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January Newsletter  
In This Issue
Annual Meeting
Green Schools Update
Green Building Awards
Innovations in Sustainability & Resilience
Introducing the Emerald Necklace
Upcoming Events with the Chapter!  

1/29/14 5:30-8pm
2/4/14 8-10am
2/4/14 7-8pm
West Branch Webinar: LEED v4 Overview at UMass Amherst

2/6/14: 4-5:30pm
2/10/14 5:45-8pm 
Residential Green Building Committee Meeting "The Mass Save Deep Energy Retrofit Pilot" in Boston
 
2/12/14 4:30-6:30pm
West Branch Green Tea
 "Envelope Retrofit Analysis" at UMass Amherst
 
2/13/14 6-9pm
 
2/18/14 Noon 
 
2/18/14 Noon 
West Branch Webinar:
LEED O&M at UMass Amherst
 
2/19/14 4:30pm
in Boston 
 
1/19/14 6:15-8pm
2/20/14 6-7:30pm

3/4/14 9am-5pm
LEED v4 All-day Master Class at NESEA BE14 in Boston
      
3/6/14 5:45-7:30pm
LEED GA Study Group series (6 weeks) begins in Boston 
 

Become a Member

 

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

 

Sponsoring Partnership
Benefits

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.

Fresh from the BLOG

We keep writing up stories about things we're doing

MPG ratings for Homes?!

Cape Cod Update

West Branch Update

Neighborhood Development
Our Chapter Sponsoring Partners

Platinum
National Grid

Gold
Boston Properties

 
Silver  
 
 

Nitsch Engineering 

 
Bronze  
Blu Homes

Citizens Bank 


The Green Engineer, Inc.

Chapter Committees

Make a Difference.
Network.
Build Your Resume.
Become involved with a Committee!

Education

Communications

Membership 

 

Advocacy

 

Emerging Professionals (EPMA)

 

Green Schools 

 

Residential Green Building

 


The Chapter has groups meeting throughout the Massachusetts:

Central MA Group (Worcester-based)

 

Cape & Islands Group

(Hyannis-based)

 

Western MA Branch

(Amherst-based)  

 

To find out more about the committees and how to get connected, go to our website or send an email to

[email protected]
  
Opportunity

Join Our List


January 2014

  

 

I am excited about this new year! I hope you are too. We have our Annual Meeting this week with a lot going on.

 

Read below about Green Schools, about Green Building Awards, and our new membership rates. Please plan on coming to our Annual Meeting on Wednesday - we'll be recognizing our volunteers, finalizing our new Board of Directors, and hearing from some of the Greenbuild presenters. It will be a ton of fun!

  

I must say thank you to our amazing Volunteers! We will be toasting some of the leaders of the Chapter who are putting in incredible work as committee facilitators, event organizers, and education providers. This is really a wonderful community to work for - so many of you give so much to help us meet our collective mission. Thank you again for your hard work to make more green buildings and communities happen!

 

These volunteers will be presenting great opportunities for you to dive deeply into LEED v4 with an all-day master class at NESEA BE14. Also, we're kicking off another series of LEED Green Associate Study Groups throughout the state this spring - click here for more information.

 

Thank you to our many sponsors - seen in the left column here (below). We have the pleasure of welcoming to our ranks AtSite, a building management services provider, CenterPoint, an exciting real estate project in Waltham which is supporting our Regenerative Development series, Electric Film, a technology for harvesting ambient light for device management, and Thornton Tomasetti, structural engineers. Gunnar Hubbard of Thornton Tomasetti will be one of the presenters at our Annual Meeting.

 

We just got news from Rick Fedrizzi that Massachusetts has held on to our #4 ranking for number of LEED projects certified in 2013, still quite impressive when you think about our market size.  

 

Many of you will be interested in the Emerging Professionals of MA (EPMA)'s "Soiree" - their yearly kick-off social. Sponsored by Lee Kennedy. Come out February 13th and join the gang with some fun and games, door prizes and more! 

 

Stay in touch, chime-in, and follow us on facebook & twitter. Are you keeping up with the discussions on Linkedin? We have a lot going on with our advocacy work and our events.

 

Thank you again for your work to make Massachusetts more sustainable, resilient and healthy for us all.

 

Grey Lee

Executive Director

USGBC MA Chapter

 

Annual Meeting this Wednesday in Boston

 
Our annual meeting will be full of activity. We will start at 5:30 with our Volunteer Recognition Program - to honor and thank the many people who have participated in our programs or otherwise demonstrated leadership with one of our campaigns or committees. 
A Captivating Program!

 

We will also be announcing our new Board of Directors. More info on the elections can be found here.

 

The second portion of the evening, starting at 6:30, will be a series of short presentations from all-star green building heroes who presented at Greenbuild in Philadelphia in November. We are bringing them onto the stage here in Massachusetts so more of our colleagues can benefit from their expertise. 

 

When: January 29th, 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Location: EnerNOC, 1 Marina Park Drive, Boston, MA
Cost: Free for Members (join now!)
RSVP
Please register for the USGBC MA 2014 Annual Meeting using this link.

 

Green Schools Update
 
by Steve Muzzy

 

The Green Schools Committee is preparing for 2014! Come to our next meeting, February 6, 2014 to help outline our goals and activities for the year. It's an in-person meeting and food will be provided! 

 

We have a handful of Green Associate Study Groups planned this spring. We'll again host a study group in Boston. Worcester is also holding a group with the dates being determined soon. And UMASS Amherst and Holyoke Community College are both offering credit granting courses that incorporate the Green Associate curriculum. 

 

Speaking of college and universities, I am now the USGBC Student Group National Chair for the Northeast Region. MA currently has active student groups at UMASS Amherst and Boston University. We are looking to get more groups together. Check out the USGBC Students Guide to Transforming Your Campus, Community and Career

 

The Center for Green Schools Trailblazing Teacher Awards are given in the Spring and Fall. In 2013 Massachusetts had two awardees. Congratulations to Judy Luber-Narod, Science teacher at Abby Kelly Foster High School (Worcester) and to Joe da Silva, Professor of Green Building and Renewable Energy Engineering at Bristol Community College (Fall River), for their outstanding work!

 

Below are some terrific opportunities and resources to continue this work. Please share with your school networks.  

 

February 7, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Professional Development OpportunityGreen Scholars - A 21st Century Experiential Approach to School-Based Environmental Sustainability: (Manchester, MA) 

  

February 14, Applications Due: The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has launched Energy Manager Grant Program to support municipal energy manager positions throughout the Commonwealth. The program is open to all Massachusetts municipalities, as well as regional school districts, that do not already employ a local energy manager for more than 15 hours per week.  

 

May 19-21, 2014

Local Solutions: Northeast Climate Change Preparedness Conference hosted by Antioch University New England and the U.S. EPA. Day 3 of the conference will focus on supporting middle and high school teachers and students to design Common Core, STEM, and Next Generation Science curriculum to engage students and citizen scientists working in collaboration with community planners and leaders. 

 

Chevy and the USGBC are teaming up to offer funding to purchase and retire carbon reductions sourced from clean energy efficiency projects on college & school campuses. The funding opportunity is open to all U.S. universities, colleges and K-12 schools. Visit the following page for more information and eligibility requirements.

 

Finally, I'd like to leave you with the following blog, Why Every Public School Should Have A Design-Build Program. It includes a video that is truly inspiring. 

 

Massachusetts Green Building Awards

 

by Chris Liston & Carrie Havey

 

Since 2008, USGBC Massachusetts has recognized the most innovative green buildings, products, processes and technologies in the Massachusetts real estate community. 

Past winners have demonstrated ingenuity, replicability, and scored well on the triple bottom line - an important concept in sustainability that considers the building's overall impact on economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social equity. 

 

2013 Green Building of the Year: 95-97 Pine St. Cambridge, MA. Submitted by Homeowner's Rehab Inc.

 

 

This year's entry deadline is March 15 and winners will be announced at our Earth Day Gala on April 17th [Save the Date!].

 

2014 Entry Categories:




Innovations in Sustainability & Resiliency

 

How can we use district scale strategies to enhance values and ensure business continuity?

 

Innovation is driving sustainability beyond the individual buildings to district scale strategies and actions. Boston's Innovation District, already pioneering new practices, is poised to pursue new businesses and organization models to greatly enhance the sustainability and resiliency of the district.

 

Come hear from Kairos Shen of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, John Aubrecht from the Longwood Medical Energy Collaborative, Galen Nelson of the Mass Clean Energy Center and other leaders to learn about the latest innovations for community improvement related to sustainability & resiliency.

 
When: Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Location: 45 Northern Ave, Boston MA
Cost: Free 

Membership Rates Increase: 1/30/14

 

Introducing the EMERALD NECKLACE

 

The USGBC MA Chapter Board of Director voted to slightly increase membership dues, and to implement a new higher-level-donor giving program.

 

The Emerald Necklace seeks to reward a handful of major donors with a program of recognition and special, customized, programming, including strategic planning workshops. We believe there are members of our community who would feel comfortable making a major charitable contribution to our work, and who should be regaled by the community.

 

Membership Rates for the coming year:

 

Youth and/or Retiree 
$0
Emerging Professional$25
Employee of National Member Firm$50
Basic Chapter Member$75
Cultivating Member$125
Green Apple Member$200 - $299
Green Advocate$300 - $599
Green Ambassador$600 - $999
Emerald Necklace$1000+

 

The USGBC MA Chapter is a 501c3 charitable organization and donations are tax-deductible. 


 

We look forward to the new year and a new membership drive that we will kick off at the Annual Meeting.

 

Here are the smiling faces of a few of our great members!

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The UChapter LogoSGBC 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. 

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