2013 Review - Reprint from the NEREJ

It [was] a great year for the green building industry. The state of Massachusetts was recognized as having the best energy efficiency and renewable energy policies and incentives in the country by ACEEE (the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy) with Boston recognized as "most energy efficient city" on account of the many programs that have been implemented lately to encourage and achieve significant energy savings. This includes the Greenovate Boston community-engagement brand, the Renew Boston program, and the building energy reporting & disclosure ordinance. As these policies move through the market, they will enhance asset values and improve the end-user experience, attracting better businesses to our region.

124 buildings were LEED certified in Massachusetts this year, of a total of 829 overall. In the past two months, we've seen 15 more projects attain LEED, including 150 Second St. in Cambridge which earned LEED CS Platinum with the help of Chapter sponsor The Green Engineer. We've seen 117 firms renew or newly join the USGBC as national member firms, including RDK Engineers and Paul Lukez Architects. And the green building movement continues: the Chapter was proud to support Boston Properties' LEED-Platinum targeted Boston Garden Project at a recent Boston Redevelopment Authority hearing.

Thank you to our many sponsors and to our many volunteers. We will be hosting our annual Volunteer Recognition event during our Annual Meeting at EnerNOC on January 29th in Boston. We have lined up a smorgasbord of green building gurus to bring a variety of quick presentations to us that they delivered at Greenbuild in Philadelphia in November. You can find more details on our website's event calendar: www.usgbcma.org/events

There are many ways to stay abreast of the burgeoning green building industry through the USGBC. Take a look at our YouTube Channel (USGBC MA) to find a series of short videos describing exemplary projects in Massachusetts such as Grousbeck Hall at the Perkins School and the North Shore Community College - the State's first "Net Zero" academic facility. You can follow us on facebook & twitter. Are you keeping up with the discussions on Linkedin? We have a lot going on with our advocacy work and our events.

Thank you again for your work to make our region a better place for all by creating more green buildings.

Grey Lee, MSc, LEED AP, is the executive director of the USGBC Mass. Chapter, Boston and is a monthly contributing author for the New England Real Estate Journal's Green Building section.

[original link to the New England Real Estate Journal can be found here]