Annual Meeting: Survey Results

By Grey Lee

One of the fun things we announced at the Annual Meeting were the results of our Action Plan Survey. Thank you to all 148 of you who were able to complete the survey this year! We feel this is a good sample of our most active participants. Adrian Charest, Chair of our Membership Committee, was thrilled to hear the results (below).
 

Neil Angus, our Vice Chair, summarized the findings as follows. Thanks Neil!

2014 Chapter Survey – 2014 Action Plan

Feedback and Input from you our members on existing programs, offerings and advocacy – what is working and what is not or needs improvement.

What direction should we be going in the future – what you, our members, would like to see – educational programming, advocacy, communications, networking.

Great response rate – over 140 responses (thank you!!)

We're still analyzing details, but here’s a few highlights of preliminary findings:

Main Reason for Joining: Networking, support the Chapter mission and learn more about green buildings and communities.

Great feedback on events we currently put on and level of interest for new events we are considering – even some great recommendations on how we might improve our current offerings

Huge interest in: Net Zero and Positive energy building.

Lots of interest in higher level training in NC and interest in EB and ND

Wanted: new programming on energy management, green products and LEED vs other sustainability rating systems

Great feedback on the timing, duration and delivery methods of our programming. People wanted to see programs on climate change, building resiliency & affordable green buildings for everyone!

Excellent feedback on our existing communications tools (the website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) and suggestions for improvements to those tools.

Many respondents are LEED APs or GAs and are interested in GBCI continuing education credits – we are working on improving our programming offerings to include more GBCI approved programs so stay tuned!

Thanks again for all your feedback – it truly will help us provide more value to you and further our mission of green buildings and communities for all!

The 2014 Massachusetts Green Building Awards

By Grey Lee

We want you! Actually…we want your buildings and your green building innovations!
 
We have streamlined the process as well as the categories of our event; also we hope to see dozens of entries in both the Green Building of the Year award and the Green Innovation Award. The contest will culminate with our Earth Day Gala on April 17th, 2014. We look forward to seeing you there!
 
Since 2008, USGBC Massachusetts has recognized the most innovative green buildings, products, processes and technologies in the Massachusetts real estate community. Past winners have demonstrated ingenuity, replicability, and scored well on the triple bottom line – an important concept in sustainability that considers the building’s overall impact on economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social equity.
 
This year’s entry deadline is March 15, 2014 and winners will be announced in April 2014.
 
2014 Entry Categories:
 
Why Should I Enter?
  • Local Recognition: submissions will be put on display at the Earth Day Gala as well as at various USGBC MA events. Award entrants will be highlighted on the USGBC MA website and in the media surrounding the Earth Day Gala.
  • Regional Recognition: one existing building will advance to a regional EBie competition held in NYC in June 2014
  • Feedback: the submissions will be judged by a panel of 3-5 judges and a summary of responses will be available to entrants upon request.
  • Inspiration: the awards are designed to highlight Massachusetts’ innovation in green design and operations. They recognize buildings that best live up to their green design potential and help raise the bar for future buildings.
 
What are the Entry Criteria?
Click here for the 2014 Massachusetts Green Building of the Year Award.
Click here for the 2014 Massachusetts Green Innovation Award.
 
If you have any questions after reading the criteria, please contact the Awards Committee.

Living Buildings are On Their Way

By Grey Lee, Executive Director

The Living Building Challenge (LBC) raises the bar on the level of sustainability pursued in green building projects.

 

The Chapter hosted a presentation on the LBC by Shawn Hesse of emersionDESIGN. Shawn is a Living Building Challenge Ambassador and member of the Cambridge Net Zero Taskforce. He is also a loyal member of the USGBC MA Chapter.  Thank you to Shawn for presenting and to Laur Fisher for organizing the event that was held at the MIT Center for Collaborative Intelligence in Kendall Sq. Cambridge!

 
About 25 people came out to hear the in-depth introduction to the challenge. A considerable amount of contingent came from Harvard University.  Could there be something in the works? Maybe, as an organization, we can support a friendly little contest between a few of the campuses around here! There is already a Living Building coming together at Williams College in Berkshire County. Others came from architecture practices, the City of Boston, the State of MA, and other institutions. Thank you to all who could make it, even with the “snow emergency” bells ringing!
 

The Living Building Challenge is a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification program that addresses development at all scales. A one hour introduction by Shawn reviewed the seven performance areas, the certification process, and reviewed project examples. What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place? It is really an inspirational system.

 
The USGBC MA Chapter looks forward to working with the LBC community to facilitate greater adoption of the principles of the Living Building Challenge into our industry. Let us know if you are interested in learning more and/or advocating for more Living Buildings!

 

Cape Cod Materials Dinner: Cost Effective Selections For Everyday Construction Projects

By Grey Lee, Executive Director

The USGBC MA Cape & Islands Interest Group (USGBC MA Cape) co-hosted an event last night in Hyannis with the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod (HBRACC) where a panel of founders from USGBC MA Cape presented “Cost Effective Green Materials for the Everyday Construction Projects”. 
 
The event drew the largest crowd HBRACC had seen in years with over 110 attendees. The crowd networked for the first half-hour and then sat down for the full dinner and presentation.
 
 

 

 
 
After a preliminary introduction to USGBC MA Cape and its goals from Adam Prince, the expert panel of material suppliers discussed what defines green materials, how they are beneficial, and easy opportunities for integrating green materials into typical construction projects.
 
Presenters included:
 
Craig Fischer, Shepley Wood Products Architectural Window Specialist.  Fischer provides Andersen window expertise to builders and architects from design to project completion on Cape Cod.  Shepley Wood Products has been providing quality lumber, building materials and services to building professionals since 1978.  Shepley is a certified FSC material supplier for Southeastern Massachusetts.
 
Nicole Goldman, founder of 'g' Green Design Center, has been an entrepreneur in the design industry for thirty years.  She is now serving a growing community throughout the Cape Islands and Southern coast of Massachusetts providing interior design, green materials and a vast array of healthy products for residential/commercial renovation and construction.
 
Richard McLaughlin, owner of Fresh Interiors in South Yarmouth, has been working to provide design-oriented interior finish options for kitchens, baths, flooring and finishes that promote a healthy living environment for residential and commercial projects.  He has been working from Boston to Provincetown for the last 5 years.
 
 
 
USGBC MA Cape is working now to plan future events, content, and tours that typically happen every two months. Be sure to visit our website for notifications or contact communications@usgbcma.org to request to be on the Cape & Islands mailing list. You can read more about the group at their webpage.

MPG Ratings for Homes? They're coming!

By Michael Sigmon, Communications Coordinator for the Residential Green Building Committee

This entry written by Michael Sigmon, Communications Coordinator for the Residential Green Building Committee
Alissa Whiteman and Ben Pignatelli from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (Mass. DOER) made a presentation to the Residential Green Building Committee on their pilot program on the Home MPG (Home score card). It was a well-attended meeting with over 20 people arriving to connect on the topic. As soon as the first slide was up, the rowdy bunch was firing off questions and making their own analyses of the project. Alissa and Ben were great, very able to handle the “shark tank” of residential energy efficiency sharpshooters in the room. All in all, it was a great discussion and everyone learned something new. Hopefully the group was able to provide some useful feedback as the DOER looks at expanding the program to other areas of the state.
 
 
The pilot took place in the Springfield, Massachusetts area and surrounding towns. The data collection took place in conjunction with the free MASSAVE energy audit that all rate payers of public utilities can ask for. The pilot was funded by the U.S. DOE and is taking place in 9 geographic locations across the US. Read about the pilots across the country here.
 
 
 
The idea behind the pilot was to create a straightforward way for the average consumer to identify the important components of a home based concept on apples-to-apples comparison. Using a prescriptive method, the DOER identified HVAC systems, domestic hot water systems and envelope insulation values for formulating their scoring system. Their thought was that by using this metric, they could make a fair comparison across dwelling unit types. This also leads to consumer education that is crucial for good decision-making in selecting energy efficiency measures for a home.
 
 
After getting their audit and initial score card, the plan is to render a second score after weatherization and equipment upgrades have been completed. A part of the score card is a projection of a home’s carbon rating, which can inform the occupant even further about the impact of their house's energy performance.
 
 
 
Organizations that cooperated with the pilot are the Center for Eco Technology and the Pioneer Valley Planning Council.
 
The program results are for the Springfield area:
2116 Score cards
799 Retrofits
 
 
Thanks again Alissa and Ben!
 
 
 
The Residential Green Building Committee holds a meeting every month, usually on the second Monday, at the USGBC MA offices in Boston. Each meeting has a presentation on a relevant and timely subject from experts in the field.  Various aspects of committee business are then attended to ideas such as our advocacy work, communications, creating resources for the community at large, and other work that supports the Chapter's mission. Feel free to come check us out – our next meeting is Feb. 10th.

 

 

Welcome New Sponsoring Partner AtSite!

By Grey Lee

 

 
 
Thank you AtSite for becoming a Silver Chapter Sponsoring Partner!  We are thrilled to work with our new partner to help make more buildings go green. Coming to us from their base of operations in Washington DC, AtSite is committed to delivering building management expertise to enable facilities to embrace efficiency and sustainability.
 
 

AtSite guides building owners, occupiers and operators with the design, construction, operation and optimization of buildings and spaces. The company utilizes smart building technologies, energy management tactics, sustainable best practices and integrated buildings strategies; these ideas are aimed to deliver high quality, low cost and environmentally responsible buildings. By combining its talented building experts, open technology platforms and best-in-class global industry partners, AtSite delivers measurable results to building owners across many sectors such as healthcare, commercial, education, and a number of other uses.

 
 
AtSite has some great content on their website regarding building performance management and you can read about more of their work through their blog – take a look here
 
Thank you Davor Kapelina and Lisa West for reaching out!  We are eager to help you all build your presence in New England. There is a lot of opportunity for USGBC MA to support solution provision in the building management space. I believe Steve Black of AtSite will be at the Existing Buildings meeting on Friday – so we'll get cracking!

 
 

West Branch of the USGBC MA – 2014 Recap – Lots of great programs in Western Mass. last year!

By Grey Lee

Letter from Chairs Past and Present  
Dear colleagues,
2014 has come in with blasts of cold and ice, but it would take a lot more than that to temper the passion of local volunteers who are focused on promoting “the design, construction, and operation of sustainable buildings and communities in Massachusetts”!
 
The USGBC MA – West Branch had its best year ever in 2013 and we are all ready to launch another successful year of green building education programs, networking events and service projects!
 
For those of you who couldn't make it to all of the excellent programs we provide, We thought we would prepare a short list of highlights from 2013:
 
We had a variety of Education Programs!  The LEED Green Associate Exam Prep course attracted approximately 45 students and utilized a team-based learning classroom at UMass to facilitate discussion among students and professionals.  We held two Green Eggs networking and education events – the first at David R. Northup Electrical Contractors, Inc. on Point of Use Technology presented by John DeGray of Point Energy Solutions and the second at the EcoBuilding Bargains Store on Energy Modeling presented by Benjamin Todd of Strategic Energy Group, as well as Ted Mendoza of UMass Amherst.
  
Our Summer Social in June attracted almost 30 members and included representatives from NESEA and the Westover Job Corps.

Green building researchers from UMass Amherst presented a map of LEED buildings in Western MA, featuring 27 LEED certified buildings and 60 more projects undergoing registration – a remarkable achievement for our region!
 

UMass Green Building Council Students Group was founded in partnership with the West Branch and is committed to promoting sustainability, innovation, and a basic foundation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, both on and off campus.  They provide campus-wide initiatives and education for the public on green building practices.  Eight student members attended the GreenBuild 2013 conference in the fall.  A team of students worked with NStar to survey residential halls and educating students on saving energy by distributing 5,000 LED light bulbs.
3 Green Apple Day of Service events focused on engaging local schools took place in September and October: a Green Building Tour of 4 UMass LEED facilities and rain gardens for students from Westover Job Corps, a tour of Tan Brook for students at Wildwood Elementary school in Amherst, and a public tour of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke, a LEED Platinum Building.  We have also committed to provide LEED Support for the Common School in Amherst.

Thank you for your support,
Ludmilla Pavlova, Immediate Past Chair
Mark Dunn, 2014 Chair of USGBC MA West Branch Steering Committee

 
[[ Congratulations to all the volunteers who have helped to make this success possible! We all look forward to a great 2014 and more useful and fun programming to support the green building community in Western Massachusetts. ]]

Creating a Neighborhood Development Working Group

By Bob Weiss

 
 
by Bob Weiss LEED AP ND
 
Here's and example of “before” good neighborhood planning 
 

If you are reading this, you probably already think about how your lifestyle fits in with a sustainable planet. That’s what neighborhood development is about: living, working, doing business and conducting daily life in a way that sustains our world. It’s not a new concept, but the past decades’ interest in our environment takes all that we have learned about green buildings to the next level: the places where we put those buildings, what elements make up those places and how do we put them together. To this end, the Chapter’s new working group advances neighborhood development and smart growth in Massachusetts communities.

 
And here's “after” good neighborhood development planning
 

Many organizations around the globe value district-scaled development. The Congress for New Urbanism, Enterprise Green Communities, community development corporations and EcoDistricts are among them.  USGBC recognized the benefits of development on a neighborhood scale when it crafted its LEED ND rating system. Now, with LEED ND as a guide, the Mass Chapter of USGBC is assembling a Neighborhood Development Working Group.  The Neighborhood Development Working Group is a sub-committee of the Residential Green Building Committee to examine the nature of sustainable neighborhood development and to promote its implementation in Massachusetts.

Last year, the Chapter invested significant staff and volunteer time to work with a wide range of organizations creating a Host Committee to present the 2013 EcoDistricts Summit in Boston in November. (The growing EcoDistricts framework is globally recognized as one of the key movements promoting neighborhood development as the means to leverage the best practices of sustainability.) The new Neighborhood Development Working Group will join its fellow EcoDistricts Host Committee members in continuing the spirit of neighborhood development in Massachusetts with several happenings in 2014. The Boston Redevelopment Authority will kick things off with its February 4th “Innovations in Sustainability and Resiliency” event in the Innovation District at District Hall.

Our working group will plan an exciting LEED ND event for the Chapter that is scheduled for the late spring. We'd love to hear your ideas on what should be included and who we should highlight. You can join Mike Davis and Neil Angus to help so we can follow up on the original LEED ND New England pilot projects and bring our community up to date on the state-of-the-art aspect, demonstrating how the rating system has grown into a practical tool for sustainable neighborhood development.

Mass Chapter’s Neighborhood Development Working Group is still on the ground floor and we look forward to convening a team composed of the widest spectrum of disciplines and industries. If you can help us build a successful LEED ND event, then you will help us build the new group! For more information on the Chapter’s Neighborhood Development working group contact Bob Weiss at Robertweiss63@msn.com or 617-653-0948.

 

 

Welcome to the Chapter, Electric Film! A New Chapter Sponsoring Partner

By Grey Lee

We are celebrating our most recent Chapter Sponsoring Partner – Thank you for becoming a Bronze Chapter Sponsor, Electric Film, LLC.

Take a look at their website: http://www.electricfilmllc.com/
 

From Kevin Dibasitis at Electric Film:

ElectricFilm is a unique light-harvesting technology that has been developed and advanced over the past quarter century. The lightweight, flexible film has been engineered to capture indoor or low light (50 to 2,000 lux) with high efficiency. The film is manufactured through low cost materials with a roll-to-roll process that allows for custom sizes to work with multiple applications.

This harvesting solution converts light from anywhere into electricity that can power numerous smart building devices including automated, motorized window shade systems to block heat gain, smart thermostats that reduce energy consumption, motion detectors/cameras, and electronic door locks that can enhance building security. The ElectricFilm harvest solution allows these devices to be wireless, reducing the cost of hardwiring and allowing for greater installation flexibility.

ElectricFilm greatly extends the battery life for all of these devices reducing O & M costs for primary batteries (and having to dispose of those batteries in the environment) as well as the labor time and inconvenience of having to change batteries.

ElectricFilm is based in Newburyport, MA, which includes all of our research & development along with our new production plant which is under construction and due to come online by the end of Q1 2014. All production will be performed here in the USA.  While we are a green building technology, we are also Red, White & Blue!

Thank you to LDa Architecture & Interiors – a new sponsoring partner!

By Grey Lee

Thank you LDa – you rock!

LDa came into the Chapter Community during our LEED Project Showcase with three certified projects – two homes and a residential community at a college. Great examples of important green design work enabling Massachusetts to continue to be a leader in green building.
 

LEED Platinum – Weston Jesuit Community Housing at Boston College

LDa is committed to finding a meaningful balance between the traditions of New England architecture and the demands of contemporary living. For the last 20 years, their award-winning projects have provided clients with thoughtful and inspired residential and interior design solutions rich in detail, crafted with a focus on lasting value and sustainability. LDa engages clients in a process of collaborative, responsive design that resulted in comfortable, functional, and timeless spaces. LDa is a leader in sustainable design, having completed over a dozen LEED for Homes projects.

You can find more information about LDa at their websiteand on facebookand at their blog!

Thank you to Douglas Dick and Peter Nobile for connecting with us and the Amanda Hanley for coordinating the relationship. We look forward to having you on board and working with us to make more green buildings in Massachusetts!

 
Riverfront Farmhouse in Concord, MA – LEED Silver