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Become a Member
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Help us accelerate change and further our mission to advocate, educate and promote sustainable development in Massachusetts.
Join as a member today!
Organizations that share our goal of a more sustainable built environment should consider becoming a USGBC national member or sponsor of USGBC MA.
Learn more here
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Looking for Volunteers
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The Chapter is looking for volunteers interested in getting involved. Some of the areas we are looking for help in are: Chapter Website, Newsletter, Speakers Bureau, Membership Campaign, and Graphic Design.
If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Suzanne Abbott sabbott@usgbcma.org
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| Chapter Committees |
Give Back.
Build Your Resume.
Network.
Become involved with a Committee!
Regional & Statewide Outreach
Education
Communications
Membership Advocacy
Fundraising
Special Events
Emerging Professionals (EPMA)
Green Schools
Residential Green Building
USGBC Across MA!
Worcester Group Western MA Branch Berkshire MA Group Cape & Islands Group To find out more about the committees and how to get connected, go to our website or send an email to
info@usgbcma.org
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| Sponsorship Benefits |
Is your company interested in being a Sponsor of the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter?
Click here to find out the benefits you'll receive as a Chapter sponsor.
Donations are tax deductible and a great way to support our green building education, advocacy and outreach programming efforts in MA!
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| Our Chapter Sponsors |
Platinum:
National Grid.
Gold:
Boston Properties; Sasaki; Hotel Marlowe; Turner.
Silver:
Citizens Bank; TD Bank; SMMA; Nitsch Engineering; AHA Consulting Engineers; Viridian Energy & Environmental.
Bronze:
Mark Richey Woodworking; Robinson & Cole; NSTAR; The Green Engineer, LLP; Structure Tone.
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| Chapter Newsletter & Website |
Interested in writing articles for the Massachusetts Chapter newsletter?
Interested in contributing educational content or graphics for our website?
Please email Carrie at carrie@greenengineer.com
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| Community Corner |
Check out these upcoming free events...
The USGBC MA has in-person webinars every month, in cities all over the state. Check our website to find an upcoming webinar near you. Webinars are free to Chapter members.
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| Join Our List |
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Greetings!
It is with mixed emotions that I announce my resignation as the USGBC MA Chapter Operations Manager.
Thank you so much for three impactful years with the Chapter. In these three short years the Chapter has transitioned from an Affiliate
of the U.S. Green Building Council to the full fledged Massachusetts Chapter. We have 13 hardworking Committees along with the Western Massachusetts expansion of our West Branch. Our membership has flourished to over 300 and our Sponsors have continually supported our growth every step of the way.
I have worked alongside distinguished leaders in sustainability supported by a broad base of dedicated volunteers and a membership committed to sustainable communities. I have had so many opportunities to grow and develop in my position as Operations Manager
supported by every one of you.
I appreciate all of the hard work and time that our volunteers and members have committed to the Chapter to get us where we are today. Thank you all for your passion
and dedication.
While my time here has encouraged and expanded my passion for green building and the LEED System, my career has taken a slightly different direction. I have accepted a position with Vidaris (Israel Berger & Associates / Viridian Energy & Environmental) in Business Development in the Boston area. I look forward to joining a Committee after my departure and continuing to contribute to the great work that you all do. I leave you in excellent hands with the new Executive Director, Grey Lee and expect great things from the Chapter in this new year.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Abbott
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Update to LEED Regional Priority Credits
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By Pat Cornelison
You may remember receiving a survey from USGBC MA a few months ago about what sustainability issues were most important or pressing in your area. This was the start of the process of selecting Regional Priority Credits that will be available to projects registering under LEED Version 4 in Massachusetts. The Chapter BoD established an ad hoc committee to work with USGBC National on this process. The top issues identified by the survey and through discussion among the committee members were Energy Use, Wastewater, Stormwater, Sprawl, Water Use, Renewable energy, Building Re-use, and Brownfields, but the presence and importance of these issues is not the same in all areas of the state.
Over the following months the committee worked with a Regional Geographic Information System mapping resource (RegGIS) provided by USGBC National. RegGIS provided maps of data related to specific issues, such as population density, water usage or presence of CSO permits. We supplemented this RegGIS data with data from other GIS mapping resources. By overlapping these issue maps we identified and mapped nine different zone types across the state with various combinations of the priority issues.
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Chapter End of Summer Social Recap
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More than 100 guests joined the US Green Building Council's Massachusetts Chapter at Morton's The Steakhouse for its 2012 End of Summer Social on September 20th. It was an event to celebrate the work of the Chapter and the Massachusetts sustainable building community.
Sponsors included NSTAR, New Buildings Institute, and Vidaris at the sold-out event. A huge thank you goes out to our sponsors as well as the USGBC MA Special Events Committee for organizing such a successful event. Committees of the USGBC MA Chapter spent the night sharing with attendees the work they have completed in the last year as well as what they have planned for 2013.
It was announced that night that the Education Committee will be starting Green Associate Study Groups and a full schedule of in-person webinars that offer GBCI CE Hours. Scheduling can be found on our website. Also announced that night, was the LEED for Subcontractors Workshop sponsored by National Grid. This workshop is a collaboration by the USGBC MA Chapter's West Branch and the USGBC MA Worcester Committee. Details can be found on the USGBC MA Chapter website.
To learn more about what exciting events and programming our 12 Committees have planned for the upcoming year and to get involved, please visit the Committees page at www.usgbcma.org.
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Large Commercial Buildings to Report Annual Usage Data
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New City of Boston Legislation
by Paul Brown
The City of Boston is about to embark upon an exciting new initiative, which could lead to real sustainability and energy use reduction. The City plans to require reporting of energy use and water use in Boston buildings!
Even with the best of intentions, sometimes our 'green' buildings fail to perform as well as we would like. We also know that our existing building infrastructure is a huge consumer of energy and contributor to CO2 emissions. There is strong evidence that behavior change in energy consumption depends upon awareness and hard data. This evidence is the driver of the new initiative for Boston.
The legislation currently being finalized will require commercial buildings over 50,000 SF to begin reporting annual usage data to the city in 2013. Energy and water usage information will eventually be made public. Owners of these buildings will be required to report data through the Energy Star Portfolio Manager system (as currently used with LEED for Existing Buildings). Boston and other cities are currently working with utility providers to implement an automatic reporting process, so as to reduce the time and effort burden on building property managers to comply.
In future years, commercial buildings larger than 25,000 SF, and residential properties with more than 20 units, will also be required to report.
Building owners should become more aware of the amount of energy their properties are consuming, serving as a motivating force for further energy use reduction and reduced CO2 emissions.
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New Walpole Public Library Designed for LEED Gold
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Excerpt From New England Real Estate Journal
In the historic context of New England, the Walpole Public Library is a rare new building sited adjacent to the town buildings including the town hall, historic Blackburn Hall, police and fire departments, and just steps away from downtown and public transportation. The architects had been working with the Walpole community since 2007 when we were asked to re-envision and improve upon the previous library design, accepted for a construction grant from the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners. After a long, 20 year process and funding approval by a slim margin, the community can finally be proud of their new library.
The building is aiming for LEED Gold certification and is expected to receive, at a minimum, LEED Silver certification. It makes use of both passive sustainable strategies as well as active strategies. The incorporation of a green roof over the one-story wing creates a better insulated space for the program area. Natural light floods the interior spaces through the surrounding glazing and skylights and reduces the need for artificial lighting. The use of a photovoltaic panel system has assisted in generating over 5% of the building's utility features on-site, as well reducing the baseline energy use by nearly 25%. A rain garden at the entry of the building creates a small stream of rainwater from the roof to feed native plantings and remain on-site in a retention pond.
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LEED for Subcontractors Workshop
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LEED for Subcontractors is an opportunity to develop complementary skills that will produce quality projects for today's demanding Green Building clients. The workshop will focus on particular area where subcontractors must participate in the LEED process, namely providing documentation about material and following polices and procedures for indoor air quality / materials and resources.
This workshop will look in detail at the on-the-job requirements affecting various trades. There will be hands-on practice with material information sheets. Small groups will provide an opportunity for discussion, questions and feedback among subcontractors, designers and general contractors.
When: October 24, 2012, 7:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: National Grid Worcester Office, 939 Southbridge St, Worcester, MA
Cost: Current USGBC MA Member - $100, Non-Members - $125
CEUs: Receive 6.0 GBCI LEED Specific Hours and AIA/CES (LU) RSVP: On the Chapter websiteLunch will be provided Hosted by National Grid and Sponsored by Western Massachusetts Electric Co. and Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts |
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SGBC Massachusetts Chapter is a non-profit organization serving the sustainable design community throughout the Commonwealth by providing a wide range of green building education, networking and advocacy services.