This past Monday, Center for Green Schools Director Rachel Gutter and I presented plaques to the first four LEED certified schools in New Orleans. These four schools represented not only a huge accomplishment for the Recovery School District and the ci…
The benefits of green building – quality, healthy and safe environments that are cost effective – should be available to all. These outcomes are especially critical in affordable housing where studies show that income level segments that rely on affordable housing often pay more in utility and water costs then people of with higher incomes. It’s a problem that needs a solution.
It has become widely accepted across the commercial real estate world that LEED certification has the potential to add value by presenting a number of benefits including higher rental yields, lower vacancy rates, reduced operating costs and improved em…
It’s not zero sum. It’s not either/or. It’s not this or that.
Instead, when it comes to sustainability and resiliency, we need (and thankfully we’re seeing) a great convergence.
Not only do the agendas of these two great causes overlap, but their destinies must be forged together.
Last Thursday, many of you – architects, writers, USGBC chapter members, activists, consultants – joined me on Twitter for a live tweet-up on LEED 2012. It was a doozy – and I mean that in the best way. Your questions were thought-provoking and interesting, spanning from building performance to market transformation to the cost of LEED. Thanks to your participation, we covered a lot of ground in one fast-paced hour.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and Senator Mark Warner (VA) convened a field hearing on the USS Kearsarge on the role of the Navy and Marine Corps in reducing energy consumption, minimizing water use and expanding renewable energy generation. As a member …
It’s a great time to be an existing building.
First: President Obama released last year’s Better Buildings Initiative, focusing financing opportunities on commercial retrofits.
Then: USGBC reported that LEED for Existing Buildings project square footage surpassed new construction projects.
The first annual Arkansas Green Schools Challenge is coming to a close, and a great article was recently published on the program in February’s Arkansas Green Guide magazine.The Challenge was a joint effort between the USGBC-Arkansas Chapter and the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA).
Last week, hundreds of architects stormed Washington as part of the American Institute of Architects’ annual Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference. Grassroots serves as a forum to convene AIA’s extensive local chapter network, with which USGBC’s local chapters often collaborate. Partnerships are the primary tools in any advocacy organization’s tool belt; however, the ongoing collaboration between the U.S.
LEED is a living document. Its evolution is critical to the transformation of the buildings industry, connecting the market to innovative ways of thinking about the design, construction and operation of green buildings. The power of LEED is its abilit…