Greenbuild Blog

Greenbuild 2011: Wrap-up and Resources

jeaston — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:04:45 GMT

Though Greenbuild 2011 wrapped earlier this month, there are still plenty of ways to recap and re-live the education, big announcements and speakers.

BLOGS
Browse these blogs that covered Greenbuild with daily wrap-ups and commentary:

MyGreenPalette.com
Sustainable Industries
GreenSource
Rocky Mountain Institute
Urban Green Council
ED+C
GreenBiz

VIDEO
Watch the Greenbuild opening and closing plenary sessions, master series speakers, and a variety of LEED education sessions – all for free on GreenbuildExpo.org.

PHOTOS
Access official photos from the show to complement your wrap-up articles and blog posts.

Any other Greenbuild 2011 resources you’d like to share?

GreenTech@Greenbuild: The Future of Green Building is Now

jeaston — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:06:49 GMT

Casey O'Connell
Director of Communications
Regenerative Ventures, Inc.

We are entering an era where green building has transformed from a buzzword, to a sophisticated approach redefining how we make and live in buildings. Instead of spending the bulk of our efforts converting people to build green (although this is still very much a need), we are now discussing the different genres and levels of green.

What was first an industry centered largely on materials efficiency with measures such as low flow toilets, day lighting, and weatherstripping, has now metamorphosed into high-tech IT. Electrochromic windows, controllable electrical outlets, sensor-based DC power lighting systems, building dashboards coupled with cloud technology, micro fuel cells, and bio-based phase change solutions—wall fabric that melts and solidifies at room temperature to stabilize a space’s heat gain/loss.

These advancements are what can be called, “disruptive,”—innovative technology that helps to create a new market and value network; they ‘disrupt’ an existing market by displacing earlier technology. David Gottfried, founder of U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), WorldGBC, and Regenerative Ventures, Inc., predicted and labeled this progression in the green building movement as “GreenbuildTech”—the application of high-tech IT expertise with the objective of advancing energy and water efficiency, carbon mitigation, reduction of operational impacts and materials’ effectiveness.

To increase awareness and accelerate the mainstreaming of such emerging, disruptive technologies, Regenerative Ventures, Inc., in partnership with USGBC, has created the summit GreenTech@Greenbuild (G@G), to be held at Greenbuild on October 6th, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Fairmont Ballroom). After researching the clean tech (GreenTech) market, Regenerative Ventures selected 30 top companies to present their exceptional solutions for the building industry. The G@G event showcases innovative, private, start-up companies (investor- or venture-backed) with less than $100 million in revenues.

The summit will commence with a venture capital panel discussion that deliberate the GreenTech trend. Then, parallel tracks of 5 rapid-fire presentations by top-level members of each participating company will alternate with 20–minute networking sessions. A dynamic presentation using USGBC’s new Green Building Info Gateway (GBIG) program will link featured companies to LEED projects where their products or services are used.

The inaugural G@G event embodies the theme of the 2011 Greenbuild, it examines what is “NEXT” in green building, and will introduce the next wave of sustainable commerce.

Learn more about GreenTech@Greenbuild »

What’s new with LEED and Demand Response? Find out at Greenbuild 2011

jeaston — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:38:52 GMT

Brendan Owens, LEED AP, P.E.
Vice President, LEED Technical Development
U.S. Green Building Council

Earlier this year, USGBC launched the Demand Response LEED Pilot Credit as a road test before full adoption in LEED 2012. We are now working on ways to engage even more projects, drive widespread adoption of demand response participation, and develop a stronger relationship between the energy & building communities.

To learn more about the demand response pilot credit, explore becoming a partner in the new market pilot, and receive a report on qualified demand response programs in your market come see us at this year’s Greenbuild conference in the LEED Lounge or join us for a focused information session. Members of the team that developed the credit language will be available to answer your questions and help you discover how your projects can benefit.

LEED Lounge
Level 800, South Building
Thursday, Oct. 6, 8 – 10:30 a.m. and 12– 3 p.m.

Information Session, Room 802A
Wednesday, October 5, 4 – 5 p.m.
Thursday, October 6, 4 – 5 p.m.

Looking forward to seeing you at Greenbuild!

Current LEED APs: Add a Specialty to Your LEED Credential at Greenbuild

jeaston — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:01:17 GMT

William Nutt
Associate, Marketing and Communications
U.S. Green Building Council

Are you a LEED AP? If so, there is still time to add a specialty to your LEED credential at the USGBC’s annual Greenbuild conference even if your enrollment deadline has passed. The majority of LEED Professionals have already added a specialty to their LEED credential but the window is closing.

In 2009, GBCI updated the LEED AP with five new specialty credentials:

- LEED AP Building Design + Construction (BD+C)
- LEED AP Interior Design + Construction (ID+C)
- LEED AP Operations + Maintenance (O+M)
- LEED AP Neighborhood Development (ND)
- LEED AP Homes

The specialty credentials can be added to your LEED AP by simply logging onto your GBCI account and clicking enroll or by visiting the LEED Credential booths at Greenbuild located on level 600.

After that, you have two years to maintain your credential by following prescriptive credential maintenance, completing 30 hours of continuing education activities over a two-year period.

Prescriptive credential maintenance is on a one time activity that maps your specialty over to the newest version of the LEED rating system. After the prescriptive maintenance is complete, LEED APs with specialty will maintain their credential in following years through a variety of methods such as taking courses or working on LEED projects.

There is no risk and no fee to enrolling in a specialty through prescriptive credential maintenance. LEED APs can also choose to forgo prescriptive CMP and add a specialty to their credential by taking the specialty portion of the new LEED AP exam, at a cost of $150- $250.

Greenbuild also offers an array of hour-earning opportunities, from education sessions and workshops to speaking events and green building tours. Over 170 courses have been approved for credential maintenance credit—and hours earned at Greenbuild are automatically reported to GBCI, making it easier to track your maintenance.

Why update your credential?
The specialty credentials ensure that LEED Professionals stay current with green building innovation, standards and practices through the Credential Maintenance Program (CMP). CMP, which requires LEED APs with specialty to complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years, also allows LEED Professionals to grow their knowledge base and show clients and employers that their expertise remains meaningful in a continually transforming marketplace.

Employers and clients are increasingly seeking LEED APs with specialty. This trend will popularize exponentially as LEED 2012, which awards an Innovation point to project teams featuring a LEED AP with specialty, nears release. Additionally, all candidates for the LEED Fellow distinction, honoring the green building industry’s most accomplished practitioners, must hold a LEED AP with specialty credential.

Credential maintenance for LEED APs with specialty is easy; you can earn 10 continuing education hours simply by working on LEED projects—a daily activity for many LEED Professionals¬—and five hours through self-study, including reading the LEED Reference Guides and reference standards. That’s half of your hours every two years, and with the new GBCI Course Catalog and USGBC Webinar Subscription, finding your other 15 hours is a breeze.

With so many advantages to enrollment, why not add a specialty to your LEED AP credential in Toronto? It’s just another way to benefit from Greenbuild’s expansive offerings. See you there!

Get Schooled at Greenbuild

jeaston — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:47:59 GMT

Marisa Long
Marketing & Communications Manager
Center for Green Schools

Stop by the Center for Green Schools display at Greenbuild and you just might learn something! The Center for Green Schools at USGBC has been busy preparing for this year’s

Greenbuild International Conference & Expo taking place next week at Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and we encourage everyone to stop by the Center for Green Schools and USGBC Students display area located on the 700 Level of the South Building. Center staff will be holding “office hours” and other special events, so visitors can take a break between sessions to sit, relax and learn more about the many programs and initiatives targeted at greening K-12 schools, colleges and universities.

Here are 11 Center events during Greenbuild you definitely shouldn’t miss!

1. Rachel Gutter, Director of the Center for Green SchSave changesools, will be interviewed by GreenSource Magazine for “Essential Toronto” (Wednesday, Oct.5, 9:30 a.m., McGraw Hill Booth, Expo Floor)
2. Join the Center for a focus group/input session on the new community college and under resourced program. (Wednesday, Oct. 5, 9-10 a.m., Room 802B)
3. Learn what’s new with the Center’s advocacy outreach and programs, including the Congressional Green Schools Caucus, 50 for 50 Initiative for state legislators, Mayors’ Alliance for Green Schools and the Coalition for Green Schools. (Wednesday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m.- noon.)
4. Learn more about all the people who make up the Center for Green Schools Community with members of the Center’s staff (Wednesday, Oct. 5, noon-2 p.m., Center Display)
5. What’s Next for Green Schools? The Center for Green Schools at USGBC and United Technologies Corp. will host a press briefing to highlight activities in the green schools movement. Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools, will announce the results of a recent survey asking Americans their thoughts on green schools. Rachel will also provide a “Year in Review” update on the Center’s many accomplishments since its inception last fall and an overview of what’s next for the green schools movement in 2012. (Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2-2:30 p.m., Center display)
6. The Center will host a panel, moderated by Jenna McKnight from Architectural Record, highlighting the Center for Green Schools Fellowship program, which places full time sustainability officers in public school districts for three years. Panelists include Phoebe Bieirle, Center for Green Schools UTC Fellow for Boston Public Schools; Sandy Diehl, UTC vice president of Integrated Building Solutions; and Anisa Baldwin Metzger, who manages the Fellowship program and previously served as a USGBC supported sustainability officer in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina. (Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2:30-3 p.m., Center display)
7. Green Classroom Professional Certificate Demo: Stop by to watch the demo of GBCI’s Green Classroom Professional Certificate, which will launch in January 2012. (Thursday, Oct. 6, 9 -11 a.m., Center display)
8. Learn more about what’s next for our Center for Green Schools programs in our specialty update, featuring Center staff Nate Allen, Pat Lane and Jenny Wiedower, with special appearances from Center for Green Schools UTC Fellow Farah McDill, Kentucky State Representative Jim DeCesare and Jason Maddox, USGBC Student Groups leader at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. (Thursday, Oct. 6, 2:30-3:30 p.m., Room 718 A)
9. Collaborate! Stop by the Center for Green Schools and USGBC Students display to learn more about USGBC’s initiatives in both the K-12 and higher education green building industries – and lend your voice to the movement. Attendees will be invited to post their stories and tips on bulletin boards. Share your thoughts and take away new perspectives on green schools! (Oct 5-6, all day, Center display)
10. Students in attendance and serving as conference volunteers will have the opportunity to network with one another and conference attendees at the USGBC Students Lounge. Leaders from USGBC Students groups from across the country will collaborate face-to-face for the first time, joining representatives from the Canada Green Building Council to share strategies and successes in developing robust campus groups. Stop by throughout the conference to learn more about the USGBC Students program and how you can get involved. (Oct. 5-6, all day, USGBC Students display)
11. Education: From building sustainable campuses to classrooms, get your share of green schools education at Greenbuild through an array of sessions. Choose from:

Higher Education »
K-12 Schools »
Students and Emerging Professionals »

We hope to see you in Toronto!

Green Building Design: Acoustics vs. Sustainability?

jeaston — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:11:21 GMT

Anita Snader
Environmental Sustainability Manager
Armstrong Building Products

Acoustics is the lowest performing factor in green building design according to ongoing research at the University of California at Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment (CBE). The Center has administered post-occupancy evaluations of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) to over 35,000 respondents in over 200 buildings, including LEED-certified buildings.

Green buildings were found to be “higher performing” in terms of indoor air quality and lighting, but “lower performing” on acoustics. Moreover, in all buildings surveyed, the level of acoustic satisfaction was rated as the lowest performancefactor of all.

So, the question is: “Why do green buildings rate lowest in acoustical performance?” Perhaps the answer is because, with the exception of LEED for Schools and LEED for Healthcare, acoustics are not specifically addressed in most current green rating systems. Regardless, there isn’t a need to sacrifice good acoustics in green buildings. Architects, interior designers, and building owners don’t have to choose between sustainable and acoustical. They can have both. In fact, the applications of sustainable acoustics could help define “what’s next” for green building.

Tons of Acoustical Ceiling and Wall Choices
Whether it’s an open or closed space, today there are options to address both attributes. In addition to high performance continuous ceilings, now a wide variety of design options include unique clouds, canopies, baffles, and deck-mounted ceilings.

Acoustical clouds, canopies and baffles actually provide more sound absorption than a continuous ceiling of the same surface area because sound is absorbed on both the front and back surfaces. “Free-floating” designs are ideal for open plenum spaces because they add sound absorption while maintaining the exposed look.

Another solution for open plenum spaces is the addition of systems that are installed right on the ceiling deck. Some of these deck-mounted ceilings, while covering only 20% of a ceiling area, can reduce undesirable reverberation by about 50% and still maintain open plenum design integrity.

Acoustical ceilings and walls can contain high recycled content and can be recycled at the end of their service life as part of the Armstrong Ceiling Recycling Program. Armstrong, with the help of its many consolidators and distributors, takes old ceilings and makes new tiles with high levels of recycled content. When you specify Ceiling-2-Ceiling™ tiles you choose the highest recycled content in the market from a truly closed loop process.

Hear the Difference Yourself
To hear the difference the right ceiling or wall can make, visit the Armstrong Listening Lounge (Booth 1030N) at Greenbuild. There, in just 2 minutes, you’ll be able to grab some headphones and hear the effect of acoustical ceiling treatments in a variety of different spaces, including private offices, open plan areas, classrooms, patient rooms,retail and hospitality spaces, including exposed structure spaces. Or, you can visit armstrong.com to hear the difference online or learn about an Acoustics CEU. Either way, you’ll hear the difference for yourself.

Green Buildings Are The Place To Be

cmayer — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:59:10 GMT

Dan Winters
Managing Principal
Evolution Partners Real Estate Advisors

Author Note: With apologies to Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, Arnold the Pig, and the rest of the Green Acres community in Hooterville, we strive to provide thoughtful commentary on green buildings and their tremendous value potential to an institutional real estate portfolio. This article is published in the forthcoming 3Q11 edition of the PwC Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey.

Green buildings continue their market penetration given persistent increases in energy and water costs and continuing changes in regulatory requirements. For institutional investors, green building investment strategies present opportunities for greater asset-based financial returns and a reduced risk profile.

Investors who embrace a green building strategy with their private equity manager selections and fund allocations will be well-positioned to achieve superior returns from their real estate portfolio. The alpha-return profile delivered by green building strategies stems from three primary areas: 1) comparatively lower operating costs of the underlying assets, 2) increased asset desirability in the leasing markets, and 3) reduced incidence of asset obsolescence during the fund's life.

Taken together, these and other tangential factors provide tremendous value potential to incrementally increasing a private equity fund's income return over the holding period, reducing overall portfolio risk, and positively impacting asset valuations upon fund exit.

Generating Alpha
Green buildings employ strategies that save money; LEED and Energy Star provide roadmaps to these savings. Assets with a LEED and/or Energy Star certification have efficient systems that reduce energy/water costs and increase tenant desirability compared to their market peers. These buildings are typically characterized as being well run, amenity rich, and highly regarded within their submarkets. They provide financial advantages over non-green buildings which can be monetized by knowledgeable investors, thus creating marginal alpha returns at a lower risk profile.

The financial benefits can be significant. Over a private equity fund's ten-year life, a green fund can be expected to outperform a non-green fund on both absolute income and overall asset price appreciation. Take as example a non-green real estate portfolio where energy and water costs are 25% of the total portfolio's operating expenses compared to a green building portfolio that reduces these costs by 33%. This efficiency-based cost reduction results in an 8% increase in net operating income year after year throughout the asset's holding period [25% energy costs x 33% reduction = 8% income gain]. Further, this 8% income advantage has value at time of exit based on the asset's terminal capitalization rate.

Accordingly, a $500 million non-green portfolio yielding a 6% cash return today and growing at 3% annually will be outperformed by a green portfolio with an 8% income advantage by an additional $27.5 million in cash income over a ten-year holding period.

Besides an absolute income advantage, green buildings have "core" investment characteristics, which increase the likelihood that these assets experience top-tier capitalization rates upon exit. This reduces portfolio exit risk. Holding the current overall cap rate constant at 6%, the green portfolio's 8% income advantage grows to deliver an additional $52.2 million in sale proceeds upon fund termination.

Therefore, investors enjoy nearly $80 million in alpha-driven returns by investing in a portfolio of certified LEED and/or Energy Star green buildings that reduce energy and water input costs by 33% over the fund's ten-year life.

Supply/Demand Imbalance
Besides direct financial impacts, sustainability initiatives mandated and implemented by major corporations are driving market demand for LEED-certified and/or Energy Star space. Sustainability initiatives focus significant attention on energy and water consumption, employee commuting patterns, and the organization's overall carbon footprint. There are also intangible factors and market goodwill attained by occupying LEED and/or Energy Star certified buildings. In many cities, this dynamic is leading to a bifurcation in the commercial leasing market, where certified buildings command strong top-line competitive advantages over conventional non-green certified buildings.

Quantifying top-line income growth associated with an asset's "greenness" is tricky business. There are many moving parts in any real estate transaction and a tenant's overall occupancy costs, while important, are but one of several primary decision drivers. However, what is clear is if there are rent premiums to be had, LEED and/or Energy Star buildings will have a seat at the table while non-certified buildings may begin to suffer a negative market stigma that takes them out of the running for any green-driven top-line revenue opportunities.

Underwriting "Green"
Real estate risk factors come in many forms –- operating cost volatility, vacancy, lease-up time, tenant credit quality, competitive market profile, rent growth, physical / functional / economic obsolescence, liability exposure, cap rate on sale, and other relevant issues. Reducing these risks is paramount to achieving a fund's return expectations and an important element of an investment manager's fiduciary duties.

Factoring sustainability-related issues into financial underwriting, particularly energy/water efficiency, location, and indoor environmental quality, are important considerations when making investment decisions with long-lived real assets, such as commercial real estate.

Assessing "sustainability risk" and determining an asset's "green gap" are key factors in making superior real estate investment decisions. Exposure to current energy and water costs and their future price increases is the most controllable operational risk. As leases roll over, asset-specific investment risks for poorly performing assets will be exposed. Market factors will drive poor-performing buildings to either 1) charge lower rent, 2) experience lower occupancy rates, or 3) make untimely investments in capital improvements. All of these factors can drive negative financial outcomes for a non-green portfolio.

Solid real estate asset underwriting requires a focus on 1) an absolute reduction in total risk exposure, and 2) the opportunity to achieve enhanced cash flow. LEED and/or Energy Star certified buildings provide a strong investment proposition and downside value hedge due to their many risk-reduction features. Clearly a fund manager's in-depth knowledge of green building value attributes and evolving market practices is important to avoiding upward portfolio drift along the risk spectrum over a fund's duration.

Transparency
Perhaps the most underappreciated driver behind green building is information-age transparency. The real estate market is rapidly evolving its transparency and disclosure practices. Transparency on asset-based features allows both investors and tenants to assess building attributes on a relative basis - - green vs. non-green; efficient vs. non-efficient - - and apportion risk accordingly.

The continued introduction of new information-driven products and services into the real estate industry will further drive a valuation wedge that favors green buildings over their non-green counterparts. Ultimately, transparency is the foundation of capital market efficiency. Investment managers and their institutional investors who invest in green building features and operate their assets at higher efficiency levels will be rewarded over those who do not.

Bottom Line
Leading real estate investors who implement green-building initiatives within their stable of investment managers will be well-positioned to reap the alpha-return rewards of superior income-based cash flows along with associated value gains derived from asset operational cost efficiencies. These investors will also have a leg up given the increasing green building supply/demand fracture and the ripple effects of a carbon-constrained economy over this next real estate cycle.

Investors who fail to incorporate green building attributes into their manager and fund allocations increase the probability of awakening to a real estate portfolio that contains much more risk than one previously thought.

You might recall the Green Acres episode where Arnold, distinguished by his ability to predict the weather with his tail, called for blizzard in the summer creating a awkward situation for Oliver……until the snow came as predicted and buried the city.

From our vantage point, green buildings provide a strong value proposition. And we've got more than a pigs tail to go on. Our view is that successful real estate investors begin with the end in mind. Given this benefit of "advance hindsight"…… how will your portfolio look in 2020?

Dan Winters is managing principal of Evolution Partners, a real estate investment advisory firm specializing in high-performance green buildings, including LEED and Energy Star real estate projects. He can be reached at 202-997-3922 or dan@evolutionpartners.com.

Celebrating Excellence in the Green Building Movement: USGBC's Leadership Awards

jeaston — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:12:51 GMT

Ashley Katz
Manager, Communciations
U.S. Green Building Council

USGBC’s Leadership Awards have become synonymous with the organizations and individuals who signify vision, leadership and commitment to the evolution of green building design and construction. This year’s batch of winners is no different – recognizing leaders in the private, public and non-governmental organization (NGO) spheres. In fact, Rick Fedrizzi said it best:

“As the most influential green building leaders in the world, their achievements are bedrock to our mission of transforming the built environment.”

Celebrating this crop of industry trailblazers at Greenbuild has become an annual USGBC tradition. Join us at the Greenbuild Leadership Awards Luncheon on Oct. 6 as we rally around the successes of the green building movement by honoring these leaders.

The 2011 Leadership Awards recipients are:

Organizational Leadership in the Private Sector: Wells Fargo Bank
As longtime users of LEED, Wells Fargo is a participant in the newly launched LEED Volume Program for Operations and Maintenance, committing to pursuing high-performance for banking and office locations across its portfolio.

Individual Leadership in the Private Sector: Anthony E. Malkin, Malkin Holdings
Through his real estate business, Malkin has been a leader in existing building energy efficiency retrofits, including the $550 million makeover given to the “world’s most famous office building – the Empire State Building. The 80 year old building just announced that it earned LEED Gold, making it green building icon.

Organizational Leadership in the Public Sector: Council on Environmental Quality, the White House
CEQ’s organizational leadership, spearheaded by its Chair, Nancy Sutley, has moved President Obama’s green jobs agenda forward, by pushing for strong investments in high performing green buildings and schools that will help create jobs, build resilience, advance sustainability and stimulate long-term growth. Read Rick Fedrizzi’s take on Obama’s American Jobs Act.

Individual Leadership in the Public Sector: The Honorable Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City
Bloomberg catapulted the “Big Apple” into a beacon for the green building movement, making it safer, stronger and greener. As chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Bloomberg made it possible for the largest cities around the world to adopt and implement similar, innovative sustainability policies.

Bloomberg will take to the stage at the Closing Plenary at Greenbuild on Oct. 7, where he’ll also be honored for his leadership.

Organizational Leadership in a Non-Governmental Organization: Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas (DCMCCT)
Take a virtual tour of the first LEED Platinum hospital in the world, and learn how the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas (DCHCT) is making a difference every day in the lives of the children its serves.

Individual Leadership in a Non-Governmental Organization: Kelly Caffarelli, The Home Depot Foundation
Kelly Caffarelli’s leadership enabled USGBC to fully engage the affordable housing community in the development of LEED for Homes. Her leadership has paid off, as nearly 50% of LEED-certified housing units are affordable.

International Leadership Award: Deutsche Bank AG
With a company-wide goal of carbon neutrality by 2013, Deutsche Bank has worked to reduce its corporate footprint while providing the tools and resources to help others do the same, through investing in alternative energies and low-carbon technologies. This past year, the company earned LEED Platinum for its own headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, which is designed to reduce water consumption and CO2 emissions by 74% and 89% respectively.

President’s Award: Greg Kats, Capital E, Good Energies; and Lynn N. Simon, FAIA, LEED AP Simon & Associates, Inc.

The President’s Award is a special award given in acknowledgement of a distinguished career and exceptional contributions to the green building movement. Greg Kats, who has been a part of the USGBC family since 1995, has helped codify the value of green building through his extensive green building research , and add clarity to common misconceptions around cost.

Lynn Simon has been educating the green building community for over a decade. Lynn Simon is regarded as an expert in the green building industry with a rich history of service within the USGBC family. She’s served as LEED Faculty for more than 10 years, and has served as Chair and member on many USGBC committees.

Center for Green Schools Excellence Award by Otis Elevator Company:
Jayni Chase, Green Schools Advocate Jayni Chase, Chair of Green Community Schools, a program of the MGR Foundation, was honored as the first recipient of the Center for Green Schools Excellence award for her work as a pioneer in transforming schools into sustainable places to learn, work and play. Jayni is one of the original leaders of the green schools movement, and serves as a valued member of the Center for Green Schools’ Advisory Board. She has been a true champion in making green schools a reality for the millions of Americans who go to school every day.

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

Four Takeaways from the 2011 Energy Efficiency Indicator Global Survey

jeaston — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:26:18 GMT

Shannon Quinn
Vice President, Strategic Marketing
Johnson Controls Building Efficiency

A post from one of our Greenbuild exhibitors and sponsors, Johnson Controls.

To help accelerate the transformation to a more energy-efficient and sustainably built environment, we at Johnson Controls feel it’s critical to understand the priorities and challenges facing executive decision makers. That insight is in the 2011 Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI), conducted by the Johnson Controls Institute for Building Efficiency.

Here are four high-impact findings I’ve identified from our 2011 EEI:

1. Technology is key to tracking and reviewing energy performance. Across the globe, monitoring and analyzing performance data is essential to actual improvements in energy efficiency.
2. Markets are moving toward energy efficiency. Energy continues to be a strong priority for organizations around the world, driven by cost savings, incentives and public image.
3. Decision makers continue to face barriers to pursuing energy efficiency, including:

a. Organizational barriers, such as lack of awareness of savings opportunities and lack of technical expertise to evaluate opportunities.
b. Technical challenges, like difficulty assessing whether projects’ promised savings will be achieved.
c. Financial barriers, including projects’ inability to meet internal “hurdle rates” and not having capital to invest in projects

4. Common success factors exist among organizations more likely to invest in energy efficiency projects. Organizations that established goals, analyzed energy data more frequently, deployed more internal/external personnel resources and leveraged external capital implemented more energy efficiency improvement measures than organizations without those characteristics.

We encourage all industry professionals to dig deep and review this year’s EEI in its entirety. This is the fifth annual survey; the second with a global scope; and the largest to date in geography and number of respondents. It reaches a balanced mix of CEOs, CFOs, real estate executives, facility managers, engineers, and sustainability managers in organizations from small sole proprietorships to global corporations with properties totaling tens of millions of square feet. It covers a broad array of industry sectors: government, education, real estate, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, retail, life sciences, engineering, construction and more.

I’d love to hear your feedback on these four takeaways, as well as your overall impressions of this year’s 2011 EEI. I encourage you to share your thoughts and explore the possibilities for building efficiency management on What’s Possible, a Johnson Controls Building Efficiency blog. You also can find Johnson Controls in booth 425N at Greenbuild to see more possibilities for building efficiency management.

By talking about building efficiency solutions and the impact they have on people, we believe we can cut more emissions, generate greater savings and give you greater control to make buildings even easier to manage.

About the Author
Shannon Quinn is vice president, strategic marketing, for Johnson Controls Building Efficiency. She is at the forefront of new and emerging business models and the customer experience.

Johnson Controls Building Efficiency is committed to uncovering more opportunities to enhance building environments. It provides products, services and solutions that optimize energy and economic efficiency in buildings for more than 1 million customers.

What's Next in Green Building? USGBC Working With Planet Forward to Cultivate Ideas

jeaston — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:57:25 GMT

Charlie Rybak
Outreach Coordinator
Planet Forward

Re-posted from PlanetForward.org.

Do you have an idea for the next big innovation in green building? If you submit a video that tells your story in one minute or less, you could find it on display at the world’s largest green building expo.

In 1891, Clarence Kemp, a Baltimore-based entrepreneur that sold home heating equipment, came up with the idea of attaching a black box with water in it to the roof of people’s homes. He had invented the first passive solar water heater, an innovation that continues to play an important role in residential design today.

So what’s next? Who will be the next Clarence Kemp?

USGBC is teaming up with Planet Forward to host the “What’s Next?” competition. The winning videos will be featured at Greenbuild 2011, the world’s largest green building expo, which runs from October 4-7 in Toronto.

To submit a video:

Upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo and tag it with the keyword GBNEXT.
E-mail us a link to your video at GBNEXT@GreenbuildExpo.org. If you have a Twitter handle, include it in your e-mail so we can give you credit when we tweet your submission!
Use hashtag #GBNEXT to share your video on Twitter, and join the conversation on what’s NEXT for green building and our planet’s success.

Submissions must be received by Sept. 28, 2011.

Need inspiration? Watch videos on Planet Forward to get your creativity flowing. Here’s one on Energy Efficient Home Landscapes, and here’s one on Greensburg, Kansas, who used green building techniques to rebuild their town after it was devastated by a tornado.

Want some advice from the experts? Planet Forward provides tips on how to make a great video.

Experience Canada at Greenbuild: Or, How a Peameal Bacon Sandwich May Change Your Life

jeaston — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:25:18 GMT

Ashley Katz
Manager, Communciations
U.S. Green Building Council

Are you headed to Toronto and eager to take in all of the sights and sounds the city has to offer?

You’re in luck— Greenbuild is packed with opportunities to experience the architectural, political and financial capital of Canada, while learning about its long legacy of green building leadership and innovation through on and off-site educational sessions, speakers, tours and walking the exhibit hall floor.

Take a tour inside the inner workings of Toronto’s greenest buildings. Tour a green art gallery, green roof, or a green office. Indulge in the area’s best restaurants and cafes (Peameal bacon sandwich, anyone?) Greenbuild is chock full of opportunities to think outside of the convention center.

Once you’ve explored everything within city limits, head back to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and learn about Canada’s green legacy and plans for the future in the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, beginning with an address by former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell at Wednesday night’s opening plenary, one of the many highlights of the evening Opening Keynote & Celebration. Be sure to take advantage of the shoe check-in located on Level 600, South Building and Level 100, North Building, where we’ll watch your walking shoes while you network in your loafers or heels at the conference.

Set your Greenbuild Scheduler to catch one of seven “Best of Canada” education sessions taking place throughout the show and convening the country’s green building and business leaders to discuss everything from local green building codes to the greening of Toronto’s central business district. Then walk the Greenbuild show floor to learn about innovative products and services from over 150 Canadian exhibitors.

Don’t forget to learn about the two Greenbuild Legacy projects that explore and celebrate teaching children about healthy, sustainable, urban food—the Chimney Court Children’s Greenhouse and the Gateway Gardens Project, both located in Toronto.

And once you’ve walked, biked, bused and subwayed through the very pedestrian-friendly city, take a tip from Treehugger contributor and Torontonian, Lloyd Alter, who’s begun a laundry list of local favorites and things to look for in his series, “Building Up To Greenbuild” for more itinerary ideas.

Game Changer: Greenbuild in Canada

jeaston — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:02:04 GMT

Thomas Mueller
President
Canada Green Building Council

As October draws near and final preparations are underway, I wish to speak on behalf of the CaGBC to express our pride in hosting Greenbuild 2011. It’s actually quite fitting that the first Greenbuild outside of the United States be held in Canada because it demonstrates the close partnership between the USGBC and CaGBC that has been built over many years of advancing LEED and green building in North America. The success of our cooperative relationship is evidenced by the approximately 500 million square feet of LEED projects that are registered or have been certified in Canada since 2004.

Greenbuild will be a wonderful opportunity for delegates from all over the globe to see why Canada is a green building world leader. Some of the greenest projects in the world are in Canada including Dockside Green in Victoria and the 2010 Winter Olympic venues and villages in Vancouver. Toronto is the leader in green office construction and renovation. The Royal Trust Tower, the RBC Centre and the Telus House Toronto are among the greenest office buildings in North America. These LEED projects are leading the market transformation and tenant demand for green office space in Toronto and elsewhere in Canada.

As well as being a world-class centre for entertainment, business and culture, Toronto has shown strong leadership and private and public sector commitment to green building. Policies such as the Toronto Green Roof Policy, Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation, Infrastructure Ontario’s LEED policies and TRCA’s Living City Campus are leading pieces of green building regulation and demonstration projects in North America. Large developers such as Tridel and Minto and landlords including Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties, and Brookfield all have significant green building portfolios in the city.

But there is no doubt that Greenbuild will be a game changer for Toronto and for Canada by taking green building to the next level in terms of industry and government recognition and international trade. The conference demonstrates that green building is an industry sector of the future, bridging the gap between business and the environment, providing significant opportunities to reduce environmental impacts, improving the health of Canadians, furthering economic growth and increasingly providing international trade opportunities between Canada and the US.

While at Greenbuild, make sure you visit us at Canada House to better understand the growing and increasingly sophisticated green building industry in Canada; a rich market for new services, products and technologies that continue to evolve and shape the new green economy.

See you there.

Want more on Canada?
Browse the "Best of Canada" education sessions at Greenbuild »
Take in a green building tour of Canada while you're in Toronto »

Ten Years of Greenbuild, Ten Ways to Explore What's NEXT

jeaston — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:10:00 GMT

Amy Fisher
Communications Associate
U.S. Green Building Council

Entering into the 10th year of Greenbuild, we realize how far we have come since the conference and expo first began in 2002. Expanding from 4,000 attendees to nearly 30,000, Greenbuild is a snapshot of the green building industry as a whole, representing just how rapidly it is growing. Greenbuild NEXT is about the future of the green building movement, the new green economy and our global community.

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, here are 10 ways attendees of Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto will be able to explore “What’s Next.”

1. LOCATION
For the first time in its history, Greenbuild is hosted outside the borders of the United States, in Toronto, Ontario.With all of Toronto’s contributions to the green building industry, this year’s host committee, from the Canada Green Building Council, has created a stellar line-up of green building tours and off-site educational sessions. This allows attendees to step outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and experience Toronto up close, gaining knowledge about the green built environment at every corner.

2. CELEBRATION
2011 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, displaying the monumental strides the green building industry has made over the past decade. On Wednesday, October 5, celebrate the commencement of the 10th Greenbuild with thousands of other attendees during the Opening Keyonte & Celebration at the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto. The event will feature a full lineup of inspirational speakers, including Thomas Friedman, Cokie Roberts and Paul Farmer - along with popular entertainment, making it one celebration you won’t want to miss.

3. EDUCATION
All of Greenbuild’s educational offerings, such as the re-imagined Special Sets, Master Speakers Series and in-depth sessions focused solely on LEED, feature engaging instructors that provide unique opportunities to dig deeper into the green building industry. Take note of new sessions, like this year’s GreenTech@Greenbuild session, focused on emerging technologies that provide solutions for the green building industry.

4. NETWORKING
Greenbuild is the place to meet face-to-face with the companies that supply the tools you need to create change and explore what’s next in your market sector. Not only does the expo hall showcase the latest in innovative products and services but the number of industry professionals in attendance from around the world provides countless opportunities to expand your network. Each year, both exhibitors and attendees leave Greenbuild with the renewed assurance that green means business—and Greenbuild is the place to do business.

5. CREDENTIALS
One of the best ways to make sure you are on top of what’s next in the green building industry is through maintaining your professional credentials. Greenbuild is a one-stop shop for earning continuing education credits to sustain your LEED AP with specialty, Green Associate and other professional credentials. LEED Professional Credential holders can earn their required credential maintenance hours at Greenbuild, through USGBC LEED Workshops, educational sessions, green building tours and more.

6. GLOBAL
Green building is a global movement: Last year 114 countries were represented at Greenbuild. This year Greenbuild is hosted in Toronto, an international destination displaying the breadth of global resources available within the green building industry. Greenbuild allows you to take advantage of its international reach through the International Summit on October 4, celebrating our worldwide efforts and looking to the future of green building on a global scale.

7. LOCAL
Local learning works both ways: You can take the lessons learned at Greenbuild and implement them in your own community, creating safer, healthier and more efficient neighborhoods. Additionally, as a Greenbuild attendee, you bring crucial, local perspective in to educational sessions and networking events. It doesn’t matter what sector of the green building industry you work in or what level of experience you have, everyone lends a hand in spreading the green built environment.

8. REBUILD
As one of the most severe earthquakes to strike Haiti in over 200 years, the wreckage from the 2010 natural disaster left as many as one million Haitians homeless. The U.S. Green Building Council is dedicated to helping Haiti rebuild sustainably, along with other nations around the world that have been rocked by natural disasters. Greenbuild’s Opening Keynote & Celebration, the Resiliency Agenda, will feature renowned speakers New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman, ABC News Political Commentator Cookie Roberts and Chairman of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine Dr. Paul Farmer, among others. They will discuss resiliency while demonstrating how all industries can play a role in community rebuilding efforts in Haiti and around the globe.

9. INNOVATE
Collaboration is key as we work toward a sustainable future.Greenbuild speakers like Mayor Michael Bloomberg will lead the conversation what's next, but we also want to hear from YOU. The Greenbuild NEXT video campaign calls upon Greenbuild attendees, the USGBC community and the Internet at large to tell us what’s NEXT for green building and global prosperity. The end of the car era? A new global climate treaty? We’re collecting your short video submissions for diplay on the big screens at Greenbuild. Submit your video now, watch the submissions, and join the conversation on Twitter by following @USGBC, hashtag #GBNext.

10. PRACTICE
At Greenbuild, we practice what we preach. Not only does Greenbuild supply attendees with learning and networking opportunities in the industry, but stands as a prime example of the significance of sustainable environmental practices. All exhibiting companies comply with the Greenbuild Mandatory Exhibitor Green Guidelines, which focus on sustainable booth construction, reuse, material selection, and operations. All hotels within the Greenbuild hotel block commit to recycling programs, providing towel and sheet re-use, turning lights off in rooms when they aren’t occupied and using environmentally responsible cleaners. Additionally, the food and beverage served at Greenbuild is a minimum of 25 percent local and organic, and the printing, signage and materials available at registration are reusable, recyclable or compostable. These practices provide a framework for other organizations to implement in the future to ensure what’s next is green.

Get Your Passports!

jeaston — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:59:20 GMT

Amy Fisher
Communications Associate
U.S. Green Building Council

Remember when you could travel to Canada with nothing more than a simple driver's license, social security card or copy of your birth certificate? Being from Michigan, I never thought twice about logistics when crossing the border. Alas, the day has come when we need to follow more formal border-crossing procedures to visit our neighboring country to the North and that means PASSPORT.

You can take a breath and relax, because we have all of the information you need to know to help you file for or renew your passport in time for Greenbuild 2011. Getting your passport can be quick and painless, just make sure to apply for it with plenty of time for your application to process. You wouldn't want your lack of passport to prevent you from attending the world's largest green building expo!

What you need to know to apply:

1. Fill out the application for a U.S. passport (Form DS-11) prior to turning in your application to help save time.
2. Submit the application in person at an acceptance facility (find the location nearest you) with the following items:
- Evidence of U.S. citizenship, including either a certified birth certificate, Naturalization Certificate, Certificate of Citizenship or Consular Report of Birth Abroad/Certification of Birth.
*You must also bring a photocopy of the front/back of your U.S. citizenship evidence.
- Acceptable identification, including either a valid Driver's License, current Government ID, current Military ID or Naturalization Certificate.
*You must also bring a photocopy of the front/back of your personal identification.
- Pay the application fee, which is $135 (for a traditional passport book and new passport card, fee is $165).
- Photo to be used in your passport that meets the passport photo requirements.

If you already have a passport but need to renew, check to make sure you fulfill the following requirements and follow the instructions online to apply to renew your passport by mail.

Your Most Recent U.S. Passport:
- Is undamaged and can be submitted with your application
- Was issued when you were age 16 or older
- Was issued within the last 15 years
- Was issued in your current name or you can legally document your name change

If you do not meet these requirements, you must follow the steps listed above and apply in person.

So the real question is, once you turn in your application how long does it take to receive your passport? It may take anywhere from 3 weeks to 12 weeks to have your passport mailed to your home address, depending on the workload of the processing agency. The U.S. Department of State website has a helpful page that tracks the current processing times of passport applications, so make sure to check the tracker to see what the current processing time is. Our suggestion is DON'T WAIT! Apply now to make sure you get your passport in plenty of time and avoid the last-minute stress. Remember, Greenbuild NEXT is from October 4-7.

Get more information about applying for your U.S. passport.

Grab Your Camera and Tell Us: What’s NEXT?

jeaston — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:46:46 GMT

Kimberly Lewis
Vice President, Conferences and Events
U.S. Green Building Council

When I envision the future, I see a world in which the benefits of green building are experienced everywhere: From Houston to Haiti, from rural villages to bustling metropolises, from homes to high-rises.

That’s my idea for what’s next in green building and global success. What is yours?

We are extremely excited to announce the Greenbuild NEXT video campaign! We're asking YOU, the USGBC community, the Internet at large and idealists everywhere to tell us what you think is NEXT for green building, sustainability and our planet's prosperity.

Whether your idea is specific to green building (grid positive buildings everywhere?), sustainable living (bike lanes spanning the globe?), or as broad as solving global climate change (a new climate treaty?), we want to hear from you!

Your videos will be posted on the Greenbuild website, and could be featured on the big screens at Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto!

Get inspired:
Whether your video is shot on a web cam or in a studio, we want to see it and share it. Your videos can be testimonials, action sequences, animations – anything. Be creative!

Check out our 52-second kick-off video, or watch an example of a Greenbuild NEXT video submission from Jacob Monroe, USGBC's Education Resources Coordinator.

Submit your video:

Upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo and tag it with the keyword GBNEXT.
E-mail us a link to your video at GBNEXT@GreenbuildExpo.org. If you have a Twitter handle, include it in your e-mail so we can give you credit when we tweet your submission!
Use hashtag #GBNEXT to share your video on Twitter, and join the conversation on what's NEXT for green building and our planet's success.

The first step in creating the future is imagining it. Conceptualizing it. Predicting it. Ideas become reality. We can't wait to see what you come up with.

Learn more about the Greenbuild NEXT video campaign, watch others' videos, and submit your own! »

Watch the call-to-action video »

Visit USGBC's YouTube channel »

Follow USGBC on Twitter »