In This Issue
Stretch Code
More Green Buildings!
Green Schools Update
Upcoming events
PACE and Resilency
LEEDv4 at NESEA
Upcoming Chapter Events: 
  
3/26/2014 - Networking Night:  Sponsored by Nitsch Engineering. This month's theme focuses on the power of mentorship. More details here [Boston]
 
3/27/14 - Green Schools Committee Meeting: You, like many of us, want green schools for all. We are working on it with a broad group of stakeholders. Join us! More details here [Boston]

4/1/2014 - Webinar Principles of LEED O+M Materials & Resources: Explore the key concepts in the Materials & Resources credit category for LEED EBOM. Register now [Amherst] 
 
4/2/14 - Cape & Islands bi-monthly presentation:
Come to our workshop on Foam-Free High Performance Building Enclosures [Hyannis]
 

4/4/2014Annual Regional Summit:

Join us for our annual regional gathering in Burlington, Vermont.

Click here for details

 
4/14/14 - Residential Committee Meeting:
Passive House in the Northeast with Steve Baczek [Boston]
 

4/15/2014 - Webinar LEED v4 Overview, Location & Transportation

This session includes an overview of the innovation, regional priority, and the integrative process credits.

Register now [Boston]

 

4/16/2014Webinar BD+C 252: LEED v4 Water Efficiency and Energy & Atmosphere Need GBCI credits or just want to better understand what is involved with LEED V4? Register Now [Worcester]

 

4/22/2014 - 7th Annual Earth Day Gala: Celebrate our green building efforts and applaud the Green Building Award winners!  Click here for details 

 

  
Webinars: for GBCI credit; take a look at our calendar to see the options across Massachusetts

2014 GREEN BUILDING AWARDS: 

  

Tuesday, April 22

6-9pm 

Federal Reserve Plaza

Boston

 

We hope you will join us this 7th annual event - celebrate the best in green building with the host of peers in the industry. 

 

Click here for tickets

 

Cool sponsorship opportunities are available 

 

Fresh from the BLOG

We keep writing up stories about things we're doing

R3build - Competition Report from Sebastian Downs

LEED for Affordable Housing - our partnership with LISC (educational program by Chris Liston)

Market Transformation of Residential Real Estate - report from the Residential Green Building Committee (presentation by Craig Foley)

Read more about our many activities at the USGBC MA Chapter blog - you can scroll and scroll and learn a lot!
Chapter Committees
  
Become involved with a Committee!

 

Education
Communications
Membership
Emerging Professionals (EPMA)
Green Schools

Residential Green Building

Fundraising

 

The Chapter has groups meeting throughout Massachusetts:

 

Central Mass Group

Worcester-based

 

Western Branch Group

Amherst-based

  

Cape & Islands Group

 Hyannis-based

    

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

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

 

Join Our List
Join Our Mailing List
E+ Platinum Dedication w/ Mayor Walsh
  
Boston's E+ Green Building program reception
 
Wednesday, April 2nd 
11:30am

226-232 Highland St, Roxbury, MA 02119
 

Boston has created the E+ program to demonstrate that energy positive buildings are possible. Join Mayor Walsh in recognizing the LEED Platinum achievement at this project.

 

  Use this link to register

 

Northeast Building & Facilities Management Show

 

Coming to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center June 18-19

 

Click here for more information

  

We'll be at booth #642 and we invite Chapter members to attend - you'll get a free lunch!

 

[email protected] for more info 

BERDO Workshop
  
Building Energy Reporting & Disclosure Ordinance 
 
Free Training 4/3/14
8:30-10:00am
 
at Foley Hoag
155 Seaport Blvd
Boston, MA 02210 
 

The City of Boston is requiring all large properties to report their energy & water use. Come to this FREE program, produced by (Chapter Partner Non-Profit) A Better City

 

  Use this link to register

March 2014

  

 

I hope you are doing very well, even as we patiently wait for the new season to spring.

 

I hope you will help us, in the next few days, with our advocacy for the Stretch Code - to make more green buildings happen in Massachusetts. See below - you can print off a letter template and send it to the State to ask for a strong Stretch Code. Last day for letters is Friday.

 

You are invited to attend our monthly networking night tomorrow, Wednesday, in Boston. We always have a good time and make significant connections.

 

Are you tuning in to our social media discussions and notes? We have 1793 members in our group on LinkedIn. Who will be #1800? It's a great way to stay abreast of green building industry activity in MA, as are our feeds on facebook and twitter. Of course, I'm happy to be able to email you these newsletters - thank you for reading.

 

I am looking forward to our Green Building Awards at the Earth Day Gala - April 22 in Boston. Sponsorship opportunities (including buying a full table) are available. Please read more below and buy your tickets - this event sells out every year.

 

Thank you for your continuing efforts to make our communities greener and better for all - the green building projects you work on are meeting the challenges of our times. Keep up the great work!

 

Grey Lee

Executive Director

USGBC MA Chapter

 

Advocacy Alert: Stretch Code

 

The USGBC MA calls on all supporters of green buildings to contact the State's DOER to help them make a decision on updating the Stretch Code. Some industry participants are reluctant to update the code, and we need to demonstrate broad public interest in the Stretch  Code.

  

In July 2014, when the IECC 2012 goes into full effect, the current Stretch Code will be essentially equivalent to the new base energy code in terms of energy efficiency.  The Green Communities Act requires that "Green Communities" set requirements to minimize life-cycle costs for new construction, which largely has been accomplished through the adoption of the Stretch Code by these municipalities.  

 

The delay in the adoption of an updated Stretch Code is causing confusion as to the status of Green Community designations, along with undue complexity for the design professionals of Massachusetts dealing with uncertainty as to future requirements in the Green Communities. Click here to take action!

 

150 Second Street Earns LEED Platinum 

 

By Carrie Havey

Bounded by Second, Charles, and Bent Streets in East Cambridge, 150 Second Street is a new three-story laboratory research building totaling 36,000 sf. The project is designed as a group of three linked buildings, each with its own distinct style in keeping with the scale and character of the surrounding neighborhood. The three buildings have their own individual palette of cladding and fenestration, employing metal, glass and wood cladding. All building materials, from the roof to the cementitious fiber panels to the interior finishes of the public areas have been chosen with sustainability in mind. The building will contain large windows designed to wash natural daylight throughout an open floor plan design, which reduces the need for artificial lighting systems.

The project's key features include: a 39% water use reduction; a rain garden to capture and treat site rainwater; a water reuse system that captures rainwater and condensate and reuses for flushing, resulting in a 85% reduction in water use for sewage conveyance; and a 30% reduction in energy cost savings.

The project was designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects and recently earned LEED-CS v3 Platinum certification. The Green Engineer was the LEED project consultant.

As far as we are aware, 150 Second Street is the:
- First commercial lab project certified Platinum under LEED v3 in New England
- First Platinum project of any kind under LEED-CS v3 in New England
- 8th Platinum LEED-CS v3 in the US 

 

So far in 2014, Massachusetts has seen 16 certifications. Let us know if you'd like your building to be spotlighted.

 

Green Schools Update

 

By Steve Muzzy

We have two quick items to share. First, register for the 7th Annual MA Green Schools Summit: Developing Energy & Environmentally Literate Students, Schools, and Citizens for the 21st Century Commonwealth! April 2nd, 2014, 8:45 a.m.-3:00 p.m. The MA Green Schools Summit is hosted by Green Schools & US EPA Region 1 and will be held at EPA New England Headquarter's LEED Gold Building!

 
Second, if you were to grade the U.S. K-12 school building
infrastructure, what you give it? Well the American Society of Civil Engineers gives it a D+. Read more about the state of our school infrastructure in ASCE's newly released infrastructure report

 

Upcoming Events: 
 
TOMORROW! March 26, 2014 (Boston) - Monthly Networking Night - Join us to explore the notion of professional mentoring and how the USGBC MA Chapter can help people find the right people to support their advancement. Explore ways to connect with those who might be interested in either receiving or providing mentorship. Click here for more details

 

April 3-4, 2014 (Burlington, VT) - Each year, the USGBC Upper Northeast Regional Committee hosts a summit for representatives from the various Chapters from Upstate New York and all of New England.  Join us for day-and-a-half intense networking and training program for volunteer leaders in the green building advocacy community.  Register now
 
April 15, 2014 (Boston) Webinar LEED v4: Overview and Location & Transportation: Explore the LEED Location & Transportation credits, which encourage project teams to take advantage of the infrastructure elements in existing communities that provide environmental and human health benefits. Register now

 

April 16, 2014 (Worcester) Webinar BD+C 252: LEED v4 Water Efficiency and Energy & Atmosphere: 

The 2014 "USGBC MA Chapter - Central Mass." webinar series with a focus on LEED V4. Join us for these informative sessions that will cover the major changes to LEED, including improved performance requirements, new credits and more streamlined reporting for credits. Click here for details 

 

April 22, 2014 (Boston) EARTH DAY GALA - The USGBC MA Chapter is pleased to invite you to join us for the 7th annual 2014 Earth Day Gala and Green Building Awards Dinner. Enjoy an unforgettable evening of fabulous food and drink with your colleagues in the green building industry, hosted at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.  Click here for details

 

 

May 20, 2014 (Boston) Beyond Buildings: A Review of LEED for Neighborhood Development in Massachusetts.

This program will look at sustainability beyond individual buildings to the district and neighborhood scale. How is the USGBC's LEED ND rating system being used as a tool for enhancing communities in Massachusetts? 

 Click here for details

 

PACE and Resiliency
  
Every few months, we find an opportunity to push for some legislation which we believe will enhance the prospects of our stakeholders in the green building industry. Yesterday, we were called upon to support PACE finance reform in Massachusetts. 
  

On March 11th, Grey Lee went to the Statehouse to make some noise in support of S.177, introduced by Sen. Brian A. Joyce (Milton), which will help make available private funds for renewables, efficiency and resiliency projects in the State. Click here to read more



USGBC-MA  goes to the 
NESEA BE14 Trade Show
 
LEED v4 Master Class - Good Stuff!
  
  
The USGBC MA had a trio of LEED champions present a full-day workshop on the v4 update to LEED on 3/4/14. NESEA hosted our workshop at Building Energy 14 (BE14 - the biggest green building-oriented conference in the northeast which comes through Boston each year in March).

Thank you to Chris Schaffner (The Green Engineer), Andrea Love (Payette), and Jim Newman (Linnean Solutions) for facilitating the workshop.  
  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had about 25 building professionals come out to take the deep dive into the LEED rating system. We heard about how LEED has been evolving over the past 15 years and how LEED is a flexible system - originally designed to accommodate periodic updates and capable of responding to changing market conditions and realities. People asked a lot of questions throughout the day, deepening the experience and getting into the nitty-gritty based on real project experience.

 
The Chapter will continue to provide engaging professional development opportunities for all LEED AP's and anyone interested in pursuing the credential.
     
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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.

   
Chapter LogoThe USGBC 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. 

For more information visit: www.usgbcma.org

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