BE+ Community Blog
The Delight of the Living Building Challenge
By Grey Lee This past Saturday, the USGBC MA Chapter convened a tour of the Bechtel Environmental Center at the Smith College Field Station in Whatley, MA. Student volunteers from Smith hosted us, first greeting us at the end of a long and winding country road, and...
Reducing Power Plant Emissions
By Grey Lee EPA Rule 111: Clean Power Plan In 2013, the EPA proposed a new carbon pollution standards for power plants under section 111 of the Clean Air Act. The program is designed to regulate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for new power plants under federal...
2014 LEED Certification in Review
By Grey Lee 2014 was a great year for green building and LEED Certification in Massachusetts! Of the 130 total projects certified in 2014, 19 earned LEED Certified status, 29 earned LEED Silver, 61 earned LEED Gold, and 21 earned LEED Platinum. We want to thank...
Super Bowl XLIX, Green Building & Energy Efficiency
By Grey Lee Congratulations to the New England Patriots on their victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Sunday! (Image Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) With all the excitement around Super Bowl XLIX, we thought it would be fun to see how the...
Welcome to Eversource
By Grey Lee As of January, our favorite utility company, formerly known as NSTAR, has changed its name to Eversource Energy. NSTAR provided natural gas and electricity to 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Massachusetts. NSTAR's parent company,...
USGBC MA Welcomes Two New Members to the Team!
By Grey Lee Sharon Bort, Communications Associate Sharon Bort is thrilled to be joining the USGBC MA Chapter this spring as the Communications Associate. In May of 2014, she graduated from Clark University with a degree in Global Environmental Studies as well as...
Welcome to the Board!
By Grey Lee Congratulations to the six new board members for the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter! We look forward to working together as a community to improve our built environment and meet our mission. Thank you to all the candidates that ran for our board! The...
Annual Meeting: Game Night & Volunteer Appreciation
By Grey Lee It was a lovely, if windy, evening in the Fenway of Boston on Thursday night. Wentworth Institute of Technology hosted us for our 2015 Annual Meeting - it was great to meet many of their students, professors and staff. Over 100 people came out to join...
Advocacy Committee: Co-signing is Fun!
By Grey Lee The Chapter participated with a coalition of advocacy organizations in a "Co-Signing Fair" at the Massachusetts State House on 1/14/15. Two dozen organizations presented opportunities for legislators to co-sign various legislative initiatives relevant...
Great new resource for Green Leasing from A Better City
By Grey Lee Congratulations to ABC (A Better City) - the convener's of Boston's "Challenge for Sustainability" in the commercial real estate world. They have recently produced a report on "Green Leasing" - providing guidance on how tenants and landlords can...
USGBC MA & MLS PIN: Improved Green Data Fields for MA Real Estate
By Grey Lee [Press Release] One of the top multiple listing services in U.S. updates its green data fields to reflect the growing market of high-performance homes Boston, MA (January 8, 2015)–TheMassachusetts Chapter of the USGBC is pleased to announce that...
LEED O+M: Who says an existing building can't learn new tricks?
By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager Published on 9 Feb 2015 Written by Nora Knox Posted in LEED What is LEED O+M? Meet the LEED solution for existing buildings everywhere. Existing buildings hold incredible promise—many older buildings around the world are...
What do you think about the USGBC MA Chapter?
By Grey Lee We would like your feedback so we can plan better our programming for the coming year. In the course of just a few questions, you can help us narrow our focus and improve our activities as a Chapter. Please use this link to take the survey. We very much...
Harvard Takes Giant Leaps to Create a Greener Community
By Grey Lee December 5, 2014 Photo credit: Harvard University Housing Actions speak louder than words and Harvard is definitely taking some noticeable action in the green building community! The Harvard Green Building Standards reflect Harvard University's...
Manchester Essex High School Green Scholars Remove 300lbs of Litter from Local Beaches
By Isabella Hickey and Sarah Reed by Isabella Hickey and Sarah Reed On November 15th, 2014, the Manchester Essex High School Green Scholars and Interns participated in Green Apple Day of Service. Scholars and Interns spent the day cleaning the Black and White Beach...