USGBC MA Green Building Showcase - by Grey Lee

Grey Lee

Thank you for coming to the 2015 Green Building Showcase Spotlight Edition of the New England Real Estate Journal. The Journal is the go-to resource for real estate professionals and has helped many firms showcase their successes on a weekly basis throughout the region.

This edition highlights the sponsored projects of the 2015 Green Building Showcase, an event produced by the Mass. Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC MA). As a community of green building professionals, it is important that we celebrate the successes of our efforts to transform the real estate industry toward improved asset performance and greater responsibility for the stakeholders that are affected by buildings. Our work at USGBC MA is to promote a strong industry and broaden the participation in our mission: to transform our communities so everyone can live, work, heal, play or study in a green building within a generation.

Green buildings are an important and rapidly growing component of the real estate sector. According to Booz Allen Hamilton, the business consultancy, in Massachusetts, green buildings will account for $21.91 billion of GDP from 2015-2018, and represents 257,000 jobs in the same 3-year period. The green building industry is expected to contribute $914.42 million in state and local taxes to support essential programs. We have over 113 million s/f of LEED-certified buildings in the state, 1,056 at last count. Across the U.S., green buildings provided $167.4 billion to GDP from 2011-2014 and will account for $303.4 billion in economic contribution over the next 3 years. These buildings will save $2.4 billion in energy costs – providing real benefits to our communties. Green buildings are really better buildings for everyone.

We are thrilled to be able to share with you a sample of the successes of green buildings that our members and industry colleagues have produced in recent months. The buildings highlighted at this Showcase demonstrate the creativity, skill, and passion that our community of professionals bring to bear on each unique project. As integrated project teams, these working groups have continued to raise the bar on building excellence – both in the design and the operations of these facilities. Thus we present an award for Innovation in Green Design. We will announce the winners at the Showcase, to be reported on in a future edition of the Journal.

I hope you will participate in more of the chapter’s activities as we pursue our mission together. Representing all parties engaged in the green building industry, the chapter promotes market transformation and the growth of demand for high-performance buildings and associated services. We engage in direct advocacy of state and local policy to change the laws for our favor. Priorities on the advocacy front include 1) Net metering reform; 2) Stretch code & net zero building regulations; 3) Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) finance reform. We also support reducing toxicity in building materials, building labeling & energy benchmarking, and other relevant issues. I hope to see you at an upcoming Advocacy Forum or presentation.

The chapter is also a provider of education for students, emerging professionals, and LEED professionals to stay on top of the know-how they need as green building proponents. We offer many types of courses such as LEED Green Associate test prep, the GPRO program and continuing education under GBCI and AIA. Join us to help raise the caliber of our professionals and build our capacity to solve development and building production challenges.

Thank you for participating in this year’s Green Building Showcase. As we gather, we make connections between the strongest proponents of high-performance buildings in Massachusetts.

Special thanks to the events committee volunteers who organized this showcase: Alana Spencer, Tiffany King, Carrie Havey, Chris Meier, and John Picard. Without professionals like these dedicated to our mission, we would not be able to proceed with our priority work. Thank you also to the chapter’s program manager, Celis Brisbin, who deftly handled the important logistical processing for the event.

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor, Eversource, and to all the event sponsors and the displaying board teams who came together at Harvard’s fabulous location to share the results of our industry’s work to create more green buildings in Massachusetts. You are the reason our Commonwealth is a leader in making our built environment more beneficial and more valuable for all.

Grey Lee, LEED AP, executive director, U.S. Green Building Council MA Chapter.