MA LEED Project Showcase

Are you ready?!

October 17, 2013, live, at Google, it's:

The Massachusetts LEED Project Showcase!

We are celebrating the achievements of LEED certifications - every project team should come. We want to see and hear about these green buildings. At this inaugural episode, we'll be reaching back to the beginning of 2012 - almost 200 projects have attained certification since then. Let's highlight them all!

If you know of a project, and know a project team member or person otherwise central to the project, please let us know so we can reach out. Each project has the opportunity share their story with the community and to create a board to display at the Showcase. For those that are interested there are a variety of sponsorship packages to connect with the event.

When: Thursday, October 17, 2013; 6:00 - 8:00PM

Where: Google's LEED Gold space at 3 Cambridge Center in Kendall Sq.  

What to expect: Food, drinks, short presentations, mingling, learning

Cost: $25 USGBC MA members, $40 for non-members, sponsorship opportunities available 

We look forward to seeing you at the Massachusetts LEED Project Showcase in October!

USGBCMA on the radio!

Grey Lee spoke with Rick Kaplan and Eric Wilson of the New England Real Estate Journal about the state of the green building industry and the USGBC on their recent NEREJ Radio Program. Take a listen starting at 31:05 - it's about a 14-minute interview.



http://nerej.com/images/radio/archive/__2013/08August/08-03-13/index.html

Congratulations to New USGBC National Member Firms!

Since the beginning of 2013, a number of firms based in Massachusetts have become members of the USGBC. We appreciate the support and the growth of our community, and we want to invite these firms to become more involved with the local Chapter (us!) through our various events and programs.

Of the 415 current national member firms, 306 have already renewed this year! We will be highlighting many of those throughout the year, since, after all, we're part of one big happy green building family!

Thank you to the following new members! Take a look at all the cool work they are doing throughout Massachusetts and beyond:

UrbanMeritage, LLC

Stanmar, Inc.

Gateway Development International

Stone Soup Concrete, Inc

FM Global

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Wheelock College

Clean Production Action

Ryan Construction, Inc.

Malsky Hardwood Flooring

GreenEffects Building & Design

BHI Energy - Bartlett Nuclear

L/R Construction, Inc.

Umaco, Inc.

Botticelli and Pohl, PC

Second Law Engineers Inc. d/b/a DMI

Murray Brothers Construction, Inc.

Stay tuned for more green building news from these firms!

Department of Education Visits Two Schools in Massachusetts for Their ‘Education Built to Last’ Facilities Best Practice Tour

Special Advisor to the Secretary Donald Yu and U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Director Andrea Falken visited U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools in Massachusetts on Tuesday, July 30th, to see and discuss the ways school facilities can enhance the conditions for learning.  

A large group of government and state officials, community members, green building professionals, students, teachers, and green school advocates attended tours at Manchester Essex Regional Middle High School and Quincy High School to see how they are incorporating sustainability into the built environment and the educational experience of their school communities. More information about the Green Ribbon Awardees is found below. 

Manchester Essex Regional Middle High School

Manchester Essex Regional Middle High School, a Collaborative for High Performance Schools building, constructed with recycled materials and energy-efficient design principles, is home to a 650 gallon rainwater collection tank and over 100 donated plants and trees.  The school achieved a 90 percent reduction in waste through the installation of a state of the art Lucidomatic waste sorting system and the implementation of a printing limits program through PaperCut software.  Manchester Essex, which has reduced its heating per square foot by nearly 58 percent over three years, meets 5 percent of its energy needs through on-site solar panels.  The edible schoolyard is a community-building and educational tool that offers students and parents the opportunity to work with the garden during the summer to raise awareness about local food and organic gardening.

Manchester Essex Regional School Green Scholars and their mentor Eric Magers

Quincy High School  

At Quincy High School, a career and technical school, the building’s design allows for collaboration among AP biology and environmental science students and their peers who are pursuing Nursing or Applied Medical Technology specialties.  Quincy collaborated with the city’s planning department to participate in the USGBC Center for Green Schools Green Apple Day of Service, which provided real-world instruction about the importance of energy reduction and implemented a National Wildlife Federation Cool Schools Energy Audit.  The school’s STEM wing is home to a greenhouse, where students are actively involved in learning how to grow their own food.  Culinary students are responsible for front- and back-of-house service at the wildly popular President’s Café, where student-grown herbs are used in recipes.  The school was certified by the Massachusetts Collaborative for High Performing Schools in 2009 and EPA ENERGY STAR in 2008.  The school has continued its efforts by retro-commissioning the building to ensure that it performs as intended. Quincy High School was designed by USGBC MA Chapter sponsor SMMA.

QHS's 66Kw Solar Array