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Upcoming Events
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August 7, 2013, 6:00 pm
August Ensemble - Networking Night
A great opportunity to mingle and mix with the Emerging Professionals i
August 8, 2013, 8:00 am
Green Schools Committee conference call
August 12, 2013, 6:00pm
August 17, 2013 10:30am
September 18, 2013 8:00am
PACE Clean Energy Forum at District Hall in Boston
October 17, 2013
Save the date!
6:00pm-8:00pm LEEDing Massachusetts Project Showcase at Google in Cambridge
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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 partner 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 &
Blogging,
Event production,
Membership growth, and
Graphic Design If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Grey Lee |
| Chapter Committees |
Make a Difference.
Network.
Build Your Resume.
Become involved with a Committee!
Education
Communications
Membership Advocacy
Fundraising
Special Events
Emerging Professionals (EPMA)
Green Schools Residential Green Building
Regional & Statewide Outreach
Central MA Group Cape & Islands Group Western MA Branch 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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Sponsoring Partnership
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Is your company interested in being a Sponsoring Partner with the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter?
Click here to find out the benefits you'll receive as a Chapter partner.
Sponsoring Partners gain access & exposure to our membership and subscriber base.
You can show your stakeholders that you are directly involved with the heart of green building advocacy and professional development in Massachusetts!
Donations are tax deductible and a great way to support our green building education, advocacy and outreach programming efforts throughout the Commonwealth!
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| Our Chapter Sponsoring Partners |
Platinum:
National Grid
Gold:
Boston Properties
Silver:
Citizens Bank
Nitsch Engineering
AHA Consulting Engineers
Vidaris
P&G Gilette
Knoll
Bronze:
NStar
Mark Richey Woodworking
Robinson & Cole
The Green Engineer, Inc.
Structure Tone
SMMA
New Buildings Institute
Sterritt Lumber
Re-Stream Inc.
SGH
Blu Homes |
| Chapter Newsletter & Website |
Interested in writing an article for the Massachusetts Chapter newsletter?
Interested in contributing educational content or graphics for our website?
Please email Carrie at carrie@greenengineer.com |
| Join Our List |
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Greetings!
The science of high-performance buildings, intimately connected ecodistricts, clean energy financing, networking on speed, and regenerative-ity are just a few of the subject areas we're connecting to at USGBC MA. Thanks for being part of these explorations.
I've recently had the pleasure of attending our community events - summer socials - in Boston, Amherst and Framingham (for our Central Mass. group). We held our Quarterly Combined Committees meeting just the other day for yet another great group of dedicated Chapter supporters. Thank you for being part of our efforts, and if you haven't quite stepped up, stay tuned for our Volunteer Project Clearinghouse which will help folks find small things they can do for the Chapter which will add up to a big effect.
We have a few new things on our horizon: improved resources for people with questions about professional credentialling on our website. Service projects for our communities. A database of LEED project profiles, starting with our Hall of Platinum. And those profiles will be highlighted at our LEEDing Massachusetts Project Showcase in October.
Our organization is a great way to connect to professionals working on similar projects in the green building industry. We are a great community dedicated to a major change in the ways buildings happen. Thanks for helping be the change we want to see in the world!
Grey Lee
Executive Director
USGBC MA Chapter
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| Green Apple Day of Service | |
by Steve Muzzy
Green Apple Day of Service is two months away and we
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Sprout Space Modular Classroom
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are making good progress in Massachusetts. We currently have 9 projects registered, with many more in the works. Be sure to check out the current projects for ideas or to register to attend an event in your area. The Green Schools Committee continues to do a great job marketing this opportunity and has been coordinating a number of green school tours for the fall to coincide with Green Apple. If you'd like to coordinate a Green Apple project, please contact me for support.
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| LEED v4 Approved | |
by Grey Lee
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Photo credit: USGBC.org
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Members of the USGBC
accepted the next version of our flagship building rating system, LEEDv4, with 86% voting in favor. The new system will be officially launched at Greenbuild 2013 in Philadelphia. Changes to the GA/AP exam, documentation materials, and LEED Online will occur over the coming months with much timed to coordinate with Greenbuild. Our LEED Study Group program will continue to focus on fundamentals of green building and the LEED system, with information relating to v4 as that becomes available from USGBC National.
With the approval of the new version, USGBC is soliciting entries of new projects to use the new system in a beta test of LEEDv4. If you register your project in the new system, you will benefit from hands-on support from USGBC and if your project attains Platinum, the fees could be waived.
Individuals from over 1200 USGBC Member firms joined the "consensus body" to be eligible to vote, and only 10% voted against LEEDv4 (with 4% abstentions). The USGBC benefited from gleaning comments from many voters and will be using those critical observations to improve the system as it is fine-tuned into implementation. LEEDv4 will help take the LEED brand global, simplify some aspects of project documentation, and enable the system to evaluate building design paths and products more quantitatively.
The current system of LEED, v2009, will be available for teams to register projects with until the end of May, 2015. After 6/1/15, LEEDv4 will be the only system you can register projects with. If you are interested in reading more about the concerns of some of the naysayers, BuildingGreen posted a great article looking at the issue here. We are looking forward to celebrating the first LEEDv4 registrant in Massachusetts - let us know if you are involved in a prospect!
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IECC 2012 is Now the State Energy Code
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by Carrie Havey
On July 9th the Massachusetts Board of Building
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Photo credit: www.mass.gov
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Regulations & Standards (BBRS) voted to adopt the most current version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC 2012). This makes Massachusetts one of the first states in the nation to adopt the new code, and represents a 20% increase in energy efficiency over the current statewide energy code. The results of this change - the state base code is now equal to the energy efficiency requirements of the Massachusetts Stretch Energy Code.
The Stretch Energy Code was added to the state building code in 2009 and provides an option for cities and towns to adopt an energy code that requires greater energy efficiency in buildings than the base code that is otherwise mandatory for municipalities across the state. Currently, the Stretch Code has been adopted by 131 municipalities in Massachusetts.
So, for a short while, the Stretch Code and the MA state code will be one and the same, until the State determines what the change in the Stretch Code will be. Our Advocacy Interest Group is following the issue and meeting with partners next week to outline a strategy to make sure we get an ambitious next Stretch Code. Contact Norm Lamonde if you are interested in knowing more.
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Brigham and Women's Hospital Research Facility Targets LEED Gold
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Boston, MA. BRA director Peter Meade, on behalf of
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Photo credit: NEREJ.com
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mayor Menino, celebrated the groundbreaking of a new medical research and clinical facility at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). The building was designed by the architectural firm NBBJ and is being built by Suffolk Construction.
The Brigham Building for the Future is a $450 million development that will be located at the corner of Fenwood Rd. and Vining St.in the Longwood Medical Area (LMA). The 11-story, 360,000 s/f building will encompass state-of-the-art lab and outpatient clinical space, advanced imaging facilities, and underground parking. The proximity of research and direct care space is central to the emerging field of translational medicine-the rapid transition of clinical advances from the bench to the clinic. The facility, scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2016, will enable BWH to consolidate many of the current leases it holds for research space throughout Boston.
The building will be a LEED Gold certified, with a roof garden to reduce storm water runoff, a system that cleans and reuses storm water for mechanical equipment, and a co-generation plant to supply the building with electricity, steam and hot water.
Read more at NEREJ...
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| Obama's Climate Change Agenda |
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By Paul Brown
On June 25th, Obama announced his plan to fight climate
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Photo credit: http://tcktcktck.org
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change. The plan includes: reducing greenhouse gas emissions; cutting energy waste from homes and businesses; preparing the U.S. for the impacts of climate change; and leading international efforts to avert global warming. To read President Obama's plan to confront the issues of Climate Change, go here for a report that summarizes the White House's agenda.
There is a lot that can be learned about the President's approach by studying the structure of the report. The report begins with "Deploying Clean Energy", as opposed to starting with the chapter on "Cutting Waste in Home, Businesses and Factories". Does this indicate a preference for technological solutions that may help generate jobs, over conservation and cutting back?
Also interesting is the section regarding Transportation, which emphasizes fuel economy standards and advanced technologies, above promotion of bicycle use and railroads.
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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.