Mass Moving on Up at #3: Top LEED State in the Nation

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager

U.S. Green Building Council Announces Massachusetts is Third State in the Nation for LEED Washington, D.C. — (Jan 26, 2016) — Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its national ranking of the top states in the country for LEED green building and Massachusetts is the third state in the nation for 2015. The rankings come at an important time for states looking to reduce their energy use. LEED-certified spaces use less energy and water resources, save money for families, businesses and taxpayers, reduce carbon emissions and create a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.

“The State of Massachusetts is a nationwide leader in green building and LEED certification. LEED creates jobs and increases opportunities for Massachusetts’s workers and businesses while contributing billions of dollars to the state’s economy,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair of USGBC. “LEED has become an essential standard for the transformation of building design and construction. LEED certified buildings drive economic growth, creates jobs and makes communities healthier.”  

The annual ranking is developed by analyzing each state in terms of square feet of LEED certified space per state resident. Now in its sixth year, the list highlights states throughout the country that made significant strides in sustainable building design, construction and transformation throughout 2015. Massachusetts certified 112 projects representing 19,850,624 square feet of real estate, or 3.03 square feet per resident, in 2015.

“Massachusetts' innovative spirit and champion attitude drive performance in our building sector,” said Grey Lee, executive director, USGBC-Massachusetts Chapter. “The USGBC Massachusetts Chapter is proud to represent the high-achievement professionals of the green building industry who have worked hard on the creation of LEED certified space. From major existing building retrofits to the creative design of new and resilient structures, our professionals and advocates are supporting the implementation of best practices in real estate and ensuring Massachusetts remains the market with the best investment opportunities in the country.”

In addition, data from USGBC’s 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study show LEED construction is expected to support 155,000 total jobs in Massachusetts and have a total impact on GDP of $13.6 billion from 2015-2018.

A few notable projects that certified in Massachusetts in 2015 include: 

  • Boston Logan ConRAC-Phase 1; LEED Gold 
  • Troy Boston; LEED Gold 
  • One Financial Center; LEED Gold 
  • New Douglas Elementary School in Douglas; LEED Silver

The full ranking of the top 10 states for 2015 includes: 

Rank 

  1. Illinois 
  2. Maryland 
  3. Massachusetts 
  4. Washington 
  5. Colorado 
  6. Nevada 
  7. California 
  8. Texas 
  9. Virginia 
  10. Utah 
  • Washington, D.C. (not ranked as it is a federal district, not a state)

Collectively, 1,633 commercial and institutional projects became LEED certified within the Top 10 States in 2015, representing 274.9 million square feet of real estate. Worldwide, 4,837 projects were certified in 2015, representing 818.9 million square feet. Nearly 75,000 projects representing 14.4 billion square feet of space have been LEED-certified to date.

USGBC calculates the list using per-capita figures as a measure of the human element of green building. This also allows for fair comparisons among states with significant differences in population and number of buildings.

LEED Certification Update: New in 2016

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager

Published on Written by Posted in LEED

 

Reinstating our monthly feature, we take a look at LEED certification activity since January 1, 2016 broken out by rating system and location, as well as newly certified LEED projects in the news.

Be sure to check out the LEED project directory or the State and Homes Market Briefs for a closer look at LEED projects in your area. You can also visit the Country Market Briefs or the Green Building Information Gateway to analyze LEED trends around the world.

 

Certification Level Projects Certified Square Footage Certified
Certified 47 3.6 million
Silver 39 4.6 million
Gold 65 15.3 million
Platinum 15 4.5 million
Total 166 28 million

 

Rating System Projects Gross Square Footage
LEED for Retail (CI) Pilot 1 94,243
LEED for Schools 1 63,795
LEED v4 ID+C: Retail 1 2,000
LEED-CI 2.0 1 10,521
LEED-CI Retail v2009 32 86,431
LEED-CI v2009 15 1,185,565
LEED-CS 2.0> 1 120,051
LEED-CS v2009 20 4,956,331
LEED-EB:OM v2009 25 11,872,578
LEED-HOMES v2008 9 846,382
LEED-NC 2.2 7 2,086,172
LEED-NC Retail v2009 2 9,984
LEED-NC v2009 51 6,638,664
Total 166 27,972,717

 

Rating System Single Family Projects Certified Multifamily Projects Certified Total projects Certified Total Square Footage Certified
Homes 2 7 9 846,382

 

Countries Projects Gross Square Footage
Argentina 1 21,404
Brazil 4 520,083
Canada 3 4,600
China 6 2,037,344
China, Hong Kong 2 549,169
Colombia 1 64,046
Czech Republic 2 1,432,960
Finland 1 223,968
Germany 1 747,239
India 3 207,781
Indonesia 2 279,219
Mexico> 4 773,390
Peru 1 94,243
Philippines 1 304,309
Republic of Korea 1 1,310,313
Russian Federation 1 554,395
Spain 3 231,746
Sweden 2 327,916
Taiwan 2 1,835,611
Turkey 1 213,617
United States 124 16,239,365
Total 166 27,972,718

   

Starting 2016 Off With A Bang!

By Molly Cox, Residential Green Building Committee

The USGBC Annual Meeting on January 21st, 2016 was a big hit. As a new Chapter member of the Residential Green Building Committee (RGBC), I could not have been more inspired by the talent that surrounded me. So much was accomplished by all Committee members in 2015, and I can tell we are more motivated than ever to raise the bar in 2016.


You can see photos of the event on this album.


We have new board members! 

New Directors:

Julie Conroy of MAPC
Darien Crimmin of Winn Development
John Markowitz of MassDevelopment
Johanna Jobin of Biogen
Sarah Brylinski of MIT 
Steven Burke of SMMA
Samira Ahmadi of AHA

Returning:

Ben Myers of Boston Properties
Andrea Love of Payette


There was an overwhelming (in a good way) sense of passion in the room, of volunteers who are truly trying to make a difference. These people really believe in our mission. The event allowed for like-minded individuals of various Committees to share their interests, experiences, and goals. It seemed to me that each Committee is only getting larger, and staying as committed as can be.

Shining Star of the Chapter: Phoebe Beierle

Stepper-Uppers: Jessie Miller, Kimberly Le, Brice Hereford

New Hit Wonders: Colleen Brisport, Mark Pignatelli, Suzy O'Leary

Special: John DiModica & Dan Whittet

Fundraiser Rockers: Ben Myers & Jim Newman

Emerging Professionals of the Year: Vinoth Kumar Sekar & Rebecca Slocum

Noteworthy Mention: Stephanie MacNeil, Kristin Malyak, Matt Smith, Ryan Montoni, Marie Nolan, Alana Spencer, Suzy O'Leary, Mark Dunn, Laura Fitch, Aelan Tierney, Jared Gentilucci, Craig Foley, David Bliss, Bill Tobin, Kate Bubriski, Adrian Charest


Thank you to Celis and Grey for their enthusiasm and energy towards the work USGBC has accomplished, and for sharing exciting news.

 

Reflecting back on 2015:

  • MA was ranked third in possessing the most per-capita LEED buildings.
  • Many people received special recognition for their efforts in their respective Committees in 2015.

Looking ahead into 2016:

  • USGBC will be hosting Greenbuild in Los Angeles, CA
  • In case you missed in, Greenbuild will be in BOSTON in 2017
  • Congratulations to the new board members, and those returning!

 

After the meeting, we all convened at the Vanderbilt Kitchen and Bar, to continue the conversation at a networking event hosted by our Residential Green Building Committee.

 

Annual General Meeting + A New Board!

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to our Annual General Meeting!  We were happy to see many familiar faces of our dedicated volunteers, as well as a few newcomers. We're grateful for all of our members that share their time and expertise to advance our mission.

Stay tuned for an exciting announcement next about the Massachusetts green building industry– congratulations in advance to all those who played a part. Continuous advancement of green buildings in our state motivates us to keep up the great work!

The other highlight of the evening was the announcement of our new board members. We will share more information about the board in the near future, but here are the eagerly awaited names. Thank you to everyone who voted.

New Directors:

  • Julie Conroy of the Metroploitan Area Planning Association (MAPC)
  • Darien Crimmin of Winn Development
  • John Markowitz of MassDevelopment
  • Johanna Jobin of Biogen
  • Sarah Brylinski of MIT
  • Steven Burke of SMMA
  • Samira Ahmadi of AHA Consulting Engineers

Returning:

  • Ben Myers of Boston Properties
  • Andrea Love of Payette Associate

Our Chapter is looking forward to an eventful 2016, with even MORE green buildings!

 








Limited Space Left for Thursday's Breakfast with Susanne Rasmussen

By Ryan Duffy, Communications Fellow

Net-Zero in Cambridge

In December 2013, the City of Cambridge created the “Getting to Net Zero Task Force” charged with advancing the goal of setting Cambridge on the trajectory towards becoming a “net zero community”, with focus on carbon emissions from building operations. This includes reducing energy use intensity of buildings and taking advantage of opportunities to harvest energy from renewable sources. To guide this process, a committee comprised of residents, community advocates, business and property owners, developers and representatives of local universities was assembled. This committee worked collaboratively with a team of technical consultants and City staff to examine strategies and develop recommendations that reduce carbon emissions through efficient design and retrofits, improved operations and renewable energy generation. The Task Force developed comprehensive, actionable, long and short term recommendations. In June 2015, a 25-year Net Zero Action Plan, endorsed by stakeholders across the Cambridge community, was adopted by City Council.    

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Susanne Rasmussen is director of the Environmental and TransportationPlanning Division in the Cambridge Community Development Department and has more than 20 years of experience in the implementation of environmental policies and programs.  She is responsible for climate change mitigation and resiliency planning including engaging residents and business in this effort.  She oversees the development of new energy and transportation policies and implementation of a variety of programs and projects in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, multi-modal infrastructure, and transportation demand management.  

Prior to joining the City of Cambridge Susanne was a senior manager for a non-profit energy service company and a land use planner in a major metropolitan city.   Susanne Rasmussen has a master’s degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s in Civil Engineering and Planning from the University of Aalborg in Denmark. 

Coffee and a light breakfast will be provided with your registration. There are only a handful of remaining seats, so reserve yours today!

State of the Union 2016: Obama’s focus on environment

By Nora Knox

 

Last week, President Obama delivered the 2016 State of the Union. In his remarks, he declared that as a nation we must make technology work for us when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change.

In last year's address, the president emphasized that “no challenge—poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.” This year, he stressed that now is the time to commit to developing clean energy sources.

“Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You’ll be pretty lonely, because you’ll be debating our military, most of America’s business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a problem and intend to solve it.

But even if the planet wasn’t at stake; even if 2014 wasn’t the warmest year on record—until 2015 turned out even hotter—why would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses to produce and sell the energy of the future?

Seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in clean energy in our history. Here are the results. In fields from Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional power. On rooftops from Arizona to New York, solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills, and employs more Americans than coal—in jobs that pay better than average. We’re taking steps to give homeowners the freedom to generate and store their own energy—something environmentalists and Tea Partiers have teamed up to support. Meanwhile, we’ve cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly sixty percent, and cut carbon pollution more than any other country on Earth.

Gas under two bucks a gallon ain’t bad, either.

Now we’ve got to accelerate the transition away from dirty energy. Rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future—especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. That’s why I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet. That way, we put money back into those communities and put tens of thousands of Americans to work building a 21st century transportation system.

None of this will happen overnight, and yes, there are plenty of entrenched interests who want to protect the status quo. But the jobs we’ll create, the money we’ll save, and the planet we’ll preserve—that’s the kind of future our kids and grandkids deserve.”

The president also reminded Congress that in the past year, the United States “led nearly 200 nations to the most ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change—that helps vulnerable countries, but it also protects our children.”

He closed with faith that the American people will uphold our obligations as citizens:

“To vote. To speak out. To stand up for others, especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us. To stay active in our public life so it reflects the goodness and decency and optimism that I see in the American people every single day.”

Read the full transcript

New Advocacy Intern, Anthony Lucivero

By Anthony Lucivero, Advocacy Fellow


Greetings, U.S. Green Building Council readers! My name is Anthony, and I am extremely excited to come aboard as the new Advocacy Fellow. I attended UMass Amherst for my undergraduate degree in Political Science.  However, during my senior year, I took a course entitled “Sustainable Cities.”  This sparked a great interest in environmental policy and sustainable design, which grew into a major passion and drove me to pursue graduate school. I completed my Master's degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management this past November from Harvard Extension School. 

I previously worked with Grey, our Chapter's Executive Director, at the Sierra Club as part of a coalition concerned with updating the stretch energy code in Massachusetts.  I am looking forward to an eventful and productive spring at the U.S. Green Building Council!

Chapter Endorsement for Joint Statement on Solar Policy Reform

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow

Last wek, our Chapter–along with 61 other Massachusetts organizations–endorsed the Acadia Center's Joint Statement on Solar Policy. The endorsers, which represent a variety of stakeholders in solar policy, include: business groups, labor, solar companies and organizations, environmental and clean-energy advocates, low-income advocates, religious groups, and community groups.

This broad coalition is pushing for more comprehensive and sustainable solar policy legislation. The statement is a follow-up to the 2015 Next Generation Solar Policy Framework–also endorsed by our Chapter. The endorsers of this Joint Statement strongly oppose House bill H. 3854, and appreciate the Senate's efforts to find a compromise to lift the net-metering caps. This document was sent to legislators to provide an overview of constructive, long-term solutions that will advance solar in Massachusetts, and to highlight the coalition's two most significant objections to the House Bill: 


  1. Problem: No Arbitrary Cuts to Solar Net Metering Credits

    • Cuts to net-metering value should not be made without official public analysis of the benefits and costs of solar. Significant reductions would risk losing the important benefits that solar provides to all ratepayers.
    • Reductions to net-metering credit value would make it virtually impossible to build communtiy solar and low-income solar projects.
  2. Problem: Imposition of Minimum Bills
    • ​​Specifically, this coalition has a problem with two features of this problematic policy:
    1. The language in the bill is in favor of the utilities, resulting in the highest possible minimum bills. In MA rate cases, utilities argue that distribution costs are fixed, reported to be around $30 per resident. This could mean $360 in annual minimum bills for residential solar customers, and potentially much higher bills for larger solar customers such as municipalities or busineses.
    2. Limited grandfathering: Customers and generators with existing investments should be protected from new charges. 

The Joint Statement provides a brief overview of the constructive, sustainable solutions posed in the Next Generation Framework, proposed to legislators in Fall 2015, with one additional component. The key elements of the Framework are:

  1. Suspend and then eliminate the caps on net metering, which undermine solar development without providing benefits to ratepayers.
  2. Initiate an official, publicly-scrutinized analysis of the benefits and costs of solar generation to ratepayers and society at large.
  3.  For certain categories of projects, align the value of net metering credits with the long-run value of solar generation to ratepayers, including any appropriate charges for use of the grid.
  4. Reduce ratepayer costs by reforming the solar renewable energy credit (SREC) programs.
  5. Grandfather existing solar projects under the policies in place when the projects qualified.
  6. Set an ambitious long-term solar goal that contributes substantially to regional energy needs and environmental and public health requirements.
  7. ***NEW*** – Expand current SREC II low-income provisions and create a new low-income and urban solar program to ensure that the benefits of solar are accessible to every resident of Massachusetts and provide employment and training in the clean energy sector.

Our Chapter is eager to see how the legislature collaborates in the coming months to find a solution for this rapidly-growing sector of the green-building industry. 

Efficient buildings help federal energy use get to 40-year low

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager

Published on Written by Posted in Advocacy and policy

 

You may have missed the recent announcement from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that energy consumption by the federal government is at its lowest point since 1975. This is, as some would say, a big deal and in looking at the contribution of the building sector in achieving this goal, it is in fact a very big deal for green buildings.

While reducing fuel consumption was a meaningful factor in getting to this point, lower energy use in federal buildings was a key aspect in getting to this accomplishment. The analysis from EIA points to the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), which set requirements to achieve 30 percent reduction in federal building energy use and 65 percent reduction in fossil fuel consumption of new or renovated federal buildings by 2015, as a reason for the downward trend.

While not named specifically, a large portion of the new and renovating buildings meeting these targets and contributing to these energy reductions are LEED buildings. With more than 150 million square feet of federal buildings LEED-certified, it’s clear that LEED is helping federal agencies and departments lead by example and achieve the many benefits of green building. Check out the federal agencies’ impressive accomplishments.

This is good news, but not great news. The agencies must continue to do more to reduce consumption through a number of measures including a continued commitment to performance contracting to help address existing buildings and certifying major renovations and new construction through the LEED rating system.

Let’s keep the government’s commitment to green building going. Stay tuned for information on the General Services Administration review of LEED v4.

What is green building?

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager

Published on Written by Posted in LEED

 

Sustainability is not a one-time treatment or product. Instead, green building is a process that applies to buildings, their sites, their interiors, their operations, and the communities in which they are situated. The process of green building flows throughout the entire life-cycle of a project, beginning at the inception of a project idea and continuing seamlessly until the project reaches the end of its life and its parts are recycled or reused. 

In our guide, An Introduction to LEED and Green Building, the term green building encompasses planning, design, construction, operations, and ultimately end-of-life recycling or renewal of structures. Green building pursues solutions that represent a healthy and dynamic balance between environmental, social, and economic benefits. 

Sustainability and “green,” often used interchangeably, are about more than just reducing environmental impacts. Sustainability means creating places that are environmentally responsible, healthful, just, equitable, and profitable. Greening the built environment means looking holistically at natural, human, and economic systems and finding solutions that support quality of life for all. 

Triple bottom line is also often used to refer to the concept of sustainability. The term was coined by John Elkington, cofounder of the business consultancy SustainAbility, in his 1998 book Cannibals with Forks: the Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business. First applied to socially responsible business, the term can characterize all kinds of projects in the built environment. The triple bottom line concept incorporates a long-term view for assessing potential effects and best practices for three kinds of resources:

  • People (social capital). All the costs and benefits to the people who design, construct, live in, work in, and constitute the local community and are influenced, directly or indirectly, by a project 
  • Planet (natural capital). All the costs and benefits of a project on the natural environment, locally and globally 
  • Profit (economic capital). All the economic costs and benefits of a project for all the stakeholders (not just the project owner)

The goal of the triple bottom line, in terms of the built environment, is to ensure that buildings and communities create value for all stakeholders, not just a restricted few. For example, an energy-efficient building that saves the owners money but makes the occupants sick is not sustainable, nor is a material that has a small carbon footprint but was made in a sweatshop, nor is an eco-resort that displaces threatened species or local people. 

A commitment to the triple bottom line means a commitment to look beyond the status quo. It requires consideration of whole communities and whole systems, both at home and around the world. Research is needed to determine the impacts of a given project and find new solutions that are truly sustainable. New tools and processes are required to help projects arrive at integrative, synergistic, sustainable solutions. 

The triple bottom line requires a shift in perspective about both the costs and the benefits of our decisions. The term externalities is used by economists to describe costs or benefits incurred by parties who are not part of a transaction. For example, the purchase price of a car does not account for the wear and tear it will have on public roads or the pollution it will put into the environment. To shift the valuation process to account for such negative externalities, building professionals require new metrics. The green building process and rating systems have begun to encourage quantification of externalities. The focus has been first on environmental metrics, but the list is expanding to include indicators of social justice and public health. 

Making buildings more healthful, more comfortable, and more conducive to productivity for their occupants has special significance in light of studies conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which found that people in the United States spend, on average, 90% of their time indoors. Occupants of green buildings are typically exposed to far lower levels of indoor pollutants and have significantly greater satisfaction with air quality and lighting than occupants of conventional buildings. Research conducted at Carnegie Mellon University shows that these benefits can translate into a 2% to 16% increase in workers’ and students’ productivity. Even small increases in productivity can dramatically increase the value of a building

Download our guide, An Introduction to LEED and Green Building, to learn more