The Green Giants Are Here!

By Grey Lee

Congratulations to the Green Giants of the green building community in Western Massachusetts!

The West Branch of the USGBC MA Chapter has recognized outstanding contributors to the growth of our movement.

The winners were recognized at a joint USGBC MA West Branch & AIA Western Mass. annual dinner event on Dec. 4th, 2013. Over 60 people came out to celebrate the Green Giants and to hear from a series of presenters on local architecture and planning successes.
 

The following is a synopsis by Laura Fitch, the organizer of the Green Giants program:
 

Green Giants – 2013 Green Building Local Hero Awards Program
Sponsored by the US Green Building Council Massachusetts – West Branch (USGBCMA-West)
 
Committee: Laura Fitch, Aelan Tierney Jon Birtwell, Lawson Wulsin
Jury: Grey Lee, Sandra Brock, Phoebe Beierle, Stephen Muzzy
 
The Green Giants Award Program was created by our chapter to honor the work of trades people, educators, and owners/program directors.  These members helped to build, educate, envision and fund the green buildings located in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Berkshire counties. This program is intentionally distinct from other building design awards in its attempt to look at and honor a wider range of participants behind the sustainable building movement in our region.
 
Buildings consume a huge percentage of our energy and resources, creating a tremendous amount of waste. In this time of global climate change, the USGBC is actively promoting green buildings as part of the solution. This goal, however, is largely implemented by Trades People, Educators or Building Owners – the true unsung heroes in this critical movement.
 
 
 
We chose to award 7 people in 3 categories. The following summarizes the presentation made regarding these recipients at the awards event:
 
  1. Trades Category
The Green Giants Program sought to recognize individuals from any building trade or maintenance program who have gone the extra mile to ensure that a building (or campus) meets its sustainability goals.
 
Green Giants – trades
 
Honorable Mention – trades
Michael Broad, Construction Supervisor
 
Honorable Mention – trades
Tom Rossmassler, President and CEO of Energia in Holyoke
 
 
 
  1. Educational Programs Category
Green Giants sought to recognize any teacher or organization behind an innovative green building program that inspires and actively teaches the next generation of designers, engineers, and trades people who will in their turn advance our green building revolution.
 
Green Giant – education
for her work in developing the Sustainable Practices in Construction curriculum at GCC
 
Honorable Mention – education
Westover Job Corps Center, Chicopee
and Gregory Briggs, Carpentry Instructor
 
 
 
  1. Owner Category
The Green Giant program also recognized owners and institutions that envisioned and funded an exemplary green project, knowing that without their vision and money, none of this would happen.
 
for Private Owner
Riverstone Development
for Two Pond Farm Land Co-op and Sustainable Neighborhood.
 
For Institutional Owner
Bement School

 

For two dormitory projects (as yet un-named)
 
 

USGBC MA Chapter Co-hosts 2013 Meet Massachusetts Networking Event @ ABX

By Grey Lee

On November 20th 2013, the USGBC MA Chapter, in partnership with the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association, Boston Society of Architects, Boston Society of Landscape Architects, and the Massachusetts Association of Consulting Planners, hosted the 5th annual “Meet Massachusetts” networking event. Neil Angus, Vice Chairman of the USGBC MA Chapter Board of Directors, welcomed attendees and spoke briefly about the purpose of the event: to bring together planning, design and construction professionals. Green building is all about integrated design and no other event really brings together the multitude of disciplines that this event does. 
Neil Angus, Vice Chairman of the USGBC MA Chapter, welcomes attendees.
 
Over 50 planners, engineers, architects, landscape architects, interior designers, energy planners and contractors came together to talk about sustainable design and development, to share ideas and meet new people. This years' event was made possible through the generous support of the New England Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association and Keith LeBlanc Landscape Architecture. This was the second time the event was held in conjunction with the ABX Conference. 
 
Neil Angus from the USGBC MA Chapter and Rob Henry from the New England Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association @ Meet Massachusetts.

 

Attendees at the 5th Annual Meet Massachusetts networking event.

 

 
 
We hope to see you at next year's event!

Green Building Update – Mid November

By Grey Lee

Green Buildings continue to become the standard practice in the real estate industry.  We do have a long way to go, but that is our mission and that is where we're heading. Energy-efficient, high-performance buildings are good for users, managers and owners. LEED certification is one way to achieve a green building. The GSA has concluded that LEED saves the government money. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found LEED buildings, on average, use 25% less energy and cost 19% less to operate.
 
In the last two months, the state has seen 17 newly certified buildings.  This lncluded the Dassault Systemes Boston Campus in Waltham, which attained LEED Commercial Interiors Platinum and One Beacon Street earned LEED Existing Building Platinum through Cassidy Turley. The Northampton, MA Police Department attained LEED New Construction Gold as did Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Recreational Facility. Congratulations to the many teams that earned LEED certifications in recent weeks.
 
Let's welcome new USGBC member firms in the last two months: Green Footprints Commissioning Inc., Sustainability Roundtable, Inc., The Princeton Review, G.C. McGowan Design LLC, Sustainability Services Group LLC, Mashpee High School Environmental Club, Communications Design Associates, Inc., Paul Lukez Architecture, and Derosa Environmental Consulting. Thank you for being a part of the green building community!
 
The Massachusetts Chapter of the USGBC would like to recognize our new partnering sponsors Levi + Wong Architects, LDa-Architects, and Rubenstein Partners/CenterPoint Waltham. Together we are enhancing the real estate of Massachusetts.

Ecodistricts Among Us

By Jim Newman

By Jim Newman, USGBC MA Board & Linnean Solutions
 
The annual EcoDistrict summit was held for the first time outside of Portland, Oregon this year at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) in the city’s Innovation District. This area of South Boston’s waterfront, also known as the Seaport, has thrived because of elements most valued by the EcoDistricts organization such as public-private partnerships, the entrepreneurial spirit, and an emphasis on collaboration. 
 
At the summit, more than 90 speakers shared their visions of vibrant, healthy, equitable neighborhoods and how urban leaders can support these cutting-edge communities. From microgrids to green infrastructure to the sustainable transformation of London’s Olympic Village, inspiration came from all corners. It was this very diversity that tied the summit together.
 
Diversity discussions focused on more than race and ethnicity, although major disparities based on zip codes were discussed in a poignant presentation from Bay Area educator and innovator Antwi Akom. As part of the same first-morning plenary, April Rinne's talk on collaborative consumption underscored how we stand on the cusp of a diverse new economy–sharing cars, tools, and decision-making about how we build communities. 
 
During the individual education-session periods, there was an equally exciting array of topics.  For example, the Wednesday afternoon sessions covered how the world’s megacities are responding to climate change.  EcoDistricts in the Innovation District (this featured Linnean Solutions’ work) discussed issues such as social equity, resource boundaries, and district energy.
 
Both before and after the summit’s BCEC program, events took place around the city that allowed attendees to see how Boston is also embracing the EcoDistricts principles in diverse ways. The first event was a legacy project charrette in Dorchester’s Talbot-Norfolk Triangle (TNT)Eco-Innovation District, which has a LEED-ND Platinum rating as its main goal. 
 
 
 
Four site tours were held, as well as a training and research symposium at Northeastern University. The site tours explored the TNT as well as Jackson and Eggleston Squares in Jamaica Plain, Kendall Square and MIT in Cambridge, and a walking tour of the Innovation District. 
 
Each of these provided visitors with views of potential ecodistricts at various points in their evolution.

 

The diversity of people, places, and ideas represented at the 2013 Summit paralleled what makes a great EcoDistrict: many different individuals coming together with the common goal of building a vital, sustainable, and just community.  
 
 

Congratulations to our new LEED Fellows in Massachusetts

By Grey Lee

We are proud to announce that two heroes of the USGBC MA Chapter have been honored as LEED Fellows in 2013. 
 
Congratulations to Leo Roy of VHB and John Dalzell of the BRA. Leo most notably worked heroically to bring Greenbuild to Boston in 2008 and is piloting LEED volume certification processes. John is a stalwart supporter of the MA Chapter and has helped guide to fruition our PACE Finance Forum and many other programs.

The LEED Fellows program recognizes exceptional contributions to the green building community as well as significant achievements within a growing community of LEED Professionals.

 
The two new LEED Fellows join existing members with the distinction of Chris Schaffner of the Green Engineer and Steve Benz of OLIN.
 
More professional bio info on Leo and John:

Leo Roy: Roy has more than 30 years of experience, has led several sustainability-oriented committees within Vanasse, Hangen, Brustlin (VHB), and is directing the LEED EBOM certification process for the firm’s Watertown headquarters.  He has worked on such exemplary projects in the past such as an award-winning waterfront redevelopment project for Columbia Point neighborhood in Boston— one of the first municipal planning projects in the country to encourage rooftop solar and/or roof gardens— and the development of USGBC’s Roadmap to a Green Campus. Another project he worked on was helping to develop the USGBC LEED Retail rating system and participated on the Market Sector Committee for Retail.  Leo Roy actively promotes sustainable development and manages projects and programs in green building, ecosystem restoration, waste management, and renewable energy systems. Roy earned his Bachelors of Arts degree from Harvard University.

John Dalzell: At the Boston’s planning and economic development agency (BRA), Dalzell leads Green Building and Sustainable Development initiatives such as public and internal sustainable development as well as green building policy development; these included the January 2007 enactment of Boston’s Green Building Zoning regulations, which made Boston the first major city to require private developers to build green for LEED standards. Dalzell represents the BRA on the city’s Inter-Agency Green Building Committee, organizes staff green building trainings, and provides sustainability and green building guidance to internal project planning and review teams. Additionally, Dalzell focuses city resources on sustainable development through community-based area, district-planning initiatives, and programs in Boston’s neighborhoods.

 
 

Introducing one of our newest sponsors: Levi + Wong Design Associates

By Grey Lee

We are pleased to showcase a recent project completed by our newest sponsor Levi + Wong Design Associates, a multidisciplinary design firm based out of Concord, MA. As part of the 18th Annual Canstruction Exhibition hosted at the BSA Space in Boston, architects and designers were called upon to create structures entirely out of canned goods that paid tribute to this year's theme: Cinema & Movies. No glue was allowed in the construction of these structures and all the cans will be donated to charity at the end of the exhibition.

 
Our creative partners at Levi + Wong contributed this impressive piece dedicated to this summer's flick, Sharknado. The team built this structure completely out of tuna and canned tomato cans:

 

Source: Boston Magazine

Sharknado kept the movie scene interesting this summer, but SharkCANado: Take a Bite out of Hunger by Levi + Wong Design Associates makes the connection between coastal natural disasters and the work food banks have to do. The SharkCANnado is actually a tuna tornado, made entirely of different brands of tuna swirled with blood-red tomato cans.

Thanks Levi + Wong for contributing to such a creative and charitable event!

Networking with EnerNOC's Energy Network

By Grey Lee

What is going on with Building Energy Reporting & Disclosure in the City of Boston? What is the point of publicizing energy performance of buildings?

Last night, the Chapter partnered up with energy management leader EnerNOC to gather the community and talk about power. Gregg Dixon of EnerNOC and Grey Lee of USGBC MA both spoke briefly about their missions – to improve building energy performance on one hand and on the other: “More Green Buildings!”
 

Brian Swett, Boston Chief of Energy and Environment, came to present on the BERDO – the energy disclosure law that takes effect this coming year in Boston. The City is taking comments on the draft regulations right now. This ordinance will help the city achieve its climate mitigation obligations through carbon pollution reductions. Buildings account for 70% of Boston's GHG emissions. As usual, it was a very useful presentation and it was great to hear him easily answer the many questions from the very informed crowd. Lots of curveballs!

What if an owner just doesn't want to cooperate? There will be fines, but not major enough to sting. The important mechanism is that non-compliant properties will be listed publicly and the “shaming” factor will probably motivate people more than the potential fines. One note is that just having an old building might not be a reason to be afraid of the ordinance – New York's ordinance has resulted in data showing that one of the more energy efficient building types are those built in the 1920's and 30's, prior to mechanical systems. Designers availed themselves of passive heating and cooling techniques much more than in ensuing decades, when mechanicals were available and energy was relatively cheap.

With the ordinance, we'll have a lot of data to work with. As EnerNOC mentioned, data is a great tool to find solutions to complex problems: “We love data!”
 

Here are some facts about the ordinance:
  • All large and medium buildings or groups of buildings would be required to report annual energy use, ENERGY STAR rating (if applicable), water use, and greenhouse gas emissions through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager or an equivalent mechanism.
  • The requirement would be phased in over 5 years and would ultimately apply to non-residential buildings 35,000 square feet or greater and residential buildings with 35 or more units.
  • Buildings with ENERGY STAR ratings below the 75th percentile and not meeting other exemption criteria (to be developed by the city, i.e. high performing buildings that do not qualify for any ENERGY STAR rating or that show continuous improvement) would be required to conduct energy audits or other evaluations every 5 years to identify opportunities for energy efficiency investment. Building owners would not be required to act on the audit.
You can read more about BERDO at the USGBC MA Chapter Advocacy page on our website, including a link to Brian's presentation from last night.

 

Thank you Brian and thank you to EnerNOC for hosting the program! About 75 people came out to learn and network. The city looks forward to people supporting the roll out of the ordinance and helping to provide feedback on the regulatory language as they encounter novelties of the built environment that need to be responded to such as rare building types, structures that are hard to define, and energy systems that are more complex than usual.

You can chime in: The Air Pollution Control Commission will hear public comment on the proposed regulations on November 12th at 9:00 AM in Boston City Hall, Room 900; written comments are also being accepted through November 15.
 

 
Please consider joining the Chapter as a Member – our community increases our power to transform the built environment toward higher performance. Thank you for participating in our work!
 
Thank you to Lisa Bolwin and colleagues at EnerNOC for organizing and staffing the program. Thank you to Carolyn Day of the USGBC for organizing the series of Networking Nights for the Chapter.
 
See you next time!

Massachusetts Green High Performance Green Computing Center (MGHPCC) Receive LEED Platinum Cerfitication

By Grey Lee

On October 29th, representatives from the USGBC MA Chapter traveled to Holyoke, MA to attend the LEED Platinum plaque ceremony at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Green Computing Center (MGHPCC). Norm Lamonde, USGBC MA Chapter Board Member and Turner Construction Sustainability Manager, spoke on behalf of the Chapter and presented MGHPCC Executive Director John Goodhue with the LEED Platinum Plaque. 

 

Left to right: Mike Malone, Vice Chancellor for Research & Engagement, UMASS Amherst;
Mike Kearns, Director of Projects, MIT; John Goodhue, Executive Director, MGHPCC;
Alex Morse, Mayor, City of Holyoke; Norm Lamonde, Board Member, USGBC MA Chapter

MGHPCC is the first university research data center to achieve LEED Platinum certification. Beyond its building design achievements, the MGHPCC is a unique collaboration between five universities and the public/private sector. It's location is also unique as Holyoke not only offers low cost and renewable hydroelectric power, but it also sits within the national fiber optic network connecting the Northeast to the world with optimal connectivity. Read more about MGHPCC and Holyoke here. For more on MGHPCC's LEED Platinum achievements, visit their blog

 

The day also included a tour of the facility and Hadley Falls Hydroelectric Dam. A large group from the USGBC MA Chapter West Branch attended, as well as a number of folks from the the project team including representatives from Harvard Green Building Services, M + W Group, Turner Construction, and Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. 

 

MGHPCC is a terrific example of collaboration and revitalization. Congratulations to everyone involved! Here's to more LEED Platinum projects, and leading the front edge of the green building movement. 

Planning for, and profiting by, pollution prevention

By Grey Lee

My last post briefly dealt with the synergy between LEED and various ISO standards.  I thought that it might be useful if I delved deeper into creating an Environmental Management System (EMS).  An EMS is the central provision of ISO 14001.  It is a system to address environmental matters in a strategic fashion that follows the classic system for continual improvement pioneered by Quality Management Systems.  This is the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle or Deming cycle. 
 

 

Why would I do this?

Why should architects and designers be interested in this? Anyone involved the operation of building and the activities that take place within the building should be concerned about its environmental impact and related costs.  Architects, at the design phase, should be cognizant that the structure may benefit from having an EMS in place and this should be part of an integrated design process.  As this is largely a document and data driven endeavor, it is better to secure this vital information as early as possible. This is even more apropos for folks seeking LEED EBOM.  Why wouldn't you consider a building that is built in the best possible manner to also be operated and maintained to a similar high standard?  It also makes sense to have same high standards for the functions that occur within the structure. 

There are several convincing business reasons for creating an EMS that go beyond just doing the right thing. These include market demands, regulatory compliance, demonstrating corporate core values, public perception, and marketing.  From an environmentalist and business perspective, I find that the most compelling argument is that identifying, controlling, and reducing an environmental footprint reaps finanicial and environmental benefits.  Such benefits include reduced costs, reduced overhead, more efficient processes, improved employee performance, reduced risk, and ensuring regulatory compliance. In some cases, regulatory agencies will provide incentives for adopting an EMS such as reduced frequency of inspections, technical assistance, and even modified regulatory requirements.  Another interesting thing to point out is that the emergency preparation element of an EMS helps minimize threats to human and environmental health as well as minimize costs associated with mitigation and remediation.  

These benefits are cumulative and directly proportional to pollution prevention milestones. These are outlined in the white paper “Sustainability Nears a Tipping Point” by the MIT Sloan Management Review.  This paper shares how companies that were early adopters of rigorous sustainability programs have now begun to harvest the benefits as a competitive advantage.  Furthermore, many executives who embraced sustainability initiatives now consider the value of their programs; not just in terms of corporate goodwill and theoretical costs avoided, but as a profit center in and of themselves. One caveat is that these benefits are realized over time.  According to the above referenced study, organizations that have less than 2 years of experience with a sustainability program are 50% less likely to report a profit from those activities than those with 12 or more years invested in their sustainability programs. An EMS can benefit any organization that is willing to commit to the process, regardless of size or business.  The range of entities that operate under an EMS include manufacturers, office buildings, laboratories, small businesses, golf courses, and athletic facilities. In short, any business that generates any environmental impact can have an EMS. If that impact represents waste or risk, then there is a compelling business interest. 

 

Step by Step

Obviously a detailed procedure for establishing an EMS is beyond the scope of this blog article.  I will attempt to briefly outline the steps below. 

A critical step is creating an Environmental Policy.  This is an over-arching statement of the entities intent, aspirations, values, and goals.  The policy must insure compliance with all local, state, and federal environmental laws; it must also detail pollution prevention goals, preferably with quantifiable metrics, and it must detail managements commitment to continual improvement.  These details needs to be public and it must be communicated to the employees.  It is critical that the highest levels of management are invested and involved in this process and that they support this policy.  

Next would be an identification of all environmental “aspects” and “Impacts”. An aspect is anything that can affect the environment while an impact is the means and degree of that effect. An Impact may be positive as well as negative.  The list of aspects and impacts can be extensive and this is typically drafted by an EMS committee that is composed of relevant decision makers.  Unlike LEED, these aspects do not need to be contained within the fence-line or project boundary.  For example, an aspect may be the companies desire to only conduct business with other companies with an EMS or ISO 14001 compliance.  

Once the list of aspects and Impacts is created, the next step is to prioritize those elements. Common means of prioritizing include a matrix with frequency of occurrence (high as daily commute to low like an unlikely emergency spill), level of Impact, cost, benefits, legal risk, and employee/community concerns.  

Along with knowing what the environmental risks are and the potential consequences, the EMS needs to detail the legal and regulatory requirements surrounding those environmental issues. This establishes the baseline actions necessary.  

Once you know what the environmental aspects/risks of your business are, and the potential impacts that can result (as well as the minimum necessary actions), you can develop objectives and targets for all aspects. Not every aspect needs to have an objective beyond the minimum legal requirements. Low priority aspects not addressed can be addressed through the process of continual improvement at a later date.  The aspect/impact need not be mitigated in one fell swoop. It can be addressed incrementally over time.  A goal that is unattainable or unrealistic is not valid objective.  Again, upper management needs to be involved from a resource commitment point of view.  What is also wise is to involve those “in the trenches” that will ultimately be responsible for the successful achievement of these objectives.  

Finally, a formal program needs to be established and implemented.  This sets up a consistent approach to achieve each objective.  These objectives can include guidance, information, and references. It should also include timelines, resources, and details on who is accountable and responsible for achieving the objectives/targets.  Other than that, they should also include necessary training to demonstrate competency of those involved in meeting each and every objective.  The objectives should include procedures for communications, document control to insure that critical documents are maintained and updated, and that important communications and records are logged.  Techniques such as operational controls, administrative controls, or engineering controls should be detailed; these can and should be amended as the program evolves.  Finally, mistakes will happen and therefore an emergency readiness and response plan needs to be formulated for each aspect. 

 

Continuous improvement keeps rolling along

At this point, the EMS should be developed and implemented. The management will be on board and will be supporting the efforts to meet the defined objectives.  The responsible parties will have been assigned and will be overseeing the ongoing efforts. All necessary personnel have been made aware of their respective roles and have received access to all training needed to insure their competence. 

 

 The next link in the PDCA cycle is check and act. This involves determining environmental performance, identifying corrective or preventive actions for situations where expected performance was not realized, auditing the systems to insure that all elements are functioning and up to date, and preserving any relevant records.  Management needs to review the effectiveness of the EMS on a periodic basis and needs to update goals, revise aspects and impacts, and address shortfalls uncovered by the review/audit; thus, the cycle starts again.  

 

You are not alone

The process can be a difficult and tedious ordeal, being highly dependent upon investigation and documentation; however, you are not alone. Resources are available and consultants can be hired that can guide you through the process. There are online services that will help draft a customized EMS from a stock template.  For those that wish to wish to do it themselves, the EPA has a wealth of information available. 

The most important thing is that the EMS process forces companies to think critically about their environmental impact.  This self-reflection can lead to great rewards for themselves, their shareholders, their neighbors, and the planet.

Kevin Dufour is an Environmental Scientist with Viridis Advisors. He collaborates with Tom Irwin on creating greener greenscapes. The opinions expressed by member bloggers are their own and not necessarily those of the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter.