[Ed. Note: Steve McBrady is your Editor this week] One of the primary focuses here at Green Building Law Update has been the emergence of Green building and sustainable development as an “unstoppable force” in the world of real estate development and construction – as well as the emerging federal, state, and local regulations … Continue Reading
[Ed. Note: Chris could not help sending along one last post before he enjoys some well-deserved R&R on his honeymoon. Congratulations to Chris and Melissa! Stay tuned for my guest posts the remainder of the week. – Steve] There is a wave of funding for green building and energy efficiency projects on the way. The … Continue Reading
[Ed. Note: I am getting married tomorrow! As a result, guest editor Steve McBrady will be taking over Green Building Law Update. I will be back November 2.] The green building professionals in Nashville, Tennessee are a no-nonsense, dedicated group. That’s my conclusion after I recently gave a green building legal presentation to the USGBC Middle … Continue Reading
It is very rare to read a green building regulation and not see a mention of a green rating certification. When I started reviewing Executive Order 13514, I was certain that the LEED rating system would be included. On Friday, we saw that new green federal contracting requirements did not rely on independent green rating … Continue Reading
Executive Order 13514 requires that, going forward, 95 percent of federal buildings must comply with "sustainability requirements." Section 2(h) of the Executive Order provides more details on the new green federal contracting requirements: [T]he head of the agency shall . . . advance sustainable acquisition to ensure that 95 percent of new contract actions including … Continue Reading
President Barack Obama recently signed Executive Order 13514, which sets numerous green requirements for the federal government. The EO will certainly impact the green building industry. According to the White House’s Press Release, the Executive Order requires agencies to meet a number of energy, water and waste reduction goals: 26% improvement in water efficiency by … Continue Reading
If you have been reading Green Building Law Update for any length of time, you have read about the $4.5 billion that was given to the General Services Administration through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The GSA has announced plans to use the $4.5 billion to create high performance, green government buildings. The … Continue Reading
The Washington Business Journal (a fantastic newspaper) recently ran an informative column by Bill Gormley titled "Government Moves to Define ‘Green’ Contracting" (subscription req.). There was so much information that I am going to spend the next two days discussing it. In the article, Gormley ran through a list of actions that should be taken … Continue Reading
The other day, a reporter contacted me regarding my prediction that this is the year of the retrofit. I stood by my prediction, pointing towards stimulus funding that supports retrofits of existing buildings. I wish I had been able to point out the $1 billion lending program in New York to retrofit existing buildings that … Continue Reading
