Keeping up the PACE at the State House

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow

We're making strides in growing our PACE Coalition, and getting support for Commercial PACE Financing in the House. Our goal is to introduce PACE financing to a number of Representatives on the TUE Committee, so that a PACE Financing bill can be passed when the session resumes in January.

This morning, the USGBC MA staff and some of our friends from MassDevelopment met with Representative Brodeur at the State House. We explained the benefits and the straightforward structure of PACE Financing to Rep. Brodeur. As the Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy (TUE) and a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, his support is key for us to advance this bill in the House. Brodeur was enthusiastic about PACE and pledged his support, so we are excited to continue partnering with him as we move this bill forward.

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing is a tool that incentivizes commercial property owners to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, by tying the project's cost to the property through a long-term voluntary tax assessment. Therefore, property owners can save money with more energy efficient buildings–and they don't have to worry about getting a full return on their investment before selling the property, because they only pay for the energy efficiency upgrade as long as they own the building. When the building is sold, the project will be paid for–and the energy savings will be reaped–by the next owner.

PACE has already been successfully implemented in a number of states, notably California and Connecticut, and is set up for success in Massachusetts. A unique legislative proposition, Commercial PACE Financing would be overwhelmingly beneficial for the state. It does not face opposition from environmental organizations or the business community. By incentivizing energy efficiency projects, PACE would create jobs in green building industry (the fastest growing part of the real estate sector). Neither the state nor taxpayers need to spend any money to enable this financing tool, and MassDevelopment is already established as the funding clearing-house for these projects. 

Commercial PACE is simply a financing mechanism that needs to be enabled by the legislature. After a bill is passed to support PACE, municipalities in the state will be able to arrange, in conjunction with MassDevelopment, for commercial property owners to finance energy efficiency projects through property tax assessments.

Last session, the Senate voted for PACE Financing Bill S. 1774, but the bill has not yet been introduced in the House. While we continue to meet with representatives over the next month, we will grow the PACE Coalition, getting both the business community and environmental organizations to voice their support for this innovative energy efficiency financing tool.

If your business or organization would like to join our efforts advocating for PACE, please contact advocacy@usgbcma.org. Stay tuned to this issue, as we're expecting major PACE bill updates in the next two months!

Visit our Advocacy page for a more thorough explanation of PACE Financing.

A couple photos of today's meeting at the State House:

Advocacy Committee Volunteer Bill Tobin explains how PACE Financing would bring jobs to Massachusetts.


 

Representative Brodeur and Grey Lee, USGBC MA Executive Director.


Below: our Advocacy Team with Rep. Frank Smizik talking about PACE on a similar occasion recently


Don't miss the Green Associate Prep Course!

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


In just one weeks we'll be holding our next LEED Green Associate Exam Preparation course! I'm excited to say that I received my LEED Green Associate Accreditation just a few months ago, and the course I attended to prepare was invaluable in helping me learn what would be included in the exam and what to focus on. This is also the perfect opportunity to get ahead of the game because we will be transitioning to an updated version of LEED next year, and this will give you a better grasp of the updated certification information for the new version. 

Find more details about the course and register here!

The full day comprehensive course covers the following topics:

Chapter #1 – Introduction

This 1-hour chapter will explain the LEED Green Associate credentialing process and serve as an introduction to LEED, sustainability, the USGBC, the GBCI and the LEED rating system.

Chapter #2 – Location and Transportation / Sustainable Sites

This 1-hour chapter will focus on site issues such as connectivity, transportation, erosion, landscaping, and heat island effect.

Chapter #3 – Water Efficiency / Energy and Atmosphere

This 1-hour chapter will focus on water issues (plumbing efficiency, irrigation, process water, etc.) and energy and atmosphere issues (demand, efficiency, renewable energy, ozone depleting substances, etc.)

Chapter #4 – Materials and Resources

This 1-hour chapter will focus on procurement and waste diversion.

Chapter #5 – Indoor Environmental Quality

This 1-hour chapter will focus on indoor environmental quality issues such as indoor air quality, occupant comfort and green cleaning.

Chapter #6 – Innovation / Regional Priority / Certification Process

This 1-hour chapter will explain the LEED certification process and the Innovation and Regional Priority categories.

Chapter #7 – Exam Review

This 1-hour chapter will focus on exam format and registration and strategies to pass the exam.

Chapter #8 – Exam Review

This 1-hour chapter will focus on sample exam questions.

 

December Newsletter

By Grey Lee, Executive Director

GIVING TUESDAY

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


You’ve heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Well there’s a new day in the Holiday Season- a day to give back. This year, December 1st is “Giving Tuesday,” a day dedicated to making contributions to your local mission-oriented non-profits.

This year, when you are thinking of making a year-end charitable contribution, keep the USGBC-Massachusetts Chapter and our Community in mind.

In November we have been posting regularly on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages about our work to provide everyone with access to green buildings and green communities. We are much more than a member group or a professional organization; along with providing valuable education and networking opportunities, we provide a wide range of community projects and advocacy campaigns.

Our Chapter supports local governments, emerging professionals, local community organizations and the public to move along the path towards sustainability.

So stay tuned on social media to hear more about the specific impact of each of these projects and support our work to make green buildings and green communities accessible to all by making a donation on Giving Tuesday.

To Support Our Chapter, click here or email us at greylee@usgbcma.org.

Finally, Green Buildings on the Table at Paris Climate Talks

By Derek Newberry, Advocacy Fellow

For the first time ever at a world climate change summit, this year there is a dedicated “Building Day” on the agenda. Scheduled for December 3, “Building Day” will teach attendees about the role that the built-environment can play in mitigating climate change. 

Paris COP21 is also aiming to be the first ever climate conference where representatives of all 196 countries must sign a legally-binding agreement, pledging concrete commitments to decrease their emissions–a timely moment for green buildings to be put on the map. Negotiators will deliberate next week about the specific strategies. But after this Building Day raises world leaders' awareness about the significance of buildings' emission contributions, greener buildings may be on the top of their agenda. If there is push from the international community for green buildings, that may be the major catalyst needed to transform the building market.

More than 150 world leaders will attend the Paris climate talks, but this conference is commercially-inclusive, with thousands of attendees from both the public and private sectors. This collaboration is key to ensuring a healthy future for our environment and our economy.


French President François Hollande with other world leaders at the beginning of the conference

Why Buildings?

Buildings account for more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Already the largest single contributor to emissions, this number is predicted to double by 2050 if current building construction and operation practices continue. Without a dramatic change to building practices, the risks from climate change will quickly multiply–rapid urbanization, especially in developing countries, could accelerate these impacts.

However, being the largest single emissions contributor, it is clear that buildings should be the focus of emission-lowering efforts–and the green building industy is starting to pick up steam. 

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, here are a few key reasons that diplomats at Paris COP21–and professionals in the building industry–should make green buildings a priority as they craft new emission-reduction strategies:

  • The buildings sector offers one of the most cost-effective and economically beneficial paths for reducing energy demand and associated emissions. At the same time, it also supports adaptation and resilience to climate change.
  • There are many low-energy, renewable and deep-renovation solutions available. There are already proven policy, finance and technology strategies that exist.
  • There are significant economic, health, and social benefits of sustainable buildings. Buildings provide shelter, places to live, work, learn and socialize–most of our time is spent indoors. Moreover, buildings provide more than 50% of global wealth, and as one of the largest local-level employers, the sector also offers a path to poverty alleviation.
  • Buildings are long-term ventures, and investments in our future. With structures that last for decades, failure to act now would ensure an increase in GHG emission for decades.

December 3: Building Day at Paris COP21

Building Day will provide the opportunity for an unprecedented alliance of organizations that are all committed to the same key objectives as our own USGBC MA Chapter:

  1. Helping to put the buildings and construction sector on the “below 2 °C path”
  2. Aligning existing initiatives, partnerships, commitments and programmes to achieve greater scale and increase the pace of efficiency actions
  3. Catalysing stronger collaboration and targeting sectoral and cross sectoral climate action and solutions for allaligning environmental initatives, programs and partnerships to increase the pace and scale of catalyzing stronger collaboration and cross-sector solutions for climate change.

The Paris Climate Conference's Building Day agenda puts forth the following Alliance Proposition:

“Before COP21, every country will have determined its national contribution to limit global warming to below 2 °C. The world must come together immediately to support them to meet – and where possible, exceed – their targets. By publicly committing to support countries to implement ambitious actions in the buildings sector, including to meet their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), we propose an alliance to leverage our capabilities to facilitate:

  • Communication – Raising awareness and engagements, making visible the magnitude of the opportunities and impacts in the buildings sector, defining sectoral goals and promoting transparency and information exchange.
  • Collaboration – Taking action to further enable public policies and market transformations towards climate neutrality, implementing partnerships, sharing technology and know-how, and improving deal-flow and access to efficient financing and funding.
  • Solutions – Offering programs for further ambition and locally adapted solutions that firmly put the buildings sector on a below 2 °C path: invreasing efficiency of buildings systems and envelope, mainstreaming low GHG materials, low-emission new buildings and scaling up deep renovation.”

Going Green is Not Just Ethical: It's Economical

In the past few weeks leading up to the Paris COP21 climate talks, 54 major real estate and building companies, including Thornton Tomasetti, Skanska an JLL, signed on to the Building and Real Estate Climate Declaration. This business call-to-action urges policymakers to seize the economic opportuntiy of tackling climate change. The declaration was recognized last week at the U.S. Green Building Council's annual Greenbuild Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C. 

This document is a companion to the 2013 Ceres' Climate Declaration, which has more than 1,660 signatories nationwide–including iconic brands like Gap, Inc., General Mills, Disney, Apple and Starbucks. However, the building sector, a major economic driver in the United States (with real estate construction alone contributing $1 trillion towards the U.S. economic output in 2014), produces 39% of carbon emissions annually. Industry leaders signed this document to call attention to the specific risks and opportunities associated with the building sector.

“The Building and Real Estate Declaration is the first collective statement of the building community on climate, and it signals we are ready to get to work, both sustainably and profitably,” said Roger Platt, USGBC President, who praised the industry's call-to-action. “Our community knows that buildings represent the lowest cost and greatest potential to reduce carbon emissions. The Climate Declaration will give visibility to buildings as a critical climate solution. We’ve proven that by acting sustainably, we can leverage innovation and efficiency to driven economic growth.”

Industry giants including Skanska, JLL and Thornton Tomasetti, signed the declaration to show their commitment to sustainability, to communicate opportunity and best practices to policymakers and industry partners, and to recognize that strong policies are necessary to tackle climate change at the scale and pace needed. The signatories of the Building and Real Estate Declaration, and advocates of green buildings including USGBC and Ceres, urge negotiators at COP21 to follow this lead. Read more about this declaration and its potential impacts at the USGBC National site.

Check out the Paris COP21 site to get updates from the conference. Tune in to the climate talks especially on December 3, for news about the first ever “Building Day”!

Webinars this Month!

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


Come join us for some great webinars this month! Webinars that you can check out include:

Shoebox Energy Modeling: How To Do Quick, Early Simulations will be shown on 12/15/15 in Cambridge at noon. Most whole building energy simulations require a mechanical system design, making them unsuitable for early-design modeling. By the time you’re sizing mechanical systems and debating the finer points of shading mechanisms, you know you’ve missed some really big energy-saving opportunities. Learn from the architects and energy modelers who are turning to shoebox models—with one or just a few zones— to capture big energy, design, and construction savings.

To join this in-person webinar, register here!

New Construction & Philadelphia’s Energy Benchmarking Law will be shown on 12/16/15 in Boston at 4:30. Energy benchmarking and disclosure mandates are a growing national trend. Although these policies are geared towards existing buildings, there is a unique opportunity to impact the new construction industry as well. This session is intended to educate design professionals, energy services providers, and commercial building owners about the importance of optimizing the energy performance of new buildings and how to achieve the best results using integrated design, energy modeling, EPA's Target Finder, and more. We will also review Philadelphia's energy benchmarking and disclosure law, Year 2 results, and current green codes and standards, which will be beneficial to policy makers who have recently adopted or are considering similar legislation.

To join this webinar, register here!

Geothermal Heating and Cooling: A Renewable Energy Technology will be shown on 12/21/15 in Worcester at 6pm. This course will cover several critical topics surrounding our industry today in the world of geothermal heating and cooling. You will learn the basic principles of the geothermal heat pump technology and we will discuss some of the misconceptions that often arise in today’s market. You will walk away with an understanding of how and why geothermal heat pumps systems are so incredibly energy efficient and gain a general understanding of how the four basic systems are designed and work for each job application.

To join this webinar, register here!

Get Psyched for the Green Associate!

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


In just three weeks we'll be holding our next LEED Green Associate Exam Preparation course! I'm excited to say that I received my LEED Green Associate Accreditation just a few weeks ago, and the course I attended to prepare was invaluable in helping me learn what would be included in the exam and what to focus on. This is also the perfect opportunity to get ahead of the game because we will be transitioning to an updated version of LEED next year, and this will give you a better grasp of the updated certification information for the new version. 

Find more details about the course and register here!

The full day comprehensive course covers the following topics:

Chapter #1 – Introduction

This 1-hour chapter will explain the LEED Green Associate credentialing process and serve as an introduction to LEED, sustainability, the USGBC, the GBCI and the LEED rating system.

Chapter #2 – Location and Transportation / Sustainable Sites

This 1-hour chapter will focus on site issues such as connectivity, transportation, erosion, landscaping, and heat island effect.

Chapter #3 – Water Efficiency / Energy and Atmosphere

This 1-hour chapter will focus on water issues (plumbing efficiency, irrigation, process water, etc.) and energy and atmosphere issues (demand, efficiency, renewable energy, ozone depleting substances, etc.)

Chapter #4 – Materials and Resources

This 1-hour chapter will focus on procurement and waste diversion.

Chapter #5 – Indoor Environmental Quality

This 1-hour chapter will focus on indoor environmental quality issues such as indoor air quality, occupant comfort and green cleaning.

Chapter #6 – Innovation / Regional Priority / Certification Process

This 1-hour chapter will explain the LEED certification process and the Innovation and Regional Priority categories.

Chapter #7 – Exam Review

This 1-hour chapter will focus on exam format and registration and strategies to pass the exam.

Chapter #8 – Exam Review

This 1-hour chapter will focus on sample exam questions.

 

Living Building Challenge Building Tours

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate

On December 11th Jonathan Wright of The Wright Builders and his project team leaders will lead professional tours of two buildings designed to meet the rigorous standards of the Living Building Challenge (LBC) – of which there are only eight certified projects in the world. Currently under construction, both The R.W. Kern Center (80% complete) and The Hitchcock Center for the Environment (framing is in place) are on Hampshire College's Campus in Amherst, MA.

Light refreshments will be provided by The Wright Builders and the conversation with continue after dark at the Kern Center with the Facility Owners participating in a Question and Answer session, led by the Boston LBC Collaborative.

Please register here to attend!


Project Details:
The first building is the 17,000 square-foot R.W. Kern Center. Upon its completion, the Kern Center will be a multifunctional learning, teaching, and exhibition space; the point of entry for prospective students and their families into the Hampshire community; and the location of the admissions financial aid and new student programs offices. Project completion is scheduled for the winter of 2016.

The second building is the new 9,000 square-foot Hitchcock Center.  The building will be New England's first public environmental education center to meet the LBC (version 2.1), more than doubling the Center’s capacity to host programs for all ages, while also being a one-of-a-kind teaching tool. The new “living” Hitchcock Center is designed to model and mimic natural systems with interpretive and interactive exhibits, and will be an extension of Hitchcock’s mission to create a healthier more sustainable future. The building will be completed in the summer of 2016.

 

More of November's New LEED Buildings

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate



The MIT Spec Lab at 130 Brookline Street in Cambridge was certified LEED Gold for Commercial Interiors v2009 on November 14th. Our Chapter Sponsoring Partner Arrowstreet renovated the building into a new laboratory building for MIT, which is now fully occupied by tenants 24M Technologies, an innovative energy storage company founded by two MIT professors, and Intellia Therapeutics, an industry leader in therapeutic gene editing technology.

 


 

 

 

100 High Street in Boston was certified LEED Silver for Existing Buildings v2009 on Novermber 19th. The property is managed by CBRE New England who provide services and amenities that cultivate creativity and drive productivity.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

ONE Marina Park Drive, home to EnerNOC, was designed by our Chapter Sponsoring Partner Elkus|Manfredi Architects and certified LEED Gold for Existing Buildings v2009 on November 20th. The building was the first newly constructed LEED Gold Certified building in Boston in 2010.

 

 

 

Congratulations to everyone involved in these projects! If you have a project that has recently been certified or otherwise earned a distinction, please let us know so we can share the story with your peers in the industry.

 

Welcome, New England Lab!

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


We're excited to welcome New England Lab as our newest bronze level chapter Sponsoring Partner!

New England Lab was established in 1990 as a laboratory furniture specialist. Their focus on quality, service and value to the client has been the foundation of their continuous growth. Taking the time to understand their client’s requirements, vision and budget allows them to provide the necessary support throughout the life of the project. As a result they are able to offer the correct product combined with seamless project coordination. Their internal manufacturing capabilities along with their strong network of manufacturing partners ensure that they meet specific project requirements and can respond quickly to their client’s needs when tight deadlines must be met.

Their dedicated team of professionals combines expert knowledge and experience in design and installation of laboratory furniture, to achieve great results for their clients. They also take great pride in completing projects on time and within budget and can assist with design, coordination, and material selection and provide a complete solution for clients laboratory furniture and systems needs. They are devoted to furnishing state-of-the-art laboratories that meet the current and future needs of the research, medical and scientific communities.

New England Lab provides material that is rapidly renewable, made with recycled content and has no added urea formaldehyde. New England Lab holds an FSC® (FSC-C105535) chain of custody number enabling them to provide proper documentation from product sourcing through installation for certain products. They have supported dozens of LEED accredited projects in New England and the Mid Atlantic States.  With LEED AP's on staff they can assist in material selection, proper material categorization and paperwork.  They can provide material to meet the following LEED credits: MR 4.1, MR 4.2, MR6 and MR 7.

Welcome to our sponsor community, New England Lab!