CHICAGO, IL — The first wave of GreenBuild 2010 announcements that began trickling in last week has grown into a deluge, ranging from product certifications and awards to new tools and resources.

We'll be tracking developments as they arise, beginning with these that crossed our desks this week. Stay tuned for the latest on Autodesk, CB Richard Ellis, and more. 

Bank of America and USGBC Award 10 Green Neighborhoods Grants

Bank of America and U.S. Green Building Council have chosen 10 U.S. communities that will receive grants for projects that are pursuing LEED for Neighborhood Development certification and include affordable housing.

A $500,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will be split among the following developments:

• 9th and Berks TOD, Philadelphia, Pa.
• Church Lane Gardens, St. Louis, Mo.
• Clackamas Heights Redevelopment, Oregon City, Ore.
• Jordan Downs, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Lamar Station TOD, Lakewood, Colo.
• Old Colony Redevelopment, Boston, Mass.
• Sunnydale Hope SF, San Francisco, Calif.
• The Village at Market Creek, San Diego, Calif.
• Veterans Place at The Lancaster Corridor, Dallas, Texas
• Wyandanch Rising, Wyandanch, N.Y.

The certification covers whole neighborhoods, multiple neighborhoods, or parts of neighborhoods, and is based on smart growth principles that reduce urban sprawl and encourage walkability and public transportation. Incorporating affordable housing in such developments helps to reduce energy use and operating costs for low-income families what often spend more than half of their income on living expenses.

Construction Specialties Goes for the Gold

Architectural products manufacturers Construction Specialties (C/S) revealed Wednesday that its Acrovyn 4000 product line has earned Cradle to Cradle Gold Certification.

The Muncy, Penn.-based company stripped PBTs, PVC and bisphenol A (BPA) completely from the interior wall protection product line, in addition to eliminating these materials from its manufacturing process. The certification is based on an assessment of the product and manufacturing process in five categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy use, water stewardship, and social responsibility.

PVC, short for Polyvinyl chloride, is a common synthetic materials found in a broad array of products and applications, but some studies suggest is the worst plastic in terms of environmental health. PBTs, or persistent bioaccumulative toxins, are long-lived in the environment and bioaccumulate in food chains. Ubiquitous BPA has generated much controversy in recent years, and was just declared to be toxic by the Canadian government.

"C/S's decision to completely overhaul its manufacturing processes to develop and offer Acrovyn 4000 marks a seminal step forward for the building industry at large," James Ewell, vice president and director of consulting for McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), which administers the certification. "As the first company in the industry to commit to completely remove PVC from its wall protection line, C/S will hopefully lead a wider progression away from chemicals of concern.

C/S plans to earn C2C Gold certification for another product line that is currently certified C2C Silver.

Kingspan Unveils Path to NetZero

Insulated metal panel manufacturer Kingspan debuted an energy analysis and financial estimation tool Wednesday. It is designed to model the integration of insulated metal panel walls and roofs into building designs to achieve net zero energy, when a building produces as much energy as it consumes.

The tool, called Path to Zero, is meant to demonstrate a high performance building design strategy Kingspan calls EnvelopeFirst. It will be available on the web, in addition to mobile devices such as the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Android mobile products.

It can analyze carbon dioxide emissions reductions and energy cost savings in a building project as a result of adding insulated metal roof and wall panels. Users can calculate the results on an annual basis, or over a 25-year span, in addition to return on investment and contributions to a LEED certification.

The tool's foundation is a company study that simulated three building types in four different locations.

"This unique tool for the building industry simulates the process of energy modeling high-performance envelope and net-zero scenarios," Paul Bertram, Jr., Kingspan's director of environment and sustainability, said in a statement. "Select one of four cities, a building type (school, office, or warehouse) and a baseline building designed to ASHRAE 90.1.2004. Choose a Kingspan insulated roof and wall system and compare savings. Benchmarks for the tool are aligned with the DOE Commercial Building Initiative and LEED 2009/3.0 requirements."

Next Page: Portland Cement Association, YKK-Serious Materials Partnership, and Mondo's GreenGuard-Certified Flooring