be a leader in sustainability, and we want to thank them for being a sponsor of the Summit!

For more than 40 years, Mats Inc. has been a leader in commercial matting and flooring solutions, known for their award-winning product designs, deep stocking levels, and top of the line service. Their products are a great mix of functionality, aesthetics, and being environmentally-friendly.

What makes Mats Inc really stand out in our community is their devotion to green solutions and sustainability. Their flooring options support LEED design strategies and the environmental goals of their clients. Their products contribute to LEED projects and Living Building Challenge initiatives involving fiber products that are Green Label Plus, rubber products made from recycled tires, and long-lasting distinctive flooring options. We can get beyond this!

We thank Mats Inc. and hope to see them again at a future event!

We Thank YOU For Helping Us on Giving Tuesday!

By Alexander Landa


Yesterday was Giving Tuesday, and it was a massive success – all thanks to YOU! Our community is awesome, and we're so happy to have great people interacting with us every day, all for #MoreGreenBuildings. With all of your generous contributions and time, we raised nearly $2000 – all going to our community, such as student scholarships and advocacy campaigns.

It's contributions like this that give us a reason to keep fighting for net-positive buildings and a more sustainable future, for us, and for future generations. You're the reason we do what we do, through your support, and as motivation to keep pushing.

We hope that you continue supporting our organization. If you're still moved to help us, you can donate to our Facebook campaign here.

If you missed out on what Giving Tuesday is exactly, you can learn more about this charitable day by reading here.

Read Grey Lee's thoughts on what we're fighting for in our organization.

Women in Design Mistletoe Mingle & Holiday Charity Party 12/7

By USGBC MA


On December 7th, the Women in Design group in partnership with the USGBC MA will be hosting the Mistletoe Mingle, meant to benefit Rosie's Place.

Rosie's Place supports poor and homeless women by collecting monetary and material donations to give to women in need. Everything gathered from this event will go right to this generous charity.

Come next week, bring donations, bring a friend, and get ready to have some fun!

Register here
Wednesday, December 7th, 2016
6:00PM – 9:00PM EST
290 Congress Street
#200
Boston, MA, 02210

What is Giving Tuesday and How Can You Help?

By Alexander Landa


We've been talking a lot about Giving Tuesday the past week, but it's all for a good reason. This is the biggest day of the year for non-profits such as ours, as we celebrate our contributions towards our community, and our plans moving forward. Everything we do is for the greater good – a mission that can't be done alone, which is why we rely on our contributors to make all of this happen. 

If you donate through Facebook, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match your gift. That's a HUGE deal for us. $5 becomes $10, $25 becomes $50, and so on. We can really make massive strides in one day.


Giving Tuesday is recognized as the first Tuesday following the string of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and then Cyber Monday. On this global day of giving, observed primarily on social media and group collaboration, non-profits make a call for holiday and end-of-year giving. Now is also a good time to get involved as a volunteer.

Your support makes a difference. Everything goes into our organization, and in turn, we use it for student scholarships, advocacy, service projects, and more.

Thank you for being a part of our community!

What do we want? More Green Buildings!

 

Supporting your future by supporting us

By Grey Lee, Executive Director


Green Building Advocates, 

I am stuffed from the recent holiday…but I am still hungry!

We have so much work to do. And now it's #GivingTuesday. Allow me to ask for your help, yet again.

I hope that you all had a great long weekend of giving thanks and connecting with loved ones. I can only imagine the diversity of discourse at your Thanksgiving tables. We are a creative bunch, and our families reflect the pluralism of the country. I love talking up green buildings with my less-green relatives. Our mission and programming is notably supported by all facets of our society. 

We connect voices and offer a market-smart solution which provides broad community benefits.

Green buildings mean more jobs, more skilled workers, less money out the door for operating expenses, and better investments. Green b uildings also mean: healthier buildings, decreased GHG emissions, more resilient designs and stronger, more inclusive cities. 

Our mission and the impact of our organization is so expansive and deep rooted that when examined, we should be at the top of any charitable giving list. I know it may sound presumptive, but green buildings really are “the answer” to a lot of things we are concerned about!

Our mission addresses the 40% of GHG emissions which come from buildings – an eminently practical solution to a global crisis. O ur mission promotes significantly healthier indoor environments where Americans spend 90% of their time – with the potential to decrease many health risks. 

Green building will account for $13.6 billion in contribution to GDP; 155,000 jobs; $9.12 billion in labor earnings; and $279 million in tax revenue by 2018. If you are involved with our organization and reading this, you are most likely part of these numbers. 

We often refer to green buildings as high performance buildings, designs consisting of many technological advances offering exceptional results. It's exciting to be a part of the future of real estate!


What we see green buildings being is the harmony of leadership at many different levels. Clients, who see the value of building efficient, healthy and socially equitable structures as a reflection of the ir corporate values; designers pushing the limit of traditional design norms and code as the base standard; manufacturers showing leadership by re-engineering their products to support values at all points in their life-cycle; and occupants for demanding a revolution in the building industry. 

The USGBC MA is the only organization which is working to connect all these voices, provide market solutions , and take significant steps towards responding to the honest concerns you may have voiced or heard voiced at the Thanksgiving table.

Can you help us take it to the next level? Can you help us with the massive task of transforming our built environment for net positive results?  
 

Our organization can only work at the pace of our funding, so we ask you now, in the spirit of Giving Tuesday, in the spirit of the holidays, in the spirit of not letting another lousy building go up ever again, please support our work.
 
With your support in the past year, we organized hundreds of hours of volunteer service. We educated and inspired thousands of event attendees with green building content. We raised the solar net metering caps, supported net-zero municipal policy and successfully passed legislation for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) in our advocacy work. Massachusetts went from #5 to #3 in the union for LEED per square foot. We supported industry-transforming research at Harvard connecting green buildings to improved cognitive function, and we built coalitions of allies to expand our influence in real estate, academia, building operations, solar deployment and the general environmental advocacy community.

If this resonates with you, please donate.
 
We are asking for everyone to donate: the amount is up to you. The challenge of transforming the building sector is daunting, and we are needed now more than ever. We value your support and will continue to serve you through our mission. Thank you for being an engaged member of our community. 


Best wishes,

Grey