Get on those bikes and ride!

By Grey Lee, Executive Director

It's time for our annual Green Building Bike Tour!

Join us on September 17th, 2016.

Link here to register.

This year, our Emerging Professional crew has organized an adventure to East Boston. Have you been there lately?

Biking is one of the best ways to see the city in all its varietal wonder, and this tour is a unique opportunity to hear insights into recent sustainable building and development projects. 

We will ride along the East Boston Greenway, to hit a diverse spread of sights and scenes. We'll consider climate exposure risks that need to be evaluated in the development process. 


 

Come view how some projects are getting that right, and be prepared for an atypical and highly informative exploration of landscape architecture along our bike tour stops.

 Bring your helmet for safety, bike lock for when you go in the buildings and good vibes for this fun event. Sign up now!

 


 

 

 

One Week from Today: Tour 2 Living Buildings for Free!

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

Join us on our tour of the R.W. Kern Center and the Hitchcock Center in Amherst!

Friday, August 12 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
893 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002

Register here or below. (It's free, but feel free to donate!)

The Living Building Challenge is the built environment’s most rigorous performance standard. Its goal is to create building projects “that operate as cleanly, beautifully and efficiently as nature’s architecture.” To be certified under the Challenge, projects must meet a series of ambitious performance requirements, including Net Zero energy, and Net Zero waste and water, and avoiding the use of any ‘Red List’ materials.

Bruner/Cott's R.W. Kern Center, an LBC project at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA and the Hitchcock Center (also in Amherst, MA) are new, low-impact flagship buildings. Read about Bruner/Cott, a Silver Sponsor of ours, here!

During the three-hour event, we will spend 90 min at the R.W. Kern Center, then transition to the Hitchcock Center for the remainder of the event. Each site will have a walking tour of the mechanical rooms, floor plan and landscape. The tour will be lead by the builders, designers and Living Building Collaborative members who contributed to the project. 

 

 

Newly-Certified LEED Buildings in MA! (July)

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

We love hearing about all the Green Building that's going on! Here are some of the buildings that were LEED Certified in July.

Maybe we'll see some of these buildings at our Green Building Showcase this year!

Click here to learn more about LEED.

Aspuru-Guzik Laboratory (LEED Gold)

12 Oxford Street, Cambridge
LEED-CI v2009
Registered December 8, 2014; Certified July 28, 2016
63/110 Points (Gold)
4,664 square feet

Nichols College Academic Center ( LEED Gold)

Nichols' year old Academic Building
image source
124 Center Road, Dudley
LEED-NC v2009
Registered November 18, 2013; Certified July 27, 2016
61/110 Points (Gold)
29,339 square feet

New East Bridgewater Jr/Sr High School (LEED Silver)

image source
11 Plymouth Street, East Bridgewater
LEED FOR SCHOOLS v2009
Registered November 22, 2010; Certified July 25, 2016
51/110 Points (Silver)
213,584 square feet

TripAdvisor Center 128 (LEED Silver)


image source
400 First Avenue, Needham
LEED-CS v2009
Registered August 13, 2013; Certified July 25, 2016
58/110 Points (Silver)
288,092 square feet

Western MA Regionial Women's Correctional Center (LEED Gold)

image source
701 Center Street, Chicopee
LEED-NC v2009
Registered June 10, 2011; Certified July 18, 2016
63/110 Points (Gold)
28,477 square feet

22 Federal Street (LEED Gold)

image source
22 Federal Street, Nantucket
LEED-NC v2009
Registered October 27, 2014; Certified July 14, 2016
60/110 Points (Gold)
5,597 square feet

265 Franklin Street (LEED Gold)


image source
265 Franklin Street, Boston
LEED-EB:OM v2009
Registered November 20, 2009; Certified July 12, 2016
65/110 Points (Gold)
368,061 square feet

Educational Opportunities at USGBC MA!

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

Looking to maintain accreditation or become accredited? Look no further; we've got you covered!

We have educational opportunities ranging from exam preparatory courses for LEED and WELL, to in-person webinar presentations, to general informational sessions about WELL, the Living Building Challenge, and other building standards!

Check out:

Pictured above: Jennifer Taranto leads part of our WELL Exam Prep Course on June 16.

Showcase Countdown: Get Your Early Bird Tickets!

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

The Green Building Showcase is an excellent opportunity to showcase and celebrate exceptional green buildings! Join us for an entertaining evening of learning, networking, and rejoicing. Early Bird tickets are on sale for a little more than two weeks, so get yours now!

Register here or below.

Over 100 projects will be on display, and more than 300 leaders in our industry will be in attendance for this open bar reception and entertaining collection of green buildings.

We have Sponsorship Opportunities and special deals for anyone looking to display a project or win an award! Check out our Green Building Showcase webpages for more details.

 

 

Two Weeks from Today: a Workshop on Eco-Districts!

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

In the workshop, you'll learn how to transform existing neighborhoods into ones that are resilient, sustainable, and socially just.

Tuesday, August 16 from 8:30am to 10:30am
“Woolf” Room, 18th Floor, 50 Milk Street, Boston

Register here or below.

Our speaker, Eric Corey Freed, is an envoy for Ecodistricts. Join us as we get the latest on how the program is expanding, supporting improved communities and the neighborhood scale. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • discover a new process for bringing together community leaders, developers, architects and planners to develop sustainable neighborhoods
  • find ways to plan and incorporate district scale, net zero energy and water systems
  • develop a roadmap for planning goals, development targets and methods to galvanize support for your community

 

 

Image source: http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/dumai/61765562/47662/47662_original.jpg

In TWO Days: We're touring a Zero Net Energy Lab!

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

Join us to tour and learn about the recently completed John J. Sbrega, Health and Science Building at Bristol Community College (BCC) in Fall River, MA. 
 
August 4th 2016, 5:30 PM – 8 PM
John J. Sbrega, Health and Science Building (777 Elsbree Street, Fall River, MA 02720)
 
Agenda: 
5:30pm to 6:30pm – Social Hour 
6:30pm to 7:30pm – Building and Lab Tour 
7:30pm to 8:00pm – Networking 
 
Organized and hosted by I2SL New England.
The 50,000-sf building brings together currently disparate programs from across campus, including chemistry, biology and medical and dental education. It holds an energy-dense program, including 18 fume hoods, high plug loads and specific ventilation and lighting requirements. 
  
Initially designed to meet the statutory requirement of Massachusetts LEED Silver Plus, BCC doubled-down on their commitment to achieving carbon neutrality for their entire campus operations by the year 2050. This new campus goal encouraged Sasaki Architects and BR+A Consulting Engineers to develop a zero-net-energy (ZNE) design in parallel with the high-performance design. 
  
A synergistic combination of old and new technologies was chosen. The ZNE design relies on a hybrid ground-source/air-source heat pump system, 13 filtered fume hoods, enthalpy wheel heat recovery, central air quality monitoring, fan-coil units with EC motors, 50% lighting power density reduction, a high-performance envelope with thermally broken assemblies and natural ventilation systems. 
  
Come hear the challenges, lessons learned and outcome of this first ZNE lab design in the Northeast as the architects and engineers lead the tour! 
  
We look forward to seeing everyone!
 

August Already?? See what we have in store this month!

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

Read the full newsletter here for helpful images and descriptions!

Educational Events to fill your brain!

Eco-Districts: A New Model of Urban Re-Generation
(Tues, 8/16, morning)

New Approaches to Designing Net Zero Buildings
(Wed, 8/17, morning)

WELL: Introduction + Discussion (Tues, 8/23, morning)

WELL AP Exam Prep (Thurs, 8/18, full day)

LEED GA Exam Prep (Wed, 8/24, full day)
 

Green Building Tours!

Zero Net Energy Tour: Bristol Community College Lab
(Thurs, 8/4, evening)

Living Building Challenge Tour: Hampshire College + Hitchcock Center
(Fri, 8/12, afternoon)
 

Volunteer!

Boston GreenFest (Fri 8/19 – Sun 8/21)
Learn about the event here.

Coming up SOON!

**Green Building Showcase 2016**
(Thurs, 9/22, evening)

Green Apple Day of Service (GADOS)
(Sat, 9/24)

Greenbuild 2016 (Wed 10/5 – Fri 10/7)
 


Click here
for the full newsletter!!

 

Advocacy Update: MA Legislature passes Act to Promote Energy Diversity

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

On Sunday night, the Massachusetts legislature delivered an energy bill out of conference committee and rapidly voted to approve it in both chambers.

The text of the bill is available here.

We are glad that CPACE made it into the final mix, including the renewables portion that had been stripped in the House version. The bill has complexities – see below from our colleagues in the Mass Power Forward coalition.

 

The following note is from Krysia Wazny, of the Acadia Center, outlining their interpretation of the big energy bill.

 

BOSTON, August 1, 2016 — Leaders of the Alliance for Clean Energy Solutions (ACES), a coalition of business groups, clean energy companies, environmental organizations, health and consumer representatives dedicated to advancing clean energy for Massachusetts, applauded the Massachusetts Legislature for passing An Act to Promote Energy Diversity this weekend and call upon Governor Charlie Baker to sign the comprehensive energy legislation into law to ensure Massachusetts remains on its path towards a clean energy future. 

 

“This bill is a huge step on the path to a clean energy future,” said Peter Shattuck, Massachusetts Director of Acadia Center and co-leader of ACES. “The legislation solidifies the Commonwealth's leadership in reducing carbon pollution and will help reduce our growing over-reliance on natural gas.” 

 

“The Massachusetts Legislature has passed a bill that will not only accelerate the deployment of clean energy, but will also serve to accelerate our economy by providing a stable policy framework for investors and developers of clean energy,” said NECEC Executive Vice President Janet Gail Besser, co-leader of ACES. “We commend the Legislature for including Class 1 eligible renewable energy resources, offshore wind, energy storage, fuel cells, commercial clean energy financing, and other key policies that will make Massachusetts' energy more cost-competitive, reliable, and clean for future generations.” 

 

Over the last year, Alliance members worked to promote policies to enable the Commonwealth to achieve its climate commitments while protecting consumers and the environment, and many of these priorities were reflected in the final bill: 

 

Large-Scale Clean Energy Procurements — procurements of 9.45 terawatt hours of Renewable Portfolio (RPS)-eligible resources (such as onshore wind) and hydroelectricity, which will facilitate cost-effective achievement of the RPS, replace retiring generation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and diversify our electricity supply. 

 

Pairing of Wind and Hydroelectricity — support for bundled procurements of RPS-eligible resources (such as onshore wind) and hydropower in order to drive in-region development and maximize efficient use of transmission for clean energy. 

 

Offshore Wind — phased procurement of 1600 megawatts of offshore wind in order to tap Massachusetts' world-class offshore wind resource and develop a sustainable industry in Massachusetts. 

 

Energy Procurement Standards and Criteria — provisions to ensure competitive procurement of cost-effective clean energy resources through a process that protects against self-dealing, ensures reliability, price stability, affordability for all income levels. 

 

Energy Storage — authorization for the Department of Energy Resources to develop procurement targets and incentives for utilities, households, and businesses to deploy cost-effective energy storage technology that integrates renewable energy sources and improves the operation of the grid.   

 

Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) — expansion of energy efficiency and clean energy financing options for commercial customers by leveraging private funds, while ensuring consumer protections and aligning with existing energy efficiency objectives. 

 

Distributed Energy Resources — support for small hydropower and fuel cells will contribute to the diversity of the Commonwealth's electricity supply and economic development. 

 

ACES sought additional provisions which were not included in the final bill, including increasing the Renewable Portfolio Standard, provisions to avoid, minimize, and mitigate environmental impacts of energy projects, prohibiting gas pipeline subsidies, creation of oil heat energy efficiency programs, measures to increase electric vehicle uptake, and Community Empowerment. However, the final bill represents a strong commitment to clean energy leadership, and ACES encourages Governor Charlie Baker to ensure Massachusetts' place as a clean energy leader by signing the bill and implementing the sound provisions it includes.

 

About ACES: The Alliance for Clean Energy Solutions (ACES) is a “coalition of coalitions” comprised of business groups, clean energy companies, environmental organizations, labor, health, and consumer advocates dedicated to advancing clean energy for Massachusetts. ACES is committed to ensuring that those charged with shaping Massachusetts' energy policies have the most rigorous, current data on the benefits and costs of clean energy. Our goal is to ensure that the Commonwealth can attain a cost-effective, reliable and diverse energy supply to power its businesses, communities and households, which will reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, create a stable and prosperous business environment and meet the Commonwealth's greenhouse gas emissions requirements. For more information: acesma.org

Members Include: Acadia Center, Alliance for Business Leadership, Climate Action Business Association, Clean Water Action, E4theFuture, Energy Storage Association, Environment Massachusetts, Environmental Entrepreneurs, Environmental League of Massachusetts, Health Care Without Harm, Mass Audubon, Mass Energy Consumers Alliance, Northeast Clean Energy Council, Northeast Energy Efficiency Council, RENEW Northeast, Solar Energy Business Association of New England, Union of Concerned Scientists, US Green Building Council Massachusetts Chapter, Vote Solar.

Still perplexed about the buzz surrounding WELL?

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

We're hosting an introductory session about the building standard focused on human health and well-being.

Tuesday, August 23 from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
50 Milk Street, Boston (“Aristotle” Room, Floor 15)

Register here or below.

The WELL Building Standard was recently created to help design buildings that are better for human health. We anticipate that this building standard will greatly impact the building process and the types of buildings that are constructed in the future.

To bring as many people up to speed with this new standard, we have organized an introductory session at our headquarters. This session will be beneficial for professionals from all sectors of the building industry: owners, engineers, builders and occupants interested in the new standard are encouraged to attend!