Public Comment Period Open on LEED Revisions

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced today that they have opened up the proposed update to the LEED green building rating system for public comment. The public comment period will be open until December 31, 2010. According to the USGBC, this is the next step in the continuous improvement process and the on-going development cycle of the LEED program.


For More information on the public comment period, please see coverage iGreenBuild.com.

ABC Offers Green Contractor Certification Program

For contractors interested in sustainability and green construction, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) offers a Green Contractor Certification program. According to ABC, the programs documents the efforts of merit shop construction firms that are developing a sustainable workplace environment and to recognize those ABC members that are leaders in the green industry.

The process starts by submitting an application detailing green efforts and undergoing a third-party onsite assessment to achieve certification from ABC’s National Green Building Committee. ABC’s Certified Green Contractor program focuses on the green initiatives ABC member firms undertake in the workplace, not on construction practices, and it certifies companies, not individuals.

“ABC members have been on the forefront of the green building movement since its inception, but ABC also believes in stretching green achievements beyond the construction process and into the workplace,” said W. Brewster Earle, chairman of the ABC National Green Building Committee and president of Comfort Systems USA Energy Services, in Hartford, Conn. “The Green Contractor Certification program is another step in ABC’s goal to provide support and recognition for those firms that are setting an example for the industry by promoting green practices within the company and those that would like to create sustainability in the workplace as well as in construction practices.”

Twelve prerequisites ranging from the electronic distribution of documents to establishing an aggressive recycling program must be completed by each company. In addition, companies are required to fulfill at least 12 out of 36 elective items that include conducting a professional energy audit, engaging in water conservation efforts and providing incentives for carpooling or using public transportation. Each company also must achieve four education and training benchmarks, such as instructing employees on sustainability issues and requiring at least 25 percent of eligible managers to receive green building awareness education. For more information, visit ABC’s green website http://www.greenconstructionatwork.com/.

Concrete Sustainability Hub Launched At MIT

Sustainability has been a challenge the concrete industry has been wrestling with for the last several years. Unfortunately, the frargmented nature of the industry has impacted the industry's ability to develop a comprehensive approach to sustainability. Recently, however, some leading concrete associations have partnered to launch the Concrete Sustainability Hub )(CSH) at MIT, which is being described as an interdisciplinary collaboration that will accelerate the growth of science and engineering in concrete research. A press release about the CSH is below.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Concrete is the most widely used building material on the planet; however, the production of some of its component materials accounts for up to five percent of global carbon dioxide emissions annually. To address the sustainability and environmental implications of the use of concrete as the backbone of our housing, schools, hospitals and other built infrastructure, including highways, tunnels, airports and rail systems, MIT today announced the creation of the Concrete Sustainability Hub, a research center established at MIT in collaboration with the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation.
The Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSH), established with the goal of accelerating emerging breakthroughs in concrete science and engineering and transferring that science into practice, will provide $10 million of sponsored research funding during the next five years. Researchers from MIT’s School of Engineering, School of Architecture and Planning and Sloan School of Management are expected to participate in the CSH’s research activities.
The launch of CSH incidentally coincides with last week’s announcement that the EPA is moving to enact rules that would curtail greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and large industrial manufacturers. If enacted, these rules would likely impose regulations on all 118 cement plants in the United States. The RMC and PCA leaders are hopeful that research results emerging from CSH projects will help ease the way for the industry to meet any changes that would be required by those new regulations.
“The concrete industry has the honor of producing the world’s most favored building material, but this honor comes with a responsibility for the industry to minimize its ecological footprint,” said Julie Garbini, executive director of the RMC Research & Education Foundation.
Brian McCarthy, CEO and president of PCA, added “The MIT research team is an exceptional group of dedicated interdisciplinary faculty and the CSH will take a holistic approach to research that allows science to feed seamlessly into today’s concrete applications like paving and wall systems. For ultimately, the greatest opportunity for the building industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may lay in the development of more durable and energy-efficient roads, houses, and buildings.”
“This collaboration is an excellent example of how MIT is addressing complex, interconnected issues of sustainability — and working to provide solutions,” said Subra Suresh, Dean of Engineering and Vannevar Bush Professor of Engineering at MIT. “Putting engineers together with economists, urban planners, architects and industry experts and practitioners on issues related to our built infrastructure will create truly novel opportunities for intervention.”
CSH research will initially be organized around three focus areas: concrete materials science, building technology and the econometrics of sustainable development. The first two projects, “Green Concrete Science,” and “The Edge of Concrete: A Life-Cycle Investigation of Concrete and Concrete Structures” are already underway. Franz-Josef Ulm, the Macomber Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will serve as the CSH’s inaugural director and is the lead investigator on the Green Concrete Science project. The CSH will be co-directed by John Ochsendorf, Class of 1942 Career Development Associate Professor of Building Technology in the Department of Architecture and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
“It is rare that one has an opportunity to have a positive environmental impact on the most prevalent building material in the world,” said Ulm. “This means working closely with industry partners over time to ensure that our ideas and research are sustainable economically, as well as environmentally, and are a source of job creation.”
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About PCAThe Portland Cement Association, based in Skokie, Ill., represents cement companies in the United States and Canada. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs. For additional information, visit http://http://www.cement.org/.
About RMC Research & Education FoundationThe mission of the RMC Research and Education Foundation, based in Silver Spring, Md., is to support research and educational programs that will increase quality, professionalism and environmental stewardship in the ready mixed concrete industry for the benefit of the citizens of the United States. For additional information, visit http://http://www.rmc-foundation.org/.