USGBC MA Chapter Co-hosts 2013 Meet Massachusetts Networking Event @ ABX

On November 20, 2013, the USGBC MA Chapter, in partnership with the Massachusetts Chapter ofthe American Planning Association, Boston Society of Architects, Boston Society of Landscape Architects, and the Massachusetts Association of Consulting Planners hosted the 5th annual "Meet Massachusetts" networking event. Neil Angus, Vice Chairman of the USGBC MA Chapter Board of Directors welcomed attendees and spoke briefly about the purpose of the event: to bring together planning, design and construction professionals. Green building is all about integrated design and no other event really brings together the multitude of disciplines that this event does. 

Neil Angus, Vice Chairman of the USGBC MA Chapter, welcomes attendees.

Over 50 planners, engineers, architects, landscape architects, interior designers, energy planners and contractors came together to talk about sustainable design and development, to share ideas and meet new people. This years' event was made possible through the generous support of the New England Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association and Keith LeBlanc Landscape Architecture. This was the second time the event was held in conjunction with the ABX Conference. 

Neil Angus from the USGBC MA Chapter and Rob Henry from the New England Chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association @ Meet Massachusetts.

Attendees at the 5^th Annual Meet Massachusetts networking event.

We hope to see you at next year's event!

Green Building Update - Mid November

Green Buildings continue to become the standard practice in the real estate industry. Of course, we do have a long way to go, but that is our mission and that is where we're heading. Energy-efficient, high-performance buildings are good for users, managers and owners. LEED certification is one way to achieve a green building. The GSA has concluded that LEED saves the government money. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found LEED buildings, on average, use 25% less energy and cost 19% less to operate.

In the last two months, the state has seen 17 newly certified buildings including Dassault Systemes Boston Campus in Waltham which attained LEED Commercial Interiors: Platinum and One Beacon Street earned LEED Existing Building: Platinum through Cassidy Turley. The Northampton, MA, Police Department attained LEED New Construction: Gold as did Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Recreational Facility. Congratulations to the many teams that earned LEED certifications in recent weeks.

Let's welcome new USGBC member firms in the last two months: Green Footprints Commissioning, Inc.; Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.; The Princeton Review; G.C. McGowan Design, LLC; Sustainability Services Group LLC; Mashpee High School Environmental Club; Communications Design Associates, Inc.; Paul Lukez Architecture; Derosa Environmental Consulting. Thank you for being a part of the green building community.

The Massachusetts Chapter of the USGBC would like to recognize our new partnering sponsors Levi + Wong Architects, LDa-Architects, and Rubenstein Partners/CenterPoint Waltham. Together we are enhancing the real estate of Massachusetts.

Ecodistricts Among Us

By Jim Newman, USGBC MA Board & Linnean Solutions

The annual EcoDistrict summit was held for the first time outside of Portland, Oregon this year, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) in the city’s Innovation District. This area of South Boston’s waterfront, also known as the Seaport, has thrived because of elements most valued by the EcoDistricts organization, such as public-private partnerships, the entrepreneurial spirit, and an emphasis on collaboration. 

At the summit, more than 90 speakers shared their visions of vibrant, healthy, equitable neighborhoods, and how urban leaders can support these cutting-edge communities. From microgrids to green infrastructure to the sustainable transformation of London’s Olympic village, inspiration came from all corners. It was this very diversity that tied the summit together.

Diversity discussions focused on more than race and ethnicity, although major disparities based on zip codes were discussed in a poignant presentation from Bay Area educator and innovator Antwi Akom. As part of the same first-morning plenary, April Rinne's talk on collaborative consumption underscored how we stand on the cusp of a diverse new economy--sharing cars, tools, and decision-making about how we build communities. 

During the individual education-session periods, there was an equally exciting array of topics, for example, the Wednesday afternoon sessions covered how the world’s megacities are responding to climate change, EcoDistricts in the Innovation District (this featured Linnean Solutions’ work), social equity, resource boundaries, and district energy.

Both before and after the summit’s BCEC program, events took place around the city that allowed attendees to see how Boston is also embracing the EcoDistricts principles in diverse ways. The first event was a legacy project charrette in Dorchester’s Talbot-Norfolk Triangle (TNT)Eco-Innovation District, which has as its goal a LEED-ND Platinum rating. 

Following the summit, four site tours were held, as well as a training and research symposium at Northeastern University. The site tours explored the TNT, and also Jackson and Eggleston Squares in Jamaica Plain, Kendall Square and MIT in Cambridge, and a walking tour of the Innovation District. 

Each of these provided visitors with views of potential ecodistricts at various points in their evolution.

Ultimately, the diversity of people, places, and ideas represented at the 2013 Summit paralleled what makes a great EcoDistrict: many different individuals coming together with the common goal of building a vital, sustainable, and just community.  

Congratulations to our new LEED Fellows in Massachusetts

We are proud to announce that two heroes of the USGBC MA Chapter have been honored as LEED Fellows in 2013. 

Congratulations to Leo Roy of VHB and John Dalzell of the BRA. Leo most notably worked heroically to bring Greenbuild to Boston in 2008 and is piloting LEED volume certification processes. John is a stalwart supporter of the MA Chapter and has helped guide to fruition our PACE Finance Forum and many other programs.

The LEED Fellows program recognizes exceptional contributions to the green building community as well as significant achievements within a growing community of LEED Professionals.

The two new LEED Fellows join existing members with this distinction Chris Schaffner of the Green Engineer and Steve Benz of OLIN.

More professional bio info on Leo and John:

Leo Roy: Roy has more than 30 years of experience, has led several sustainability-oriented committees within Vanasse, Hangen, Brustlin (VHB), and is directing the LEED EBOM certification process for the firm’s Watertown headquarters. Roy has worked on such exemplary projects in the past such as an award-winning waterfront redevelopment project for Columbia Point neighborhood in Boston— one of the first municipal planning projects in the country to encourage rooftop solar and/or roof gardens— and the development of USGBC’s Roadmap to a Green Campus. Roy also helped to develop the USGBC LEED Retail rating system and participated on the Market Sector Committee for Retail. He actively promotes sustainable development, and manages projects and programs in green building, ecosystem restoration, waste management, and renewable energy systems. Roy earned his Bachelors of Arts degree from Harvard University.


John Dalzell: At the BRA, Boston’s planning and economic development agency, Dalzell leads Green Building and Sustainable Development initiatives including public and internal sustainable development and green building policy development such as the January 2007 enactment of Boston’s Green Building Zoning regulations which made Boston the first major city to require private developers to build green to LEED standards. Dalzell represents the BRA on the City’s Inter-Agency Green Building Committee, organizes staff green building trainings, and provides sustainability and green building guidance to internal project planning and review teams. Additionally, Dalzell focuses City resources on sustainable development through community based area and district planning initiatives and programs in Boston’s neighborhoods.