Category Archives: USGBC LEED

USGBC Green Building Tours – October 3-8, 2016

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GREEN BUILDING TOURS

Green Building tours are one of Greenbuild’s most popular and exciting features, providing the opportunity to explore green buildings ranging from government facilities to zoo exhibits. This year in Los Angeles, Greenbuild tours will help attendees learn outside the convention center walls and present the best of the area’s sustainable buildings and neighborhoods.

The Greenbuild Tours Program is developed by the Greenbuild 2016 Host Committee, USGBC-LA.


Descanso Gardens

About Greenbuild International
Conference & Expo – Oct. 5-7, 2016

 Greenbuild is the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. The ideals and passion of the green building community come alive at Greenbuild. The buzz is contagious.

Greenbuild brings together industry leaders, experts and frontline professionals dedicated to sustainable building in their everyday work, and a unique energy is sparked. Participants are invigorated. Inspired. They find themselves equipped to return to their jobs with a renewed passion and purpose.

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L.A. Natural Gas Leak Leading to Power Blackouts?

Screen Shot 2016-07-02 at 10.19.50 PMAs early as April of this year, speculation was being widely reported that Los Angeles may suffer numerous blackouts because 17 local natural gas power plants are having a difficult time sourcing sufficient fuel for generating electricity.

Normally, a significant percentage of their natural gas is stored at the Aliso Canyon facility. When the facility sprang its massive,  four months-long leak polluting the air in the north portion of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County it also depleted the storage tanks that were stockpiling fuel for the peak energy usage months of July through October. They now contain only 20% of what is normal for this time of year!

“How do we make sure we are building the most sustainable city possible?” – Nancy Sutley (LADWP)

As a result, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is scrambling on two fronts to lessen the impact on their ratepayers. First, they are trying to arrange new sources of fuel from neighboring regions. Second, they are appealing to their commercial and residential customers to voluntarily reduce their consumption of power.

Last Thursday (6/30/16) the LADWP hosted a roundtable discussion of their options at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) at their new La Kretz Innovation Center in downtown Los Angeles. LADWP and Southern California Gas each have aggressive incentive campaigns to encourage ratepayers to conserve electricity. In addition, David Hodgins of the Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge helped address the key question of the discussion posed by Nancy Sutley (LADWP’s Chief Sustainability and Economic Development Officer) – “How do we make sure we are building the most sustainable city possible?”

This crisis is a wake-up call – a wound that must not be allowed to go untreated or to infect other utility assets. It makes it clear that more preventative solutions must be adopted so we are better prepared for future droughts, heat waves, and infrastructure disasters.

The Mayor’s office has already put into place policies (through his Sustainability pLAn and special office) that help guide Los Angeles to develop a sustainable energy system. Installing innovative energy efficiency technologies in commercial and residential structures must continue to be developed to mitigate the demand growth of the region. At the same time a planned approach must feature: consumption monitoring systems, more incentives for better LEED Certified investments, solar installations and storage expansion, and flexible infrastructure encouraging the new decentralized power generation and storage.

 

 

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USGBC-LA Hosts GREEN21 Resources

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Between 2014-2016, California’s 25th District Senator Carol Liu sponsored the creation of the GREEN21 information portal. These resource pages have been created to help users from her district (parts of Ventura County and northern Los Angeles County) find information that will lead them to more green, sustainable choices for the 21st Century.

At the culmination of her term of office, Senator Liu decided that it would be a shame to lose these resources with the termination of her own website. USGBC/Los Angeles Chapter Executive Director, Dominique Hargreaves offered to host GREEN21 on the chapter’s website, which is where they now reside. The resources have been reformatted and posted by iPLUG Media to the USGBC site.

The contents of GREEN21 now reside under the About Us menu item, because of USGBC website menu formatting considerations. When GreenBuild 2016 completes, the menu item for GreenBuild will be replaced by Resources with a drop down menu for the following markets:

Additional information more central to the Los Angeles Chapter are being added – for instance, information about the Mayor’s pLAn and the Los Angeles Better Building Challenge (LABBC). Recommendations for new public information and links are requested so that they can be considered for inclusion on the site.

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USGBC Build SMART Trailer Tours Los Angeles

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Juliana Luz, Scott Miller, and Fernanda Zuin invite visitors to learn more about sustainable building materials, water conservation, and energy saving innovations in the Build SMART trailer.

What has four wheels, 3 solar panels, a dual flush toilet, and is full of the latest sustainable innovations used in building construction?

The BuildSMART (Sustainable Materials And Resources Trailer) mobile learning exhibit, of course! On loan from the USGBC Central Coast Chapter who constructed it (with the assistance of CalPoly San Luis Obispo and sponsors) it is touring various parks and schools around Los Angeles County between April 2016 and 2017.

The trailer demonstrates sustainable living/working environments, illustrating best practices for green building. BuildSMART is outfitted with a variety of materials and systems, including sustainable flooring, recycled countertops, non-toxic insulation, anti-microbial wallboards, solar PV, tankless water heating, among other efficient energy and water conservation methods.

Screen Shot 2016-06-05 at 4.52.18 PMThe community interest has been very strong and positive serving an estimated 40,000 visitors per year! It is the first exposure many have had to the USGBC, LEED Certification, and many of new technologies  that might motivate students to pursue careers in the industry.

LEED PlaquesBuildSMART is supported by a Community Partner Grant funded by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. A YouTube video is available to tour the trailer online.

Contact Fernanda Zuin to schedule a visit: fernanda@usgbc-la.org or call 213-689-9707.

 

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Eco-Map-LA Details L.A. LEED Structures

EcoMapLA

The U.S. Green Building Council of Greater L.A. has provided an interactive map of LEED certified buildings on their website for free! Produced as a special cartography project by concept3D, this extraordinary map provides the user a feature-rich tool for exploring the green side of Los Angeles’ built environment. You can even follow pre-planned walking tours for viewing significant structures!

Many existing 3D models of important landmarks have been inserted into the map. More importantly, clicking on each pin reveals detailed information about each certified building – its location, green feature summary, and a link to more data about its LEED point scores. It will be fun to watch Los Angeles become more environmentally and energy sustainable, turning other cities “green” with envy!

The explanatory copy from the website:

Introducing EcoMapLA, the go-to resource for all things sustainable in Los Angeles. Conduct Research using the drop-down menus to filter the map for LA’s Green Buildings, Green Businesses, and Iconic City Landmarks. Click on a location for a description (with images), the address (with directions), and links to additional information (including the LEED scorecard), where available. Explore the City with self-guided tours, transportation routes, and visitor information to experience LA’s green efforts and follow our sustainability story.

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Top Ten Ways to Save on Home Energy Costs

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Did you know that solar power is not the only remedy for your high energy bills? Sure, it’s a fundamental part of any energy efficiency effort, but there are many other steps you can take to drastically reduce your utility bills.

This article provides details on some of the most efficient ways to positively impact your energy

  1. SOLAR POOL HEATING

  2. ENERGY STAR EXTERIOR WINDOWS

  3. COOL WALL COATINGS

  4. EFFICIENT LIGHTING

  5. COOL ROOF

  6. SOLAR PV SYSTEM

  7. RADIANT BARRIERS

  8. ENERGY STAR AIR CONDITIONING

  9. INSULATED DUCTS

  10. HIGH EFFICIENCY VARIABLE SPEED POOL PUMP

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pLAn – Transforming Los Angeles: Environment | Economy | Equity

Local Government sustainability_bannerMayor Eric Garcetti – 4/8/2015: Our city is flourishing. We expect at least 500,000 more people to call Los Angeles home by 2035. So the question before us, like it was to those Angelenos of the past, is how can we improve our city today, and ensure future generations enjoy a place that is environmentally healthy, economically prosperous, and equitable in opportunity for all?

Soon after taking office as Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti defined the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and appointed the city’s first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Matt Petersen. This is not simply an “environment department” with a separate box on the organization chart – rather the office oversees the implementation of sustainability throughout the city’s 35 departments and bureaus.

“This pLAn sets the course for a cleaner environment and a stronger economy, with a commitment to equity as its foundation. These are the keys to a city that Angelenos have said they want our children to inherit — one that can continue to thrive and provide good health andopportunity for its residents. This is the way I view sustainability.” – Mayor Eric Garcetti

Within the framework of three sections – Environment, Economy, and Equity – there are 14 topic chapters. Each chapter includes a preceding Introduction, Vision, and Long-Term Outcomes summary. Then the pLAn provides details on Baseline/Source, Near-term Outcomes, Strategies, and Priority Initiatives.

The full plan can be downloaded from the L.A. Mayor’s website at plan.lamayor.org.

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10 Smart Building Myths Debunked

SmartBldgMythsSmart buildings have been proven to save energy, streamline facilities management and prevent expensive equipment failures. Yet to many property owners and investors, the value of smart buildings remains a mystery.

The reality is that in most buildings, one can demonstrate a strong business case for strategic investments in smart building systems and management technologies. Not everyone, however, is aware that the tremendous advantages of today’s affordable smart building management technologies easily justify the cost. See infographic (PDF).

Leo O’Loughlin of Jones Lang LaSalle has ennumerated 10 myths about smart buildings that need to be debunked in the marketplace. Briefly they are:

10. Smart building technologies are expensive

9. Smart buildings are only about energy

8. Smart buildings and green buildings are the same thing

7. Industrial facilities or laboratories can’t become smart buildings

6. Smart buildings can only be new buildings

5. Smart building technologies are not interoperable

4.  Smart systems don’t make a building more attractive to tenants

3. Without a municipal smart grid, a building can’t really be smart

2. Smart buildings are complicated to operate

1. Smart buildings are a no-brainer

Leo O’Loughlin is Senior Vice President of energy and sustainability services at Jones Lang LaSalle.

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Why Architects Must Lead on Sustainable Design

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Not a single school of architecture requires every student to be fully trained in the principles of sustainable design. The report offered recommendations for transforming education that included the “Sustainable Environmental Design Education” model curriculum, but to my knowledge, no school has adopted these or similar guidelines.

Architecture is an essential arena for sustainable innovation. Buildings represent about half the annual energy and emissions in the U.S. and three-quarters of its electricity. With the built environment growing — the U.S. building stock increases by about 3 billion square feet every year — architects have a historic opportunity to transform its impact for the better.

In 2006, the American Institute of Architects wisely adopted Architecture 2030’s “2030 Challenge,” an initiative seeking carbon neutrality in the industry by 2030. “[W]e believe we must alter our profession’s actions,” the AIA 2030 Commitment says, “and encourage our clients and the entire design and construction industry to join with us to change the course of the planet’s future.”

The AIA, however, recently removed sustainable design from members’ annual continuing education requirements: “Recognizing that sustainable design practices have become a mainstream design intention in the architectural community, the board of directors has voted to allow the sustainable design education requirement to sunset at the end of calendar year 2012,” the institute reports. Other kinds of continuing education credits remain mandatory.

In the culture of design, innovation often means little more than aesthetic novelty. Google the phrase “innovative architecture” and you find a lot of provocative geometry, but few if any groundbreaking solutions to the most serious problems. Design can be a powerful agent for change, but design awards and media attention generally celebrate imagery over innovation.

Six steps to change:

  1. Immediately, every organization that gives design awards to architects can begin rewarding only structures that meet at least a minimum standard of sustainable performance.
  2. Within six months, every design magazine can begin featuring only buildings that meet at least a minimum standard of sustainable performance.
  3. Within one year, every public agency, including federal, state and local governments, can require every project beginning development in that year to meet current targets for the 2030 Commitment.
  4. Within two years, every American architecture firm can adopt the 2030 Commitment and meet current targets for all projects begun that year.
  5. Within three years, every American licensing agency can require that every architect demonstrate a minimum level of competency around sustainable design in order to maintain a license to practice.
  6. Within four years, every school of architecture can transform its curriculum to ensure that every graduating student is fully trained in the principles and practice of sustainable design.

READ MORE…

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How Energy Points Help CFOs Budget for Sustainability

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Where Simplicity Meets Accuracy…  Energy Points is a simple, accurate and actionable solution that allows organizations to manage and plan the consumption of energy resources across their operations, products and supply chains using the first data driven universal metric.

Ory Zik, founder and chief executive officer of Energy Points, believes many CFOs shy away from even thinking about sustainability because they struggle to determine the most cost-effective solutions. A Deloitte survey of 250 CFOs of companies with more than $1 billion in revenue in 2012 found that superior sustainability information is still somewhat elusive. Only 12 percent of CFOs believed they had “excellent” sustainability information, while 37 percent rated their information “good” and another 37 percent called it only “adequate.”

Sustainability reports are emerging as a critical driver of shareholder value. According to a January report from the Governance & Accountability Institute, 53 percent of the S&P 500 issued sustainability reports in 2011, a huge increase from 2010’s 19 percent. But Zik believes most of these reports are all but unintelligible.

The universal sustainability metric

The problem is that businesses that look at greenhouse gas emissions, kilowatt hours for electricity, BTUs for gas and gallons for water — and then keep them separate — are bound to get confused. What Energy Points does is to use a gallon of gasoline as a baseline. Its algorithms convert all other types of energy — electricity, water, oil, natural gas — into a metric relative to that gallon of gasoline. In that way, a CFO can derive one number to determine his organization’s energy use no matter what kind of energy is critical for the business, and track that cost, using it to drive strategic decisions.

With Energy Points’ application, what CFOs see is an interpretation generated by that algorithm that is easy for them to understand. “It’s like the iPhone,” Zik says. “The front is intuitive; the complexity is inside.”

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Digital Media Strategists for SoCal electrical contractors…. dba IPLUG MEDIA