Green Building Law Update

Environmental Law and Sustainability for Business

Tag Archives: green building

Green Building may be our Best Hope to Repair the Planet

Single shooting climate change is not what the majority of people want… Continue Reading

New BREEAM In Use Version in a Changing World

By Stuart Kaplow on May 17, 2020 Posted in Green Building, LEED

Last week BRE Global announced that the “BREEAM USA In-Use Version 6 for Commercial and Residential” green building rating system has launched. In addition to improvements to the prior commercial building rating system BREEAM In-Use now includes residential for the first time (accepting that existing multi-family building is a very much underserved sector). An update … Continue Reading

Brownfield Laws can Save Green Building and the Planet

By Stuart Kaplow on June 23, 2019 Posted in Federal, Green Building, LEED

It is widely accepted that the greenest building is one already built. So, why then on the 20th anniversary of many state brownfield programs, is there so little correlation between green buildings and brownfields? Green building ratings systems, standards and codes expend a great deal of verbiage on aims reducing embodied carbon, including the currently … Continue Reading

Green Building that Cleans the Air

By Stuart Kaplow on June 17, 2018 Posted in Green Building, Green Globes, LEED

Today’s green building standards, rating systems and codes are stale, largely based in decades old science and do not go far enough to be efficacious for most business to invest in. This is no longer a genuine debate over the negative environmental impact that buildings have on the planet. But the green building industrial complex … Continue Reading

Blockchain has come to Real Estate

By Stuart Kaplow on December 10, 2017 Posted in Legal Developments

Earlier this fall an apartment in Kiev became the first real estate purchased using blockchain, portending a new era in the sale of land and improvements. It is suggested blockchain may do for the $217 trillion real estate market what the Internet did for communication. Blockchain will address high transaction costs, long time delays, and … Continue Reading

You Need a Green Building Consultant (Who Speaks for the Trees)

By Stuart Kaplow on June 18, 2017 Posted in Green Building, LEED, Sustainability

The Lorax Partnerships Team

We are often asked “what is the best way to assure success in a green building project?” Whether that query is from a Fortune 1000 businesses or an architect, the answer is the same, have the owner engage an experienced green building consultant as early as possible in the project. Which often leads to a … Continue Reading

You Must Register your LEED v2009 project by Halloween

By Stuart Kaplow on September 25, 2016 Posted in Environmental, Green Building, LEED

Halloween activities often include carving pumpkins into jack o lanterns and trick or treating in costume, and this year on All Hallows’ Eve you should be registering your LEED project. The end is near. October 31, 2016 is the last day to register a LEED version 2009 project. Registration will close on that date and … Continue Reading

Harvard Business Review Adds Environmental Performance to Ranking CEOs

By Stuart Kaplow on November 8, 2015 Posted in Environmental, Green Building, Sustainability

It is significant when the Harvard Business Review alters its methodology in ranking the best performing CEOs in the world to now take into account a company’s environmental performance. Increasingly CEOs are coming to appreciate it is okay to make a profit while saving the planet. Harvard Business Review’s self described mission is “to improve … Continue Reading

You Should Comment on the Revised Green Globes Standard

By Stuart Kaplow on September 13, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

Last Friday was the beginning of the public comment period on the Green Building Initiative’s revision to its ANSI/GBI 01-2010: Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings that forms the basis for the current version of Green Globes for New Construction. Nearly 1000 buildings are Green Globes certified in the U.S. today. The revised Standard … Continue Reading

Fannie Mae Interest Rate Break on Green Building

By Stuart Kaplow on March 6, 2015 Posted in LEED, Sustainability

Fannie Mae's lower interest rates for green building may not be the "in" response to climate change dystopia, but green mortgage backed securities, getting a big boost by this initiative, will be a key source of financing for green building, that will save the planet.… Continue Reading

All Water is Greywater – So Don’t Ban Greywater in Your Plumbing Code

By Stuart Kaplow on January 25, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

.. about 150 million years ago a dinosaur stopped and peed 300 gallons. And there were millions of dinosaurs, all drinking water and peeing. So, easily creatures have had inside their kidneys and peed thousands of times all the potable water available on the planet. At this point it is all greywater. .. As governments across the country enter the triennial building code cycle, including adopting the 2015 International Plumbing Code, it is key that they not ban greywater use.… Continue Reading

ASHRAE 189.1 – 2014 Green Building Standard Is Now Available

By Stuart Kaplow on November 23, 2014 Posted in LEED

Last week the 2014 version of the ASHRAE 189.1 Green Building Standard was published and is now available for use.… Continue Reading

Mid Term Election Results Superb For Green Building

By Stuart Kaplow on November 12, 2014 Posted in Sustainability

Election Day 2014 in which Republicans made big gains in Congress and statehouses across the country portends huge business opportunities for green building. As more conservative legislative bodies look to enact environmental and energy policies while driving up growth without enacting new mandates or imposing new taxes, enabling voluntary green building is positioned to be part of the new legislative agendas.… Continue Reading

LEED v4 Delayed, Again

By Stuart Kaplow on October 29, 2014 Posted in LEED

LEED v4 Delayed, Again. The U.S. Green Building Council has announced that projects will still be able to register under the current LEED 2009 through October 31, 2016.… Continue Reading

Saint Paul has an Alternative to LEED

By Stuart Kaplow on August 26, 2014 Posted in Codes and Regulations

Many thought green building mandates would spread across the county. But today, with more than 89,000 local government across the U.S., there are less than 200 green building mandates that apply to 'purely' private building. Saint Paul has an alternative to LEED ..… Continue Reading

Lawyers’ Opinions in Green Building Transactions

By Stuart Kaplow on July 7, 2014 Posted in LEED, Sustainability

One might ask why they need an opinion from a lawyer that their building is green? The best response is because in many instances their lender requires it. While legal opinions are given in a variety of commercial contexts, they are increasingly being required as part of the due diligence by lenders when making loans secured by (i.e., a mortgage) a green building.… Continue Reading

Green Building Bonds as a Game Changing New Source of Capital

By Stuart Kaplow on May 25, 2014 Posted in LEED, Sustainability

As investors seek socially responsible investment options, green building bonds present a game changing opportunity for financing green building. Green building, which arguably offers higher value collateral and reduced risk, will be advantaged by bonds as a cheaper cost of capital all while saving the planet.… Continue Reading

Sag Harbor Wants to Give You a Million Dollar Tax Break on Your LEED House

By Stuart Kaplow on September 24, 2013 Posted in LEED

Sag Harbor Village, New York Wants to Give You a Million Tax Break on Your LEED House. The Long Island village has become the most recent of more than 400 local governments across the country to incentivize green building.… Continue Reading

Greetings from Stuart Kaplow

By Stuart Kaplow on September 10, 2013 Posted in Green Building Introduction, LEED

Greetings. My name is Stuart Kaplow and I want to introduce myself, as I assume the helm as the new publisher of the Green Building Law Update blog. But first, thank you to Chris Cheatham, the founder of this blog, for his years of good work in spreading the word of green building. Second, an … Continue Reading