Timing is everything! As I was preparing for a LEED for Healthcare presentation this week, one of my partners sent me a piece about the innovative use of "pods" to cut building costs. The article by Mike Boyer focused on a team of two plumbing and mechanical contracting firms who want to transform how
An Explanation of the Proposed (and Unofficial) LEED 2012 Requirements and Credits
In what has been unofficially called LEED 2012, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) opened the first public comment period from November 8, 2010 to January 14, 2011 for the next version of the LEED rating system. Yes, that means the first public comment period closes this Friday.
According to the USGBC’s LEED Rating Development page
Cost v. LEED Certification Debate Continues: One County Finds Middle Ground
It really is impossible to put your arms around the number of green building and energy performance policies and codes that are sprouting up all across the nation. When a project involves private commercial development or public investment, one of the most discussed issues is whether the cost of obtaining LEED certification from the U.S.
LEED Certification Challenge in Less Than 140 Characters
About a year ago, I wrote a post on the trending topic of LEED revocation or de-certification. That issue has not gone away … it actually has been brought to the front page of the news. The hot topic, recently reported by Stephen, Chris and Doug (…sounds like three men in a tub…
What Are the Benefits of LEED Certification? Some Say Benefits Don’t Justify High Costs
As a follow-up to my post yesterday about the costs of LEED certification, I was not surprised to read the following lead line in a local newspaper in Cary, North Carolina:
"Cary wants to be green. Just not certifiable."
According to the article, the local town council voted to skip the green building certification process because of the high costs. "If
What Are the Real Costs of LEED Certification? You May Be Surprised.
Most owner and developers would imagine that the most significant costs of LEED certification are the front-end registration and back-end submittal costs. Are they correct? Depends.
Environmental Building News prepared a primer on the costs of LEED certification for commercial construction. As noted in the article, LEED certification includes various costs that must be considered separately
Austin’s First LEED Platinum Home Featured at ABA Construction Forum Breakfast
I am in Austin, Texas this week attending the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry’s annual meeting. One of the ways that I got more involved in the Forum was participating in the activities of one of the twelve divisions. I am a member of Division 10: Legislation and Environment, which helps assemble information regarding case
Vancouver Olympic Village Receives “Platinum LEED Medal” in Winter Olympics: Is the Price Worth It?
For the next couple of weeks, the only thing you will see on our living room television is the Winter Olympics. Luge…daring!. Freestyle moguls…awesome! Snowboard cross…cool! Figure skating…good time to surf the Internet!
Last night, while watching figure skating surfing the Internet, I stumbled upon this article about the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Vancouver having received the highest certification
Hot Off the Press: ConsensusDOCS Releases Green Building Addendum
As much as possible, I like to highlight various forms of construction contract documents. In most of my green building presentations over the past few months, I have talked about the "soon to be released" Green Building Addendum from ConsensusDOCS. Well, that day has finally come!
Based upon my preliminary review of the 310
Father of LEED Says: “Green Buildings Only Bright Spot in Construction Industry”
I am certainly not the first … and certainly won’t be the last … person to write about Robert Watson’s webinar presentation yesterday afternoon entitled, Building a Sustainable Future: Progress & Trends Toward Improving the Environmental Footprint of Commercial Buildings.
Watson, Executive Editor for GreenerBuildings.com, is most commonly referred to as the father of