Green Build Bulletin | December, 2006
Get Ready for the New Year
So
much has happened in the past month, especially with the Greenbuild
conference and expo in Denver four weeks ago drawing a record 13,000-plus
paid attendees. Next year's Greenbuild show is in Los Angeles,
so make your plans now; we're expecting over 20,000 people to attend that
show. If you're planning to submit an abstract for a paper or presentation
topic, you have only until January 12th (date just extended) to respond
to the "Call for Session Proposals." Go to www.greenbuildexpo.com
for further details.
There's lot of good stuff in this newsletter, so read on. However, please also note that because our "opt in" feature for the first newsletter didn't work for everyone (believe me, we heard about it!), we're taking the liberty of sending you this second newsletter. After this, if you want to continue receiving it, please go to the home page of our web site, www.greenbuildconsult.com, and sign up. As a special gift to welcome new subscribers (and for any subscriber who uses this form to update their profile), you will receive a link to download a free copy of the "2006 Green Building Update: A Companion to Insider's Guide to Green Building Marketing." Please confirm your subscription now.
Be a Part of the 2007 Revised Edition of
Marketing Green Buildings
We
need your help! Jerry plans to create a completely revised and expanded
edition of "The Insider's Guide to Marketing Green Buildings" for release
late in 2007. Please take our brief survey and tell us what you're looking
for: www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=424753012146.
Your responses will guide the preparation of this important and unique resource
for green building marketers. For all survey respondents, we'll provide
a free download of our upcoming "2007 Green Building Update," due out in
February.
Washington DC City Council mandates LEED
News out of the nation's capital last week. The DC Council decided to mandate
LEED certification for all new buildings over 50,000 sq.ft., effective in
2012. Not exactly tomorrow, but this action will set the tone for cities
all over the U.S. to take direct action to reduce energy use in buildings
and directly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, as a local way to combat global
warming. Each city, I predict, will try to "one up" the next by making the
deadline earlier, the size of covered project smaller and the LEED level
higher. Just wait and see!
New Article: Green Development - Time to Learn the Art
Increasing concern over global warming and the impact of development on water use and energy use, coupled with higher energy prices that seem here to stay – these are among the trends likely to radically alter the development environment over the next three to five years. As the DC Council action indicates, many local governments are signing onto measures to reduce their "carbon footprint" over the next 15 to 20 years, and an easy place to start is to begin asking new residential and commercial developments, including urban infill, to begin reducing their environmental footprints (building energy and water use, stormwater runoff and wastewater generation, auto use, etc.)
What does this mean for the development world?
Please click here to read the rest of this article.
What's a Green Building Worth?
Another hot topic. From the Portland, Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce, December 4th:
"Green builders are a dime a dozen here in Portland. But, even in a town so revered for its sustainable building practices, those dozens have a hard time reaping the cash benefits of their efforts. For now, most builders will tell you they build green for social benefit. The cash benefits, they hope, will come soon. In the chain from builder to buyer, the links get a little weak when investors, appraisers and lending institutions get involved. That's because these groups have no hard data to prove that green building is more valuable than any other development, experts say."
I keep telling people it will be five years before we have definitive data on the market value of green buildings, but this is what leadership is all about: leaders act before all the data are in! We have leaders in this green building industry who aren't waiting for the timid souls in accounting or appraisal to tell them that their "gut" is right. The USGBC's motto is right: "Build Green. Everyone Profits."
Recommended Greenbuilder Resource
Green Buildings and the Bottom Line, part of the annual "white paper" series from our friends at Building Design and Construction magazine, should be must reading for all green building advocates.
Free download: www.bdcnetwork.com/article/ca6390371.html
The Best of Our Blog
We very much appreciate your comments on our Blog. This month we initiated a conversation around the question, "Should Green Buildings be Mandated?" . We look forward to all forms of green building community participation on this interactive part of our website.
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