Virginia has become the latest government to mandate an alternative compliance path for green building that includes the International Green Construction Code.… Continue Reading
Proposals for changes to the International Code Council's "Green Construction Code" have been accepted since November and are due not later than January 10, 2014. Proposed IgCC changes are accepted from any member of the public. This is your opportunity to effect change in the environmental industrial complex.… Continue Reading
On November 6, the City Commission of Key West, Florida unanimously adopted an ordinance establishing LEED Certified level certification or Florida Green Building Coalition Bronze level certification as a prerequisite to all residential construction.… Continue Reading
New research from Arizona State University calls into question many common assumptions about the ability of reflective pavements to mitigate urban heat island effect. .. "Unfortunately, efforts to promote reflective pavements have moved more quickly than the scientific and engineering research."… Continue Reading
In a tectonic shift in government policy, the Department of Defense will now permit the use of both Green Globes and LEED for third party green building certification.… Continue Reading
Mandatory green building (including LEED-centric) laws are spreading internationally. The international growth of LEED presents huge business opportunities when today there are LEED projects in 142 countries and USGBC member companies in 86 countries, from Brunei to Israel and from Mauritius to Mongolia.… Continue Reading
Last night Will County, Illinois officials held a public meeting seeking input on incentivizing "sustainable and green features" through the voluntary use of the International Green Construction Code. But, many believe environmental protection is far too important than to leave to the government.… Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission announced six enforcement actions last week, including against companies that marketed supposedly biodegradable plastic rebar cap covers, plastic golf tees, and plastic shopping bags, as part of the agency's ramped up crackdown on environmental claims.… Continue Reading
Baltimore City is poised to adopt a new zoning code that is among the most 'green building friendly' land use ordinances in the country. A green building friendly zoning ordinance is significant when so many local codes including land use ordinances across the country stand in the way of sustainability efforts.… Continue Reading
Last Friday, the GSA recommended both Green Globes 2010 and LEED 2009 as the third party certification systems that the federal government will use. This recommendation, if accepted, portends a green building world (which has always been dominated by LEED) turned upside down.… Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission will begin to ramp up enforcement of environmental claims .. The coming crackdown on environmental claims follows an update of the FTC's Green Guides last year that set forth the commission's current views on environmental marketing to help business avoid making unfair or deceptive claims.… Continue Reading
Dallas has now accepted the first building permit applications under its green building ordinance. All new projects must either: meet the minimum requirements of the Dallas Green Construction Code or be LEED certifiable or be Green Built Texas certifiable or be certifiable under an equivalent green building standard.… Continue Reading
Hastings on Hudson, a village with a population of just over 9,400, located east of the Hudson River, less than 20 miles north of Times Square, conducted a final public hearing last evening on its custom written Green Building Code.… Continue Reading
The final vote of the District of Columbia's Construction Codes Coordinating Board on the Green Construction Code occurred last week, ... The new Green Code is significant, not only for those constructing or renovating buildings within DC, but because it portends a new green regulatory scheme that may well be a national model.… Continue Reading
Savvy business people are finding opportunities to profit in matters ancillary to green building, including opportunities advantaged by providing services that contribute to LEED credits. The value of green building will exceed $106 Billion in 2013 and skyrocket to over $248 Billion in 2016 and the allied and ancillary services will ride that explosive growth.… Continue Reading
Green marketing presents an enormously valuable strategy for increasing brand value - cutting across all sectors. But the legal implications for green marketing claims call for caution.… Continue Reading
I am wrapping up my discussion of the Destiny USA project this week with one final post. You can select the Destiny USA tag to review all of the previously published posts on this topic. I will also be publishing a compendium of posts on the topic — plus bonus coverage — later this week. Thank … Continue Reading
The Green Building Certification Institute’s (GBCI) use of third-party certification bodies did not last long. You may recall that in 2009, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) outsourced green building certification to the Green Building Certification Institute: "LEED certification became so popular that the USGBC had to begin allowing certification through independent certification bodies. . . … Continue Reading
You may remember that in previous posts, GBLU warned that September was going to be a big month for green building regulations in Washington D.C. It was anticipated that the D.C. City Council would vote on new green building codes on September 16 but the codes were tabled to allow for more feedback from affected parties. But … Continue Reading
In a previous post, GBLU referenced problems with a green building performance bond requirement in Washington D.C.’s Green Building Act. So what are the apparent problems with this green performance bond? On August 13, 2007, the Surety and Fidelity Association of America and the National Association of Surety Bond Producers detailed the problems with the … Continue Reading
As part of GBLU’s monitoring of green building regulations and codes, GBLU will provide timely information regarding government green building programs that may be of interest to you. Below is information about a Green Roof subsidy being offered by the Government of the District of Columbia, District Department of the Environment. Please note, applications are … Continue Reading
As green building becomes more popular, new green building regulations continue to pop up in U.S. cities. The Aspen Daily News recently highlighted proposed changes to the Aspen Commercial Building Codes that will incorporate very progressive green building strategies. Among the green building strategies, the proposed codes will “require either a photovoltaic solar panel system [solar … Continue Reading
On August 7, I had the pleasure of attending the USGBC National Captial Region’s annual event, a Midsummer Night’s Green. This year, the event was held in the stunning World Bank Atrium. Tyler Coffey of Sigal Construction did a great job choosing the venue and organizing the event. Bisnow on Business has a good summary of … Continue Reading