Governor Brown Announces Ambitious Green Building Goals

Contributed by Dan Geiger, Executive Director, USGBC-NCC

On April 25th, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced an important new executive order that calls for new or renovated state buildings larger than 10,000 square feet to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED “Silver” certification or higher and to incorporate clean, on-site power generation, such as solar photovoltaic, solar thermal and wind power generation and clean back-up power supplies.

The order also sets a target of zero net energy consumption for 50% of the square footage of existing state-owned buildings by 2025 and zero net energy consumption from all new or renovated state buildings beginning design after 2025.

“Doing something real about the growing threat of global warming requires more than just new laws. We must lead by example,” said Governor Brown. “Greening the state’s buildings will shrink our environmental footprint and save taxpayers millions of dollars.”

2012 Super Heroes Awards Gala

Setting the Stage for Greenbuild 2012

Presenters and finalists this year include USGBC CEO Rick Fedrizzi, Google, Inc., Hines, the City and County of San Francisco, First Community Housing, and Urban Solutions, among others.

On May 23rd, the Super Heroes Awards Gala will bring together the brightest minds in green building to set the stage for Greenbuild 2012, which is taking place in November and will be held in San Francisco for the first time in its ten year history. Gala attendees will build connections with fellow leaders, enjoy dinner and drinks, and get inspired by presentations from special guests and awardees.

The Super Heroes Awards program honors innovators that are pushing green building towards a sustainable future. This year’s awards will be given for Outstanding Green Portfolio, Outstanding Community Organization, David Gottfried Special Achievement, and an additional award to be announced.

Saint-Gobain and USGBC-NCC Announce NOVA Innovation Competition 2012 at Cleantech Forum

Entrepreneurs are invited to submit proposals by June 30 for chance to win $85,000 in capital

Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building materials company, has announced a partnership with us to co-present the company’s NOVA Innovation Competition. Organized by Saint-Gobain’s NOVA External Venturing team, the competition rewards start-up businesses around the world offering innovations in sustainable products, advanced materials, high-efficiency building solutions, clean technology and renewable energy sources with cash prizes and access to partnership opportunities with Saint-Gobain.

The deadline to submit an entry is June 30; finalists will win the chance to pitch their innovative business to the senior leadership team of Saint-Gobain in a live speed-dating format at the 2012 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in San Francisco on November 15.

Water Conservation Showcase Recap

We teamed up with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) on March 20th to host the 9th Annual Water Conservation Showcase at the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco. The all-day event proved itself a success, attracting 650 attendees and participants who came together to address one of the largest concerns of Californians: water.


This year’s showcase featured eight lectures by water resource experts. Audiences packed into each of these lectures, leaving standing room only in many cases. The presentations covered a range of water conservation topics and perspectives. Lectures included information directed at both the private and public sectors, as well as information for private citizens seeking to reduce residential water consumption. This year’s presentation topics included: Corporate Water Management, National Trends in the Water-Energy Connection, Case Studies in Water Conservation, New Strategies for Achieving Sustainable Water Use in the Business Sector, Systematic Solutions for Big Water Savings, Launching a Residential Greywater Program for Outdoor Irrigation, and California Water Management.

Branch Leadership Retreat

Contributed by Scott Watkins, Emerging Green Professionals Committee, Diablo East Bay Branch

Warm muffins and zesty coffee welcomed us-- 40+ USGBC-NCC members-- when we arrived at XL Construction’s incredible facility in Milpitas. Included among us were representative leadership of the five NCC Branches, Chapter board members, and Branch committee members. After spending a few minutes touring the LEED Silver certified XL Construction, I was impressed, but not surprised, that XL was honored by the San Francisco Business Times “as one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area.”

The retreat kicked-off with a group exercise: building a model skyscraper out of newspaper and tape that could support a kiwi. As our smaller workgroup, which represented all five regions of NCC, began rolling newspaper into piers for our model, we began discussing our roles within our respective branches, as well as each branch’s successes, challenges, and operational practices. We identified a great deal of symmetry between our collective branches, but also identified opportunities to replicate the procedures and successes of other branches.

Building a Green Future for the Golden State: Green California Summit

Contributed by Maggie Hartley, Director of Marketing, Gen7

Join local and state government leaders, school officials, businesses, architects, builders and green technology innovators at the 2012 Green California Summit and Exposition. The state’s largest annual conference addressing California’s environmental policies and the technologies that support them will take place April 26-27 at the Sacramento Convention Center. 5,000 attendees are expected from the public and private sectors.

Now in its sixth year, the Expo will offer hands-on exposure to 150 companies offering green products and services, including a Green Schools Pavilion and a Green Auto Mall. The Summit will also include keynote presentations, educational sessions addressing policy, funding and implementation issues, expanded offerings for school administrators, educators, and networking opportunities. The Green California Leadership Awards, acknowledging accomplishments by state and local government, will be presented at a special awards ceremony on April 26.

USGBC California

Contributed by Dennis Murphy, Secretary, USGBC-NCC Board of Directors

USGBC California is a multi-chapter advocacy organization representing eight California chapters and over 20,000 green building professionals statewide. Their mission is to advocate for regenerative buildings and communities by providing thought leadership and a unified voice to guide the epic transformation to a sustainable built environment and economy. Dennis Murphy has chaired the organization from its inception. He is aided by Dan Geiger, who advises the Executive Committee, Paul Wermer, who heads the Council of Experts effort, and Panama Bartholomy, who was instrumental in building support from the other seven California Chapters.

USGBC California, initially named USGBC California Advocacy Committee (CAC), has been focused on building out an evergreen organization that has a consistent presence in Sacramento policy discussions. USGBC California’s pooled-resource coalition has been singled out as a model for both multiple-chapter states and individual chapter-branch relationships. The California multi-chapter operational environment was featured in an August 2011 national advocacy webinar.