Greenbuild 2012 Best Bike Challenge

The Bay Area boasts progression and passion for sustainability and beyond. The local companies featured within the 500 mile Pavilion are proud to celebrate accomplishments in their varied industries, from general contracting to high performance building system designers; from technology and building materials to engineering and LEED consulting.

Naturally ensuing with this sense of pride is a commitment to community and giving back.  Inspired by California’s Best Buildings Challenge, and in an effort to raise funds for the Project Haiti Orphanage & Children’s Center, the 500 Mile companies are developing a philanthropic challenge you won’t want to miss.

The 500 Mile Pavilion’s “Best BIKE Challenge,” will draw Greenbuild attendees to generate pedal power on stationery booth bikes – the more power generated throughout the conference, the more money donated to the Project Haiti fund. Hosted by Environmental Building Strategies and Integral Group in booths 5516W and 5518W, the bikes will be available every day of the conference for attendees to challenge their colleagues and friends to see who can generate the most power for Haiti.

In addition, on Wednesday night the 500 Mile companies will host an expo hall happy hour (4:30 - 7 pm) with scheduled “bikeathons” between big names in green building. Come grab a drink, cheer on your favorite green building leaders and even jump on the bike yourself to pedal for a cause!

USGBC California Ballot Measure Recommendations

USGBC California takes positions on ballot measures based on current program positions and/or alignment with overall USGBC mission and vision. Positions are developed through member study, discussion and consensus with Leadership Reps of all California Chapters. As a guide to statewide membership, USGBC California makes the following recommendations:

• Become an informed citizen
• Cast an informed vote November 6th
• YES on Prop 30 In supporting the Governor’s tax proposal, we feel that the nightmare prospect of funding devastation to California community colleges and K-12 schools is not something that should be borne, and would be unnecessarily disruptive to an emerging and sustainable California economy. Let’s begin getting our house in order and moving forward.
• NO on Prop 32 Prop 32 is an initiative that purports to be a good government measure but actually is a transparent effort to eliminate the primary union funding mechanism and therefore silence labor’s voices. And if you haven’t spent time lately on where the labor movement (who has greatly impacted such taken-for-granted middle class pillars of our civil society as forty-hour weeks, heath care and social security) is headed in the future take a look through the BlueGreen Alliance/Apollo site.
• YES on Prop 39 USGBC California has been a founding supporter of Prop 39, which closes a tax loophole that every other state (except Missouri) has already dealt with, putting both out-of-state and in-state companies on the same footing: basing their taxes on their sales within California. Proceeds from Prop 39, projected to be over $1B annually, will benefit building energy efficiency projects, education and the general fund in that order. It is telling that how no one admits to knowing how this loophole initially came about; closing it provides direct benefit and needed investment capital to California.

For more information on all propositions, including great non-partisan facts(!) on who is supporting and opposing and funding them, check out Next 10’s California Choices site.” For the Legislative Analyst’s reports on all the Propositions, visit here.

Become a Chapter Member & Get a Discounted Greenbuild Pass!

Greenbuild will be in San Francisco in just a few short weeks! 35,000 professionals and leaders from over 120 countries will be right in our backyard. Here’s your opportunity to save up to $450 to attend the conference. Become a Premium Chapter Member today and receive a discounted pass to Greenbuild 2012 as an added benefit to your membership.

Premium Chapter Membership Packages:

Limited availability until November 5, 2012, or while supplies last

• For $100, you will receive a one-year Chapter Membership and a one-day Expo Hall Only Pass to the 2012 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo ($150-$175 total value, depending on national member status).

• For $650, you will receive a one-year Chapter Membership and a three-day Full Conference & Expo Pass to the 2012 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo ($775-$1100 total value, depending on national member status).

Take advantage of this limited-time offer now!
Interested in our standard membership packages? Click here.

Become a member today to:

• Strengthen our voice on the most critical sustainability issues in our area
• Build meaningful relationships with passionate, forward-thinking leaders, and share and exchange knowledge of the green building industry
• Receive special discounts on events, workshops, products, and LEED education that will further professional development
• Volunteer with your local Branch to provide engagement and educational opportunities in your area
• Participate in sustainability advocacy efforts
• Get a discount on your registration to Greenbuild 2012, the world’s largest conference and expo on green building (Premium Membership Only)

Our success relies on the annual, paid membership of exceptional individuals like you. Take advantage of our Premium Chapter Membership offer and sign up today. If you have any questions about membership, please do not hesitate to contact us.

USGBC Issues Statement in Response to USA Today Piece

Related articles:

• USGBC's Oct. 24 Statement in Response to USA Today Article
• Fact Check with USGBC's Brendan Owens
• Myths vs. Facts on LEED

Statement from Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair

“By embracing free enterprise and using market-based approaches we have proven that a healthy environment and a strong economy can go hand and hand. The U.S. Green Building Council is moving the green building industry forward in a way that has never been seen before. Yes, green growth is fueling an entire industry and we are proud of that progress.

Through LEED and USGBC’s other programs, our members are driving the construction industry’s green transformation. LEED buildings save energy, water and precious resources, reduce waste and carbon emissions, create jobs, save money, drive innovation and provide healthier, more comfortable spaces to live, work and learn.

The building products, materials, systems and services that are developed in the marketplace and utilized in LEED buildings are successful because they are created with environmental stewardship goals in mind. We are encouraged when companies develop products and services that support better buildings and communities. If they succeed, we all succeed because the construction is greener and more sustainable.
“The adage ‘doing well by doing good’ is the foundation on which USGBC was built.

Members join USGBC to be part of the process, share what they know and collaborate with others to help us raise the bar and broaden our positive impact. We are proud that LEED reflects the collective expertise and design intelligence of the tens of thousands of environmental advocates and building industry professionals who have helped to create it.”

USGBC Statement in Response to USA Today News Article

Washington, DC – (Oct. 24, 2012) – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) issued a statement in response to the USA Today piece that ran today about the organization and its LEED green building program.

USGBC is a 501c3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to sustainable building design and construction. Its mission is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.

“The LEED program has been built from the ground up by hundreds of thousands of volunteers and is the catalyst for fundamentally changing the way we think about designing, constructing and operating buildings in the United States and across the globe,” said Rick Fedrizzi, founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council and the organization's current President and CEO. “Green buildings save energy, water and precious resources, reduce waste and carbon emissions, create jobs, save money, drive innovation and provide healthier, more comfortable spaces to live, work and learn.”

The LEED green building program has spurred explosive growth in energy-efficient buildings, which has supported almost eight million jobs across all 50 states and contributes $554 billion to the U.S. economy annually. Today, more than 9 billion square feet of building space is participating in LEED. While LEED has propelled transformation in the building market, it cannot be stagnant and must be constantly updated. The LEED program was built in a way that ensures it undergoes a rigorous cycle of continuous improvement and evolution. USGBC is currently in this process now and taking the next big step forward with the next version of LEED.

"SMART” Office Leasing Strategies are Inherently “GREEN”

By Benjamin Osgood, The Tenant Advocate

A good commercial real estate broker approaches each transaction with the goal of getting the best deal and terms possible for their client, while identifying a space that will maximize employee comfort and productivity. The broker also plays a key role in influencing how the new office is built out and constructed, as well as where the office is located.

Sustainable business practices just happen to exist within the intersection of all of these goals; and if they do not, they should.

There are many opportunities throughout a commercial lease transaction to save the client money, and many of them also have the added benefit of being more responsible decisions, environmentally. Here are a few examples of leasing strategies that easily align to accomplish both smart business and environmental goals:

THE LOCATION OF THE OFFICE

Having an office located within a high-density area makes a lot of business sense; it makes a company more accessible to a wider and deeper labor and customer pool, and associated car parking costs can be reduced by simply being connected to multiple mass transit options. The positive environmental impact of removing single-passenger cars from the road are many, and employees who bike or walk to the office are not only happier and healthier, but more productive while at work.

Giving preference to LEED Certified buildings is a great start to any office search, as the ownership has already taken the necessary steps to reduce energy, waste and water consumption, and increase indoor air quality.

FIRED Up for Greenbuild!

Special Announcement at Executive Road to Greenbuild Event, Remarks by Rick Fedrizzi and Dan Geiger 

By Ashleigh Talberth, Director, Special Projects, USGBC-NCC

On September 20th, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and USGBC- Northern California Chapter (USGBC-NCC) hosted a Road to Greenbuild Executive Lunch to fire up the region for the largest industry conference worldwide - Greenbuild International Conference and Expo - coming to San Francisco this Nov. 14 to 16.

The event kicked off with inspiring remarks by Dan Geiger, Executive Director, USGBC-NCC, followed by an especially creative presentation by Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman. Over 150 regional executives and politicians attended the event including Ruth Cox, Regional Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration, Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, Elizabeth Echols, Regional Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration, and Assemblymember Nancy Skinner.

Dan concluded his speech with a special milestone announcement – USGBC-NCC’s California Best Buildings Challenge(CBBC) more than doubled to 13 companies! The announcement brings in seven new partners since the launch, and puts the Challenge at over six million square feet of collective building space.

Executives from Bayer, Integral Group, Lockheed Martin, Method, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Webcor Builders, and XL Construction joining existing Challenge participants Adobe, Genentech, Google, Prudential Real Estate Investors, SAP, and Zynga on stage for the announcement.

Inspired by the White House’s Better Buildings Challenge that seeks 20 percent energy reductions by 2020, participating companies of the CBBC commit to pursue 20 percent reductions in energy, water, and waste in their existing commercial buildings in just two years.