Green Apple Day Of Service

Mark Kurowski (K&W Engineers) and I taking part in the Green Apple Day Of Service

What is the Green Apple Day Of Service?

USGBC and The Center For Green Schools created this annual event to engage people around the world and give them an opportunity to give back to their community.  The goal is to educate children/students about sustainability in their very own backyard.  They have a fantastic website (www.mygreenapple.org) which has tracked, organized and reported on the thousands of service projects that have been going on around the world on September 29, 2012.

Who was involved?

Our local Green Apple Service event was coordinated by The Emerging Professionals Committee of USGBC Central Pennsylvania.  In just a couple of weeks, Sarah Knehr and Justin Kovaleski were able to secure over $1500 in donations for trees/mulch/tools and round up 30+ volunteers to help.  People of all backgrounds came out to chip in… Professional engineers, occupational therapists, construction workers, parents, children and college students.  It was great to see such a positive response to the event and really inspired me to do more projects like this on an ongoing basis.  Penn State Harrisburg and their newly founded USGBC Student Group was there with numerous volunteers.  Penn State Harrisburg also visited with Middletown Area Middle School students this week to teach them about green buildings and the environment.

Penn State Harrisburg USGBC Student Group

What did we accomplish?

We accomplished many things today…  We connected people… We improved City Island by planting 15 trees… We supported a struggling city in need (Harrisburg)… We educated students about giving back… and most of all We Had FUN!  People really do enjoy rolling their sleeves up once in a while and getting dirty.  It was great to see so many smiling faces and people really looking to help each other with this project.  I even got to see a mom teach her two middle school age children how to plant a tree… quite remarkable!

How can you get involved and support future projects like this one?

Become a volunteer with your local chapter of the US Green Building Council… Our website in Central Pennsylvania is www.usgbc-centralpa.org.  Our chapter covers 37 counties throughout Central Pa and includes large areas such as State College, Lancaster, Berks, York, Harrisburg, Carlisle and Chambersburg.  We have many great committees doing good work and fun interactive events on a monthly basis.  Check here for upcoming events!

Donate now… Non-profits like USGBC Central Pa need financial resources in order to continue to provide community service projects, educational programs and to advocate for sustainability to local and state government.  Please consider donating today to ensure this organization can continue to support sustainability in your community for years to come.

Higher Education: Truly Embracing Sustainability

Higher Education is perhaps the field which has embraced the realm of sustainability to the fullest.  Colleges/Universities have implemented curriculum, green building policies/procedures, research projects, marketing efforts, recycling programs, and campus wide sustainability efforts.  This seems to have occurred both from the students (grassroots) and from the leadership supporting the efforts resulting in massive culture change.  Higher Education is very competitive and they have found that ‘being green’ can make their campus & school more attractive to the next generation (which is all about the environment and smarter decisions).

Two years ago, The Princeton Review + USGBC teamed up to provide the guide to green colleges and universities.  You can download the latest publication here for free: http://www.princetonreview.com/green_guide_download.aspx

There is a ton of great information on each of the schools and what they have done on their campuses to become more environmentally responsible.  I personally found it pretty cool to find out that my alma mater, Catholic University (Washington, DC) was on the list.

Also an emerging trend on campuses, USGBC Student Groups are popping up all over the country!

Here is a map of the current sanctioned USGBC Student Groups (78 of them to be exact): http://centerforgreenschools.org/main-nav/higher-edu/community/usgbcstudents/findagroup.aspx

This is pretty remarkable for a program that is fairly new (two years old)… The student groups are focusing on campus sustainability initiatives, LEED AP/GA prep courses, local green building tours, research projects, engaging local leaders in green building and more.

Locally here in Central Pennsylvania, we have two official student groups: Penn State & Penn College of Technology

Three other schools have shown interest in the program and are starting the affliation process:  Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), Messiah College and Dickinson College…

Pennsylvania Higher Ed Student Roundtable:

On March 15, 2012 at GreenCon we will be holding a USGBC Student Group Roundtable discussion to share information and resources… we hope you can join us!

More Information:

If you are interested in starting a group at your college/university, here’s how to get started: http://centerforgreenschools.org/usgbcstudentsstart.aspx

If interested, here is a sustainable design competition for those that are either students or young professionals: http://dvgbc.org/sustainable-design-competition

Feel free to share your campus initiatives and green efforts here!

Join us for GREENCon – March 15, 2012 – Messiah College

Click Here To Register For GreenCon Today!

Early Bird Rate is $40 Until 2/22

Join us for a great conference & expo!

USGBC Central Pennsylvania will be hosting GreenCon – A Green Building Conference & Expo on March 15, 2012 at Messiah College.

The day will feature national and local experts on green building technologies, systems and philosophies.  There will be plenty of opportunities to learn, network and witness sustainability up close and personal as Messiah College gives tours of their numerous green initiatives.  There will be several guest speakers discussing exciting, relevant and innovative topics.  You can earn credential maintenance hours and promote your business through exhibiting or sponsorship.

If you are interested in learning more about this conference, please comment below and I will be happy to send you information regarding registration/exhibiting/sponsoring.

Happy New Year!

LEED Credentials: More Valuable Today Than Ever Before…

The Business Case
Clients that are building and renovating today want to do so responsibly and for the least amount of money.  They are beginning to evaluate their building projects not only as long-term investments but they are also taking a closer look at the sustainability of their choices (life-cycle cost analysis, environmental impact, impact on occupant productivity).  They also have employees, customers and shareholders that are all asking “What can we do to be green?”.  Someone with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) credentials can assist in both the evaluation and implementation of green building practices.

The credentials make a clear statement:  I understand and I am committed to building green.

LEED AP:

There are two types of credentials available from The Green Building Certification Institute.  LEED Accredited Professional (AP) and LEED Green Associate (GA). These credentials have been established to be somewhat of a clearing house for those working in either the design or construction of green buildings.  Both require a significant amount of material to study and sitting for a third party exam.

Of course, just having the “LEED AP” behind your name doesn’t make you an expert but it does indicate that you have a certain amount of knowledge and experience in LEED.GBCI/USGBC did catch some flack under the old exam (prior to 2009) because you didn’t need any experience to sit for it.  The market was certainly flooded with new LEED AP’s… and the question was raised “Do these LEED AP’s know what they are talking about or did they just memorize the material?”

They have since modified the criteria and to sit for the LEED AP exam now you must have worked on at least one LEED project.  This does somewhat differentiate the candidates although you cannot guarantee the exact level of experience.  For more information on becoming a LEED AP, check out the various handbooks here: http://www.gbci.org/main-nav/professional-credentials/candidate-handbooks.aspx

LEED Green Associate:
For those without the opportunity to work on a LEED Project, GBCI also created the LEED Green Associate exam.  Although the credential may not carry as much weight in the industry as the AP designation, it certainly denotes a level of understanding and commitment for the candidate.  I highly recommend if you have an interest in green building pursuing this credential.  Not only will it allow you a great foundation for your career, it is a great way for anyone to differentiate themselves and gain a competitive edge in this competitive job market.  This would also be a great way for college students to add a critical piece to their resume. For the Green Associate handbook, go here: http://www.gbci.org/Files/Candidate-Handbooks/LEED-Green-Associate.pdf

Credential Maintenance:
For both the LEED AP and the LEED Green Associate professionals there is continuing education required.  Every two years each LEED AP and GA will need to record 30 and 15 hours of continuing education respectively.  A certain number of these hours must be LEED focused.  This encourages the professionals to continually strive for improvement and to validate their credentials on an ongoing basis.  Check with your local USGBC Chapter for seminars, courses and green building tours which can help you with this process.  Here is the credential maintenance handbook: http://www.gbci.org/Files/cmp_guide.pdf

The Ultimate Goal: A Better Finished Product
The more LEED AP’s you can have working on a project the more well rounded the project will be.  Everyone on the team will understand the “rules of the game” per-say.  Every team member whether it be the owners representative, the architect, the mechanical engineer, or the construction manager should understand the synergies of the credits and how each system integrates into the functionality and ultimately the sustainability of the building.

Throughout the design & construction of any project, many variables need to be evaluated: Cost, Quality, Environmental Impact and Life Cycle Analysis.  Each member of the team should be able to speak to these traits given their area of expertise and weigh in accordingly on all critical decisions such as systems, products, design aspects, etc.  Ultimately the goal is to complete a building that in the long run uses the least amount of energy, reduces the impact on the environment and is comfortable for the owner and the building occupants.