Blog

  • The Private Sector uses LEED and so should the Federal Government

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    It’s simple, really. There’s nothing else like LEED to advance green building, whether you are a Fortune 100 company or the U.S. General Services Administration. If you’re serious about saving money, saving energy, reducing water, improving indoor air quality, making better material choices, and driving innovation, then LEED is the best choice, bar none. There’s nothing else even close.

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  • LEED Interpretations and Addenda

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    LEED Interpretations Database

    We’re working to make LEED easier to use, and over the next few months, you’ll notice several improvements to LEED Interpretations and rating system and reference guide addenda. The first step: we’re unveiling a new platform.

    Welcome to our simplified, searchable database housing all the LEED Interpretations and addenda you need for your project in one central location.

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  • New and improved: LEED Interpretations and Addenda

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    LEED Interpretations Database

    We’re working to make LEED easier to use, and over the next few months, you’ll notice several improvements to LEED Interpretations and rating system and reference guide addenda. The first step: we’re unveiling a new platform.

    Welcome to our simplified, searchable database housing all the LEED Interpretations and addenda you need for your project in one central location.

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  • It Was 20 Years Ago Today.

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    In a few minutes I’ll board a plane for Rome, where I’ll attend the board meeting of the World Green Building Council. WGBC is 94 councils strong today, each one modeled on USGBC, which was the first council. And it was birthed 20 years ago today.

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  • Improving the Building Product Supply Chain, One LEED Volunteer at a Time

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    Credit: Ruin Raider via Flickr

    USGBC has just announced that it is establishing a group of 11 to 15 volunteers to serve as a working group that will determine how to best implement Option 3 of the Material Ingredients credit proposed for LEED v4. The call for self-nominations of applicants posted April 1 to the volunteer opportunities page on the USGBC website, and USGBC will accept applications through May 1.

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  • Include Household Expenses to Better Assess Borrower’s Ability to Pay

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    Photo by Jay Coble

    This article was originally posted on americanbanker.com on April 2, 2013

    Since the 1930s, when the Federal Housing Administration published its earliest underwriting manuals, mortgage lenders have used a loan applicant’s debt-to-income ratio to measure his or her ability to pay a mortgage loan. But lenders today typically count only a limited basket of loan applicant expenses toward DTI: the new mortgage payment, taxes and insurance and other loan payments.

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  • Members: Register now to vote for LEED v4

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    The LEED v4 Ballot is right around the corner. Want to vote? Register between April 1-30.

    Who can register to vote?
    All employees of USGBC national member organizations with membership in good standing since March 1, 2013. Membership should remain in good standing through the ballot period this summer. Be sure to register first.

    After registering, you’ll have access to the LEED v4 webcast series on LEED v4, which begins on April 10. Webcast topics include:

  • Happy Birthday LEED!

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    30 Mar 2013

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    Thirteen years ago, on March 30, 2000, LEED went from being an idea to a fully functioning rating system. Who could have known that this idea would turn into a global green building movement, with more than 1.5 million square feet of LEED space certifying every day? Who would have imagined that the program would grow to include over 184,000 LEED credentialed professionals and over 51,000 projects participating in LEED, making up 9.7 billion square feet of construction space?

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  • School Leaders Stay Focused While Change Abounds

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    Conference attendees were all ears during presentations at AASA’s 2013 national

    The 2013 National Conference on Education took place in Los Angeles last month and saw thousands of superintendents gather from across the country to learn, network and share, but most importantly prepare for the changing landscape of public education.

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  • The Price of Education

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    Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

    The legwork has been done. The research has been conducted. The numbers have been crunched. As far as we can tell, it is going to cost the U.S. an investment of nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars to upgrade our nation’s schools just to working order, and nearly half a trillion to bring them into the 21st century.

    And the cut-to-the-chase part boils down to one simple but undeniably tough question: How can we possibly afford to do that?

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