The U.S. Green Building Council rolled out new programs and updates to foster the LEED Positive approach.
The goal is to move LEED further down the road to net zero and prepare for a shift to regenerative strategies. The new initiatives include:
· USGBC ALL IN – A new equity program to serve as a roadmap for how the organization and the green building community can better contribute to addressing social, health, and economic disparities in communities around the world.
· Living Standard – An expanded Living Standard campaign will become the organization’s pivotal grassroot initiative, a tool to share best practices.
· Return on Investment (ROI) Study – This program is intended to help the industry better quantify the benefits of green building. USGBC will conduct an ROI study that looks at the value of investment and the impact of green building.
· LEED Zero for design – A LEED Zero rating system will be released for projects in the design phase.
“The world today is facing intersecting crises that cannot be resolved with fragmented solutions, but require integrated, equitable practices and an industry-wide commitment to standardizing those practices,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of USGBC, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), and Arc, in a news release.
Related Stories
| Oct 11, 2012
Morristown, N.Y., settles code violation dispute with Amish
The town of Morristown, N.Y., has dropped charges of building code violations against local Amish communities to settle a First Amendment complaint.
| Oct 11, 2012
Mesquite, Nev., rebels against state-mandated energy code
The city council of Mesquite, Nev., voted against adopting a new energy efficiency code adopted by the state.
| Oct 11, 2012
Bloomingdale, N.J., restricts ground solar and wind energy installations
The borough of Bloomingdale, N.J., recently adopted regulations for solar-energy and wind energy systems.
| Oct 3, 2012
Bill introduced to extend home energy efficiency tax credit
A bill to extend the expired residential energy efficiency tax credit for installing qualified furnaces, boilers, central air conditioners, and heat pumps was recently filed in the U.S. House of Representatives.
| Oct 3, 2012
OSHA publishes more detailed information on variances
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enhanced its variances Web page to improve public understanding of the variance approval process and increase access to the agency's decisions regarding variance requests.
| Oct 3, 2012
Online program computes energy savings from green roofs; compares savings with other options
A free online tool can calculate the amount of energy savings from installation of a green roof. Portland State University‘s (PSU’s) online Green Roof Energy Calculator can be used for new or old structures.
| Oct 3, 2012
SERF, CSE launch a new accreditation for evaluation of building sustainability
The Society of Environmentally Responsible Facilities (SERF), a Chicago-based environmental building certification organization, and the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) launched a new accreditation program that certifies professionals to evaluate buildings’ sustainable systems and practices according to SERF’s certification criteria.
| Oct 3, 2012
New version of Occupied Space Standard for DC microgrids in buildings released
The EMerge Alliance, an association leading the adoption of safe direct-current (DC) power distribution standards for commercial buildings, has updated the EMerge Alliance Occupied Space standard.
| Sep 26, 2012
Automatic budget cuts in January would slash federal agencies' construction budgets
Sequestration, or the implementation of automatic budget cuts as of January 2013, would slash government agencies' already reduced construction budgets further, and require agencies to shelve some repair and maintenance projects.
| Sep 26, 2012
Investment in greener data centers to reach $45 billion by 2016
Investment in data centers built to green standards will increase from the $17.1 billion predicted for this year to $45 billion by 2016, according to Pike Research.