By Grey Lee
Below is the intro section of the March Prospect – our monthly forward-looking newsletter.
Link to the full edition here.
Thanks for reading!
Gearing Up For a Busy March
Hello Force of Green-ness!
The first two months of 2016 have flown by for us here at USGBC MA, but we don't have time to stop and take a breath because we have a jam-packed and exciting schedule coming up with tons of events and opportunities in the next few months!
I was at a breakfast program this morning, run by another org, linking Sustainability & Property Management. There were great panels moderated by Chapter colleagues Mike Davis and Luka Matutinovic. It is fascinating to note how far our community of practitioners has come in the last 15 years. I remember pitching LEED in about 2003 and developers and owners just could not get their heads around it. Now, we see developers talking about how they only build out LEED space for their commercial projects; how they report in to GRESB because their big money investors like J.P. Morgan want to know; how high-end apartment developers are incorporating sustainability and wellness into their projects because their residents (and not just millennials!) are asking for these features. It is an exciting time – and yet – many projects forego a systematic approach to sustainability and leave money on the table.
It's sometimes unbelievable that we still have so much work to do, but it's awesome that in the global struggle to put an end to wasteful buildings, we are winning! Thanks for participating in this mission and marching together as a community for improved ROI and improved sustainability in our communities.
On that note, we have a CALL FOR ACTION to support our Advocacy priorities. We are approaching a critical deadline to support Net Metering legislation. We need your help to secure a renewable energy future for the Commonwealth. Please click here to see more in the Advocacy Update.
We have big events coming up: our COP21 Buildings Day Unconference on 3/29; The Building Tech Forum on 4/21/16 and a Resilience Expo in July. Let me know if you like the subjects and want to be involved.
Next week we have two big gatherings for our green building pros: NESEA's “BuildingEnergy16” in the Seaport of Boston. If you need a deep dive on LEED v4 or to explore LEED ND – sessions are Tuesday, 3/8, for your educational needs. Also, hosted by our sponsoring partner National Grid, the Association of Energy Engineers' “GLOBALCON” in Boston's Back Bay.
I hope to see you at one of these upcoming events. It is always good to re-connect with comrades on the trail to More Green Buildings!
Thank you,
Grey, and Celis, Anthony, Ryan and Wenbin
PS: who knows from what ancient military redoubt the above picture was taken?
Global Head of Sustainability, Superior Essex
Sustainability Director, Steven Winter Associates
PE | Associate, LeMessurier
Vice President, AEW’s Architecture & Engineering group
Interior Designer, Jacobs, Boston
Senior Vice President, Market Transformation and Development U.S. Green Building Council
AIA LEED AP BD+C | Senior Associate, Gensler Boston 
LEED Fellow, WELL AP | Founder and Principal, Ecoworks Studio
AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
LEED AP BD+C | Environmental Sustainability Manager, Armstrong World Industries
Assistant Professor of Exposure Science | Director of the Healthy Buildings program
Managing Director, Harvard University Office for Sustainability
Principal & Director of Certifications and Consulting, Epsten Group, Inc.
Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, Jamestown
Director of Sustainability Programs, DASNY | LEED AP BD+C
Associate Principal, BuroHappold Engineering
Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation
Co-Founder, Facilitator at The Laurentia Project | LEED AP BD+C, LFA
Vice President of Sustainable Development, Shaw
Founder and President, Board of the Healthy Building Network
Building Technology Director, Kingspan North America
LEED® AP ID+C, BD+C, USGBC Faculty, WELL® AP, WELL Faculty and Fitwel Ambassador
Workplace Strategy Expert and Researcher, EYP
Principal, Integrated Ecostrategy
Senior Vice President, International WELL Building Institute
Principal, Bruner/Cott
Architect, Associate, and Sustainability Design Leader, Stantec Architecture and Engineering
FAIA, LEED Fellow, Long Green Specs
Products & Materials Specialist, BuildingGreen
Director of Acquisitions and Development
Director of Restorative Enterprise, Interface
Sustainability Manager, Consigli Construction Company