Green Building Focus
Clean Techies Blog - May 30
Companies commonly base executive compensation on performance. Now, a growing number of businesses are linking top leaders’ pay and bonuses to achieving corporate environmental goals. According to a 2013 joint report done by the Investor Responsibility Research Center and the Sustainable Investments Institute, 43% of Fortune 500 companies link executive pay to sustainability.
Biz Journal - Bankruptcy News - May 30
The N.C. House of Representatives approved a final reading of a bill that is expected to bar public projects from using the USGBC's LEED program. The bill will now move to the state senate for review. H.B. 628 says that public projects may use “a nationally recognized high-performance environmental building rating system” if that program doesn’t use a credit system “disadvantaging materials or products manufactured or produced” in N.C.
Jets On Green - Sustainable Building - May 13
The new NASA Sustainability Base at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California will exceed the requirements of LEED Platinum with systems that will eventually use only renewable energy and closed-loop water maintenance facilities. Atop the two-story 50,000-square-foot building is a solid-oxide fuel cell and rooftop solar arrays, supplying the building with more energy than it requires and sending surplus electricity back into the grid.
Eco Home Magazine - Green News - May 10
Boston will become the eighth city in the U.S. with an energy rating policy, following similar recent legislation in Philadelphia and Minneapolis. The citywide building energy rating and disclosure policy, passed by the city council on May 8, applies to all commercial buildings 35,000 square feet or larger and residential buildings with 35 units or more. The ordinance requires building owners to report and disclose energy and water usage and greenhouse gas emissions and will cover approximately 1,600 buildings.
ArchDaily - May 9
The New York City Council approved Cornell’s two-million-square-foot tech carbon positive campus planned for Roosevelt Island. Construction will commence with the first, state-of-the-art academic building that will feature the latest environmental advances, such as geothermal and solar power, to achieve net-zero energy for the landmark structure.
Fox Reno Latest Headlines - May 9
Homewood Mountain Resort in Northern Lake Tahoe earned the Golden Eagle Award for environmental stewardship by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), in honor of Homewood's commitment to innovative watershed management and the water-quality monitoring. The annual award is NSAA’s highest environmental honor and recognizes exemplary environmental performance in the ski resort industry.
Fast Company News - May 9
The American Institute of Architecture’s annual list of the most sustainable new structures around the country includes a brewery, a school, and a senior housing facility. Half of this year's winners are in California.
EarthTechling - Green Tech, Green Products & Energy News - May 8
Colorado's Ecotech Institute tracks the growth of the green job market. New data reveals over 700,000 clean jobs posted across the United States between January 1, 2013 and March 31, 2013.
Environmental Design and Construction News - May 8
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of 240 recipients recommended to receive $62.5 million in grants to protect people’s health and the environment in local communities. These new investments, funded by EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grants, provide communities with funding necessary to assess, cleanup, and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies, and leverage jobs.
Green Buildings - May 7
The USGBC released an infographic of "LEED in the World." The U.S., China, and the UAE lead the world because they have the most LEED projects.
EarthTechling - Green Tech, Green Products & Energy News - May 8
Detroit has emptied out so much in the last few decades that certain neighborhoods are starting over from scratch to be more sustainable. Boston-based Sasaki Associates, for instance, has come up with an ambitious plan called TechTown to replace abandoned, crumbling infrastructure with sustainable development.
EarthTechling - Green Tech, Green Products & Energy News - May 7
Green roofs save energy, improve water management, and expand natural space. National Geographic grantee Clark DeLong is studying how adding native species to green roofs can provide conservation and add habitat.
Green Building Projects
JD Journal - May 7
Alternative Visions Fund is given $4.5 million to the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law to construct a LEED platinum building, an achievement no other law school has gained.
ArchDaily - May 12
Augustus F. Hawkins High School, part of the of Los Angeles Unified School District, was designed to meet the United States’ first green building rating program especially designed for K-12 schools: the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS). It uses low-emitting health-conscious materials and products and a “cool roof” to reduce energy use by up to 50%.
Washington DC Business Journal Breaking Ground - May 9
A Rockville, Maryland, office building developed by The Tower Cos. and Lerner Enterprises has earned an international reputation for being one of the world's greenest buildings. Green building experts Jerry Yudelson and Ulf Meyer featured 2000 Tower Oaks Blvd. in their recently published book, "The World's Greenest Buildings: Promise vs Performance in Sustainable Design."
Green Building News - May 9
Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School of Detroit earned LEED gold for its 198,000-square-foot expansion.