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Less Climate Change Disclosure by Public Companies

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Environmental, Federal, Sustainability
Publicly traded companies are required to disclose material business risks to investors through regular filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since February 8, 2010, the SEC has expressly required disclosure related to climate change. While it has been controversial, the SEC’s 2010 interpretive guidance, the Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change, which … Continue Reading

False Advertising Claims over Net Zero and LEED Certified Homes

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Energy, Green Building, LEED, Sustainability
Homebuyers are making claims of false advertising over “Net Zero LEED certified” houses in midtown Sacramento – that may be neither. The website for the architect on the project, today still says, “2500 R Street located on a two acre site along the R Street light rail corridor in Midtown Sacramento, this new single-family home … Continue Reading

Increased Flexibility for LEED Multifamily Residential Projects

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, LEED, Sustainability
Dramatic changes have been announced by the U.S. Green Building Council to the LEED v4 Homes Multifamily Lowrise and Multifamily Midrise rating systems with the aim of broadening market share. Regular readers of this blog will recall that I blogged from Greenbuild last month, when Scot Horst first publicly announced dramatic changes to LEED multifamily … Continue Reading

BREEAM for Existing Buildings: The British are Coming

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, LEED, Sustainability
BRE Global Ltd., the 97 year old Great Britain based world’s leading authority on all aspects of the built environment (.. it all started with fire testing for homes), with over 2,247,696 BREEAM registered buildings across 77 countries in its sustainability assessment method, will before the end of the year award its first BREEAM In-Use … Continue Reading

Organic on the FTC Agenda

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Federal, LEED, Sustainability
The word “organic” as it relates to non-agricultural products is the topic of the October 20, 2016, roundtable sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is a big deal. The roundtable will explore interpretations of organic claims for products that fall outside the scope of the USDA’s National Organic … Continue Reading

The Future was on Display at Greenbuild

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, LEED, Sustainability
Nearly 20,000 people attended the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild 2016 convention in Los Angeles last week with more than 600 exhibiters from the green building industrial complex showcasing innovations and new products on the expo floor. Regular readers of this blog will know that I blogged  from Greenbuild last week, including Top 10 Products … Continue Reading

Less than 20% of Green Building Contracts Properly Drafted

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, IgCC, LEED, Sustainability
In a recent review of contracts involving green building construction projects, less than 20% had properly drafted provisions addressing green building matters. 100 contracts involving green building construction projects were reviewed. The methodology was admittedly unscientific, if only in that the sample was too small given the large number of sustainable building being erected across … Continue Reading

Cannabis Cultivation has Growing Environmental Implications

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, Environmental, Sustainability
Cannabis cultivation is not new, but beginning in the 1990s when states began to legalize medical marijuana and recently as state laws evolved, decriminalizing and legalizing recreational use of cannabis, the burgeoning industry has brought with it environmental implications, including of water and energy use. Energy consumption for cannabis cultivation can be incredibly significant and … Continue Reading

PACE Bill Due in Baltimore City

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in City, Energy, Green Building, Sustainability
A public hearing is scheduled tomorrow on a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loan program ordinance in Baltimore City. I have been quoted saying that PACE “could be bigger than anything in U.S. real estate since the invention of the glass window.” PACE loan programs, where payments for energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy … Continue Reading

New Federal Floodplain Regulations Rewrite 100 Year Floodplain

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Federal, Sustainability
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is proposing to rewrite the longstanding 100 year floodplain standard for federally funded projects such that most building would now have to be 2 feet freeboard. In the name of resilience, reliability and green this proposed regulation will result in significant additional first costs for affected building. FEMA is … Continue Reading

Is California Going to Ban Cows in the Name of Climate Change?

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, State, Sustainability
The California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board has issued a “Proposed Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy” that includes the penultimate statement, California’s dairy and livestock industries account for roughly half of the State’s total methane emissions and about five percent of the State’s overall GHG emissions. About half of the emissions from the State’s … Continue Reading

Attend Greenbuild – The Best Way To Grow Your Green Building Business

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Green Building, LEED, Sustainability
I am often asked, “how can I expand my green building business?” My answer is simple and the same response I have offered for years, attend the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. This year Greenbuild is in Los Angeles from October 5 – 7. I do not claim any particular business marketing prowess, but Greenbuild … Continue Reading

Historic Church Appeals to Higher Authority in Solar Dispute

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Energy, Environmental, Local Government, Sustainability
The First Parish in Bedford, Unitarian Universalist church has appealed from a decision of the Historic District Commission of the Town of Bedford that denied First Parish’s application for a certificate of appropriateness to install solar panels on its Meetinghouse roof. The complaint filed Superior Court for the County of Middlesex, Commonwealth of Massachusetts claims … Continue Reading

HUD Jumpstarts PACE Financing for Homes

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, Federal, Green Building, Local Government, State, Sustainability
Last week the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs released new guidance, changing their previous positions, now widely allowing residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. With the guidance, PACE financing, where payments for energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy improvements to real estate are made through … Continue Reading

Miami Beach’s New Green Building Tax

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Green Building, LEED, Local Government, Sustainability
Some years ago an ordinance enacted by the City of Miami Beach received accolades across the globe when it protected endangered sea turtles that nest on the beaches of Miami Beach, by “restricting artificial lighting and other activities that disorient turtle hatchlings, causing them to crawl toward land rather than toward the ocean.” However, a … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Decision is Good for Green Globes

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Federal, Green Building, Green Globes, Sustainability
The recent unanimous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States, is a win for small businesses and very good for those that work on Green Globes projects. In an effort to encourage small businesses, Congress has mandated that federal agencies restrict competition for some federal contracts.  The Small Business … Continue Reading

You Need to Review a SITES Scorecard, Now

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, Federal, Green Building, LEED, Sustainability
SITES is a sustainable landscape rating system. SITES is modeled after the LEED green building rating system. And while it is a standalone tool for measuring landscape sustainability, in June 2015, Green Business Certification Inc., the USGBC associated certification body for LEED, announced it had acquired the exclusive rights to the SITES rating system, its … Continue Reading

Federal Government Proposes Greenhouse Gas Disclosures from Certain Vendors

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, Federal, Sustainability
The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation which will require select government vendors, from landlords to defense contractors, to indicate if and where they publicly disclose greenhouse gas emissions. In 2015, the Obama Administration announced a new target to reduce Federal … Continue Reading

Maryland Vetoes Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard Increase

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, Environmental, State, Sustainability
Maryland Governor Lawrence J. Hogan, Jr., vetoed an increase in the State’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard that would have resulted in higher electricity prices across the State. This push back against an ever increasing legislatively mandated subsidized renewable energy ‘market’ portends a national trend. Specifically, Governor Hogan announced he was vetoing House Bill 1106 – … Continue Reading
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