There are many exciting events coming up.  There are two all-day LEED workshops, NESEA BE12, a presentation on energy codes, and save the date for the Upper Northeast Leadership Summit.  In addition, keep reading to hear about our new Board of Directors, LEED spending in military projects, and the next LEED 2012 public comment period.

A hearty congratulations to the new Board of Directors for 2012. Elections for the Board of Directors of the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter closed on January 24th, 2012, with the result of 7 returning Board members being re-elected and one new Board member being elected. 

Re-elected members are Jim Newman, Jackie Henke, Norm Lamonde, Phoebe Beierle, Greg Samson, Andrea Atkinson, and Neil Angus. Our new Board member is Andrea Love, a Building Scientist at Payette, who has worked on the Regional Priority Credit Committee and with several other committees since arriving from Chicago last year. You can learn more about the Board here.

Board of Directors positions are:
Phoebe Beierle - Chair

Brian Swett - Vice Chair

Sandra Bock - Clerk

Jim Newman -  Regional Council 

Emily Greenstein - Treasurer

Jennifer Taranto has been the Chair of the USGBC MA Board for two years. During her tenure, the USGBC MA has become a full-fledged Chapter of the USGBC, has formed a West Branch, has grown it's budget, and has educated hundreds of Massachusetts professionals about green building and LEED. This week, Jennifer will step down from her chair position to become a regular Board member. 

The Board of Directors would like to extend a big "Thank You" to Jennifer for her wonderful leadership and service to to the USGBC MA and the green building field.

USGBC MA Chapter hosts a LEED BD+C 251 Workshop at NESEA'S Building Energy 12

This workshop will help LEED Green Associates prepare for the LEED AP BD+C Exam. The workshop is also a great way for current LEED AP BD+C to brush up on the specifics of the rating system and qualify for 7 LEED-specific GBCI continuing education (CE) hours.

This USGBC Faculty-led workshop will review the credit intents, key elements, main requirements, and reference standards of the Green Building Design and Construction (BD+C) LEED rating system.

Cost: Special Discounted Rate*
$100 (USGBC MA Chapter Members)
$150 (Non-members)
*Price includes a copy of the course workbook, lunch and refreshment break.

Please RSVP on the Chapter Website by Wednesday, February 29, 2012.

USGBC MA Hosts LEED ND 251 "Understanding the LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System", a full day workshop in partnership with Boston LISC, The Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the American Planning Association of Massachusetts.

This USGBC Faculty-led workshop will help attendees gain essential knowledge of the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) rating system, including credit intents, requirements, and referenced standards; synergies among credits; and foundations of the LEED certification process. This course provides a foundation for pursuing the LEED AP ND exam.

When: March 22nd, 2012 from 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

$100 (USGBC MA Chapter and Program Sponsor Members)

Space is limited. RSVP on the Chapter Website by March 9, 2012.

The USGBC Massachusetts Chapter Board of Directors approved the formation of the Residential Green Building Committee at their November 3rd meeting in Boston. "Massachusetts is continually at the forefront of national and international green building," said Bill Holland, Committee Chair, "and our mission is to have every building and community in Massachusetts designed, built and operated in an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy and prosperous way." 

The Committee's objective is to raise the awareness of the benefits of residential green building and remodeling by promoting the LEED for Homes rating system, as well as other green building initiatives. 

The formation of the Committee is the culmination of nine months of mission definition and goal setting by Board member Norm Lamonde (Turner Construction) and a small group of colleagues involved with residential green building. Bill Holland (Massachusetts Dept. of Housing & Community Development) has been named Chairperson by the chapter's Board of Directors.  

Meetings are held once a month and include presentations and discussions regarding residential green building. The next meeting will take place March 12 at 281 Summer Street, 5th floor, Boston, at 5:30pm. To learn more or to become involved, please contact Bill Holland at wm.holland@gmail.com.

 

MAY 3rd - 4th. SAVE THE DATE!  

 

USGBC Upper Northeast Region Announces the date of their annual Leadership Summit - May 3rd to May 4th.  

 

Location: New York Upstate Chapter - Saratoga/Malta Hyatt Place. 

 

The federal government has been one of the biggest supporters of the LEED system in recent years. That is why it was shocking for the green building community when Congress ordered a halt to all LEED spending in Military projects last month. Recent Military Appropriations legislations require "explicit justification for any spending on LEED above the Silver level."

Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army announced last week that the Army remains committed to LEED and net-zero projects and insists that "it does not cost more to design and construct to LEED".

The Army will prepare a report for Congress on the benefits of high-performance buildings to help educate decision makers on financial benefits of building green.

  

Location: Fitchburg State
Contact Andrew Langlois, President of a newly formed USGBC Student chapter:

alanglo3@student.fitchburgstate.edu

 

 

 

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association Conference and Tradeshow is almost here!

 

When: March 6 to March 8

Where: The Seaport Hotel, 200 Seaport Drive, Boston, MA

 

To learn more and to sign up, go to their website:  

 

 

From March 1st - March 20th

 

The LEED 2012 third public comment period will be open from March 1-20, 2012 which marks the start of the LEED 2012 program delivery process. This third draft of the rating system is focused on providing a simple-to-use, technically advanced and more robust system. Once the comment period process concludes, LEED 2012 will be balloted this June and launch in November.   

 

This version of the draft focuses on enhancing the user experience in a variety of ways. Credit language has been rigorously reviewed and revised to clarify requirements. Credit names and their organization within categories has shifted to be more intuitive around broader issues within each category. Finally, the LEED 2012 delivery intends to offer additional performance management tools to help projects measure and manage energy and water use. The third public comment draft of LEED 2012 is under review by the LEED Steering Committee; public comment documents will be available to the public beginning March 1 at usgbc.org/LEED2012   

  

  

It's that time of year again!  Pack up your old, discontinued fabrics, finish samples, and/or binders and donate them to SpecSimple.com's annual Save A Sample! Your materials will be donated to design students at schools around the country. This year's event is scheduled to take place April 3-5, 2012.  Save A Sample! labels - used to mark the contents of each box - will be sent to you in March to download and print. 

  

Please make sure to register no later than March 5, 2012. Save A Sample! will contact you by the end of March with labels as well as the exact date and time of your pick-up.

 

Click on here to sign-up today!  Have a question? To learn all about this year's Save A Sample! visit www.saveasample.org or contact Jessica Garcia Fritz at saveasample@specsimple.com.