UC System Hits Major Green Building Milestone

By Harry Mok, Principal Editor, UC Office of the President

A new lab on the UCLA campus is more than just a place for cutting-edge research into paraplegia and cancer: It is the 100th green-certified facility in the UC system, a milestone in sustainability that puts it far ahead of other universities around the nation.

UCLA's new Clinical and Translational Research Center — a former hospital emergency room that was transformed with environmental concerns in mind — was ranked LEED Gold in August by the U.S. Green Building Council.

LEED is a ranking system that rates facilities for their environmental impact in areas like water savings, energy efficiency, waste reduction, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The UC system is the first American university to have 100 LEED-certified facilities, followed by Harvard, which had 75 as of May 2012.

Greenbuild 2012 Tours: A Taste of Bay Area Green

By Kira Gould, Director of Communications, William McDonough + Partners

From redwood trees to adaptive reuse, San Francisco is chock full of incredible sights – green buildings and beyond. At USGBC’s annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, located in San Francisco this year, you can sample from two dozen tours of buildings (and much more), specially curated by San Fran insiders.

Every year, the Greenbuild “host committee,” made of volunteers from USGBC’s regional chapters, organizes a series of tours to help visitors learn more about the community and the buildings and the culture of the host locale. This year’s lineup is really impressive. The tour committee, led by Lindsay Baker (Green Team Consultant at Mary Davidge Associates) and Mark Palmer (Green Building Coordinator at City and County of San Francisco), has hand-picked 12 half-day tours on Friday and Saturday, plus 12 full-day tours on Saturday.

How did they do it? The criteria for setting up the tours included a focus on educational content, the operational issues, showcasing the Bay Area, showing off unique approaches to green building issues, and making sure that the tours would be fun and interactive. The 25-person committee received a whopping 170 submissions and then scored and grouped them.

Clinton/USGBC-NCC Initiative Gears Up for Milestone Announcement

Initial participants include Adobe, Genentech, Google, Prudential Real Estate Investors, SAP and Zynga.

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

“This [Challenge] is a huge deal. It’s a lay down economically. It’s a lay down in the fight against climate change. And in our fight to become both more energy efficient and energy independent,” said President Bill Clinton as he unveiled the nation’s most cutting-edge challenge yet, the California Best Buildings Challenge.

Inspired by the White House’s Better Buildings Challenge (BBC), the California Best Buildings Challenge sets more stringent goals than the BBC in a landmark, short time-frame.

Green Apple Day of Service

By Maggie Hartley, Director of Marketing, Gen7

On one day, our vast network of champions will demonstrate the strength and breadth of our movement, leaving a meaningful and lasting local impact.

On September 29, 2012, the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council will host the first ever Green Apple Day of Service. For one day, advocates from across the country and around the world will come together in support of healthy, sustainable schools by taking real action in their communities.

Hundreds of events

Events are planned throughout the USGBC-Northern California Chapter.  In Sacramento, students and community will be re-landscaping at Mark Twain Elementary. In Monterey, LEED EBOM is inspiring collaboration between the elementary school and community college students to audit energy and water use.  In between, there are many more opportunities to join. You can even create your own event.

With more than 700 million children in a school building each day, there is no questioning the enormity and urgency of the task before us. This event will bring together individuals and communities to make changes in their schools and surrounding areas, and there are plenty of ways for you to get involved with this effort.

Join us!

How will you take part in Green Apple Day of Service? Visit mygreenapple.org to pledge your support, share your commitment, and connect with USGBC about news and upcoming resources. If you’d like to get involved or for more information contact John Diffenderfer.

Chemical Industry Announces New Coalition

Last week, the American Chemistry Council announced the formation of the American High Performance Buildings Coalition (AHPBC). This organization is made up of 27 trade associations, including the Vinyl Institute, the Vinyl Siding Institute, and the Flexible Vinyl Alliance. The coalition has spoken out against the General Services Administration (GSA) using the LEED rating system, claiming that it is not a consensus-based system. From the AHPBC website, “American Manufacturers and Building Experts Speak Out Against GSA Green Building Review”.

For USGBC’s response, see “LEED Is Private, Voluntary, Transparent and Democratic”. Brendan Owens, VP for LEED Technical Development, commented, “LEED is developed in accordance with a rigorously inclusive process.  We have received more than 22,000 public comments and have responded to each individually. We work cooperatively with industries, and LEED standards are set in a consensus-driven, transparent manner led by technical experts in their fields.”

Green Enhances Value in California Homes

Contributed by Barry Hooper, San Francisco Department of the Environment

In the first rigorous independent economic analysis of the value of green home labels in California, University of California researchers have demonstrated green certified homes have 9% (+/-4%) greater value. The study by UC Berkeley economist Nils Kok and UCLA professor Matthew Kahn analyzed all single-family homes sales in California between 2007 and 2012.

Using a method called hedonic pricing, they examined the sales prices of all 1.6 million homes sold in the state over the past five years, of which approximately 4,300 were certified via ENERGY STAR, LEED for Homes, and GreenPoint Rated. Armed with the size, age, location, and amenities of each home, they were able to hold the factors that greatly influence home prices constant. Where the need for comparative sales data can make it a challenge for appraisers to systematically recognize the value of a green certification within a neighborhood, hedonic pricing essentially evaluated all “comps” statewide over the past 5 years.

Opportunities on the Road to Greenbuild

The 2012 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in San Francisco is expected to attract more than 35,000 attendees, making this year’s event the largest Greenbuild in history. Attendees from more than 120 countries will witness California's long-standing commitment to green building and ahead-of-the-curve thinking. You won't want to miss the following opportunities to highlight your business at the event:

Gain exposure:

    Sponsor a Greenbuild Tour
    Exhibit in the 500 Mile Pavilion at Greenbuild
    Join the California Best Buildings Challenge

Volunteer:

    Host Committee (All positions are currently filled)
    Volunteer at Greenbuild (Students or professionals 25 and under)

Scholarship Opportunities:

    Higher Education Scholarship
    Emerging Professionals Scholarship (Application Coming Soon)
    Social Equity Scholarship (Application Coming Soon)

Learn more about the Road to Greenbuild >>