Cape & Islands: 4/30/13 5-7pm -

Metro Boston: 5/8/13 Architecture 2030 Discussion

Metro Boston: 5/9/13 Building Smarter Buildings

Committee Meetings in Boston (open to anyone):

5/9/13 Green Schools Meeting w/ Stephen Muzzy

5/15/13 Emerging Professionals Meeting

5/16/13 Membership Meeting

5/23/13 Communications Meeting

The USGBC MA Chapter continues to endorse and support the proposed Building Energy Reporting & Disclosure Ordinance for the City of Boston. We have a lot of resources on our website, and Grey Lee wrote about his testimony on our blog. The City of Boston also has posted a lot of useful information.

City Council is expected to vote on the matter on May 8th. Please help us connect to City Councillors. If you are a resident of Boston, you can look up your councillor here. If you live elsewhere, please encourage friends and colleagues who are in Boston to support the measure. 

Energy disclosure will help buildings become more environmentally responsible. Thank you for your support of the Building Energy Reporting & Disclosure Ordinance in Boston.

As recently announced at our Earth Day Celebration, our advocacy work for green buildings has recently become amplified. The Chapter thanks the USGBC for supporting the position with a strategic investment grant. Stephen Muzzy will start in early May, focusing on three things:

• Facilitating a Green School Buildings coalition 
• Implementing LEED Study Groups 
• Creating a LEED Project Assistance Matching Service 

Steve comes to the Chapter having served for 5 years as a program manger at Second Nature, a campus sustainability consulting organization. He most recently has managed the American Colleges & Universities Presidents' Climate Challenge program, helping campuses implement carbon mitigation strategies. He brings green campus experience, program design & delivery skills, and an extensive network at higher ed institutions in Massachusetts.

You are welcome to attend a Green Schools Committee meeting on 5/9/13 where we will be welcoming Steve and making introductions. We are looking forward to promoting green buildings on campuses throughout Massachusetts in the coming months and years!

Have you heard of the 2030 challenge? Have you asked yourself what does the AIA 2030 commitment mean to me? Join us for an interactive discussion that will include an overview of the 2030 Challenge, and highlight specific reporting requirements, metrics, and case studies to help explain how this movement affects all of us in the building community. 

Please join the USGBC MA and the Young Professionals in Energy Boston Chapter as they co-host this exciting event with presenter Jim Stanislaski. As an architect with Gensler, Co-Chair of the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Committee on the Environment, and participant on the National Architecture 2030 Advisory Board, Jim will be able to provide all attendees with insight into the 2030 challenge. 

Leigh Anne Mays with Guardian Industries, our sponsor for this event, will be present to speak about Guardian's focus on the Net Zero 2030 guidelines and initiatives by improving the energy performance of glazing products through new technologies like Electro Chromic glass, Photovoltaic glass, and other advanced glazing technologies. 

Refreshments will be provided for all attendees thanks to Guardian Industries. Following the presentations there will be opportunities for networking amongst all participants. For more information about the event and / or to RSVP go to our website.

As a component of the City of Boston's Climate Action Plan

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

to meet the Mayor's greenhouse gas reduction goal of 25 percent by 2020, Mayor Thomas M. Menino filed the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance with the Boston City Council. This ordinance would require all large and medium sized buildings to report their annual energy and water use to the City of Boston.

Here are some facts about the proposed ordinance:
1. All large and medium buildings or groups of buildings would be required to report annual energy use, ENERGY STAR rating (if applicable), water use, and greenhouse gas emissions through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager or an equivalent mechanism.
2. The requirement would be phased in over 5 years and would ultimately apply to non-residential buildings 25,000 square feet or greater and residential buildings with 25 or more units.
3. Buildings with ENERGY STAR ratings below the 75th percentile and not meeting other exemption criteria (to be developed by the city, i.e. high performing buildings that do not qualify for any ENERGY STAR rating or that show continuous improvement) would be required to conduct energy audits or other evaluations every 5 years to identify opportunities for energy efficiency investment. Building owners would not be required to act on the audit.