Green Building Update - August 28, 2009

August 28, 2009

GreenerBuildings - August 19

Many colleges and universities are including green building in back-to-school activities. For example, Arizona State University is retrofitting its lighting fixtures and Colorado College is making use of wind energy. According to the Princeton Review's Green College rankings, 30% more schools are participating in green initiatives this year than were last year.
Related Stores:
Green builder and New England University to teach sustainable living
Chemistry Building at MSU is first LEED-certified project on campus
Southwestern University's Admission Center receives LEED Gold
Oregon universities plan green building
Colby College renovations receive LEED Gold

Green Building Focus

New – Green Leases Toolkit 2.0
CSA - August 24
The California Sustainability Alliance (CSA) has released Green Leases Toolkit 2.0 which assists tenants and landlords of commercial real estate in overcoming barriers to greening office space.

Report: New Orleans – model for green reconstruction
Sierra Club - August 24
The devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 has provided New Orleans with a unique opportunity to develop a national model for sustainable reconstruction. The report (1) profiles key agencies, (2) catalogs current and past green building projects, (3) evaluates the capacity and needs of businesses and organizations, (4) assesses the current green building situation, and (5) develops a directory of green building service providers.

ICC to create green building standards

GreenerBuildings - August 20

Current green building standards include LEED, Green Globes, BREEM, Energy Star, NAHB Green, ASHRAE 189 and the California Green Building Standards Code. However, the International Code Council argues that many of the existing standards are inconsistent with the building codes and standards set by the ICC. Accordingly, the ICC is creating its own set of rules to help make green design the standard for all buildings.

CBIA and USGBC support CA Green Building Code

ecohome - August 17

California's new Green Building Standards Code, which contains mandatory residential standards starting in 2011, received support from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), which represents more than 5,000 home builders, contractors and architects.

Atlanta firm guarantees LEED certification

Reuters - August 19

Energy Ace, an Atlanta-based consulting firm, is guaranteeing LEED certification on projects (1) where Energy Ace oversees LEED administration, fundamental commissioning and energy modeling, and (2) where the project team is committed to LEED success.

LEED – EBOM growth spurt in Bay Area

USGBC Northern California - August 17

LEED Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (EBOM) is growing significantly in the Bay Area. This year, 88 Bay Area projects have applied for LEED EBOM certification to date, compared with only 78 applications in all of 2008. However, applications for LEED New Construction, LEED Commercial Interiors, and LEED Core and Shell certification have not increased at the levels previously expected.

USGBC launches LEED for Homes Affiliate Program

USGBC - August 20

The new LEED for Homes Affiliate Program aims to increase the availability of green homes through collaborations with local green home building programs across the country and by promoting sustainable design and energy efficiency in all dwellings.

Gore to address Greenbuild Conference

USGBC - August 20

Former Vice President Al Gore will be the opening keynote speaker for USGBC's annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo set for November 11-13, 2009, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Notable green building projects...

Hines' Atlanta project earns LEED-EBOM Gold
Hines - August 26
Hines' One Overton Park earned LEED-EBOM Gold. The 15-story office building is Hines’ second LEED Gold property in Atlanta. The project earned an EPA Energy Star score of 93, consumes 47% less energy and emits 47% fewer emissions than the average U.S. building.

Sprint earns first LEED for Retail Portfolio
USGBC Northern California - August 24
Sprint's first pilot store earned LEED for Retail Portfolio certification. Green features include efficient lighting, Energy Star equipment, thermal comfort controls, green power, efficient plumbing fixtures, recycling and green housekeeping.

Hines/SAP' SF building earns LEED-EB Gold
Hines - August 19
San Francisco's 100 Montgomery Street earned LEED-EB Gold. The 25-story building, owned by Hines and Sterling American Property, is the fourth existing building in the Bay Area to earn LEED-EB Gold. The project features efficient lighting, low-flow restroom fixtures and showers, bicycle storage, green cleaning and a recycling/composting program.

Albertsons' earns LEED Silver
PR Inside - August 19
Albertsons' La Habra store earned LEED Commercial Interiors Silver. Its green features include water-saving fixtures, web-monitored refrigeration, efficient lighting, air conditioning and heating, carbon dioxide sensors, 40 skylights, and photo sensor-controlled lights.

ACT earns first LEED Platinum data center
DatacenterDynamics - August 14
The American College Testing (ACT) data center in Iowa uses geothermal cooling and is the first U.S. data center to earn LEED Platinum. Related story: Reuters considers LEED Platinum centers

Event center earns LEED-NC Gold
Dexigner - August 16
Washington's ShoWare Center, a 154,000-square-foot arena, earned LEED - New Construction Gold. The ShoWare Center is the first new event center in the U.S. to earn LEED Gold.

Lexus training center – first LEED-CI in Florida
BizJournals - August 14
The Lexus Florida Training Center earned LEED - Commercial Interiors Gold, and is the first LEED-CI facility for Lexus and Florida. The project boasts energy and water efficiency, recycling and enhancement of indoor environmental quality.

Events
Our attorneys speak at many conferences and seminars on green building topics. Bryan Jackson's list of recent speaking engagements can be found here. Taking It Upstream: Collaboration, Consensus Building and Sustainable Development--A Green Leadership (Un)Conference Pepperdine University *September 25* Bryan Jackson of Allen Matkins is speaking. Get the Allen Matkins discount when you register!
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