Maybe it's my guilt at being out of town for my son Max's first day back, or maybe it was being at BASF's High Performance Buildings for Education Summit, but school is on my mind.
At the BASF Summit last Wednesday, Vivian Loftness from Carnegie Mellon University gave a very interesting presentation on the recently released National Academy of Sciences study on health and productivity benefits of green schools, which concluded that while many issues require more research, there are clear and quantifiable benefits to green schools. David Mooji from Neptune Township gave an fact-filled presentation on the success of New Jersey's first LEED-Platinum public school and the LEED-Gold Summerfield Elementary School. Kris Kolluri, CEO of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority inspired the audience with his commitment to actually certify all new schools in New Jersey to LEED, going beyond the state's existing commitment to build facilities to LEED standards. These presentations and that of yours truly will be available on the web and I'll post a URL shortly.
The USGBC just kicked off the third year of its highly successful National Green Schools Campaign (NSGC) with the launch of the Coalition for Green Schools. In the past 12 months, the NGSC has been supporting the passage of federal, state and local initiatives including the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act, funding for green school construction and renovation as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the "Making green Schools a Reality" Resolution. So far, over 1,700 schools have registered in LEED for Schools and nearly 200 have certified.
Kudos to the Green Schools Alliance and Habitat Heroes for their efforts to tangibly connect children worldwide around the issue of Climate Change. On September 23, the international Climate Quilt Campaign will launch its North America leg, coinciding with Global Climate Week and the United Nations Secretary-General's High Level Summit on Climate Change. The Climate Quilt is traveling the globe, attracting patches from children on every continent.
Proving that learning is a lifelong process, rather than an event (sort of like LEED EBOM . . . ) San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom writes about his city's commitment to expanding the knowledge and training of its staff in green buildings with over 120 architects, engineers and construction managers who have achieved LEED professional accreditation. With justifiable pride, Newsom also points to San Francisco's more than 40 municipal buildings in the LEED certification process.
IIDA's Leadership Breakfast for Northern California was in San Francisco and Majora Carter wowed the audience with her lessons learned on how to unlock the sustainability potential in almost any situation. Moving from students to "teachers," the state of California's (there go those plucky Californians again) first-in-the-nation green building standard will be used as a model for the International Code Council's new International Green Construction Code. Having cut my teeth on Title 24 as a starving intern for NRDC back in the mid '80s, I can vouch that it will be an excellent model.
Hey! How come I'm always writing about California cities?! I know there's life east of the Sierra Madres. Send us your municipal success stories and I'll make sure some GreenerBuildings.com love comes your way.
The McGraw Hill Construction-Siemens report on the "Greening of Corporate America" shows that sustainability is now part of the core curriculum and not an elective any more. A couple of very interesting findings in 2009 is that the percentage of companies (we're talking companies that make up 75 percent of the $36 trillion U.S. equities market, not niche or boutique firms) that are actively engaged in sustainability has doubled since 2006, while the number that look at it as a regulatory nuisance declined by 40 percent. Also, the vast majority (71 percent) expect their sustainability initiatives to reduce costs -- so much for the economic "burden" of green.
Rounding out the week's features are articles about YKK zipping up leaky building facades with its new enerGfacade line of products that integrate shading, daylight and better insulation value and Melbourne's new convention center, a wonder from down under that's achieved a six-star rating from the Aussie GreenStar certification program, which equals or exceeds LEED-Platinum certification. Bonzer!
The week's Look-Grandpa-I-picked-up-the-$20-bill-you-said-was-fake-but-it's-real! mention goes to the U.S. Department of Energy for jump-starting large-scale energy saving programs with a $450 million-plus solicitation going out to the states. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said it best: "Energy efficiency isn't just low-hanging fruit; it's fruit lying on the ground." NOTE: The 5-second rule does NOT apply here.
Rob Watson is the executive editor of GreenerBuildings.com. You can reach Rob at rob.watson@greenerworldmedia.com or follow him on Twitter @KilrWat.
LEED-Gold Certified Davey Jackson Elementary School, Jackson, Wyoming — Image courtesy of Jackson Elementary School.