USGBC Expands Green Schools Efforts

By Allyson Wendt

Photo: Moshe Zusman Photography, LLC Rick Fedrizzi celebrates the launch of the Center for Green Schools with fourth and fifth grade “Green Team” students Lucie Varga, Addie Alexander, and DeVonte Gordon, at Stoddert Elementary School in Washington, D.C. Rate this project:
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The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has launched a new Center for Green Schools, headquartered at its offices in Washington, D.C., to further its efforts to give access to green schools to all students within a generation. Manufacturing giant United Technologies is financing the center with a multi-year, multimillion-dollar commitment.

The new center builds on USGBC’s Green Schools Campaign, launched in 2007. “We decided it was time to put a real timeline to our goals: green schools for everyone within thisgeneration,” says Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools. That ambitious timeline, she continues, means ramping up activism, education, and retrofit efforts. “The Center for Green Schools at USGBC is engaging educators in creating sustainable learning environments for their students and applying solid research to inform leadership—from school boards to college presidents—about the benefits of healthy, high-performing schools,” explains Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of USGBC.

It also means launching significant new projects, including the creation of the Center for Green Schools Fellows, which will provide fully funded, full-time sustainability coordinators to school districts for three years starting in 2011. “A district-wide sustainability initiative isn’t going to be successful until you make ‘green’ someone’s job,” says Gutter. She hopes that the funded positions will become permanent in many places as school districts realize the value of the position and begin paying salaries themselves. The Center for Green Schools will be keeping data on the benefits of the position, which could include savings from energy improvements, increased community awareness and involvement, and better health for students and teachers.

Existing efforts will continue. “We’ve got a track record of extremely successful programs,” says Gutter of USGBC’s three-year campaign. The organization’s push for green schools over the past several years has included political efforts, curriculum development, community education, and the continued development of the LEED for Schools rating system. According to Gutter, the campaign has paid off: 80 percent of the largest school districts in the country have committed to building only green schools in the future.

USGBC has focused its work as much on existing schools as new ones, creating the Green Existing Schools Toolkit for school boards and local officials. Central to these efforts has been the Coalition for Green Schools, a group that includes members of architectural and educational industry associations. Gutter says that one of the Center’s first tasks will be to open up the Coalition to broader participation.

The Center for Green Schools is online at www.centerforgreenschools.org.

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Green Building Accelerates Globally through Economic Downturn, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction Study

Press Release

Green Building Accelerates Globally through Economic Downturn, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction Study
November 13, 2012 - New York, NY

Around the world, the green building marketplace is accelerating, according to a new study being released by McGraw-Hill Construction in partnership with United Technologies today at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

The study indicates a shift in the global construction market, now viewing green as a business opportunity rather than a niche market. Overwhelmingly, firms report that their top reasons to do green work are client demand (35 percent) and market demand (33 percent)—two key business drivers of strategic planning. The next top reasons were also oriented toward the corporate bottom line—lower operating costs (30 percent) and branding advantage (30 percent). In contrast, the top reason in 2008 motivating the green building market was doing the right thing (42 percent) and market transformation (35 percent), followed by client and market demand.

"This research confirms that green building advances environmental stewardship while providing value to the market," said Geraud Darnis, president and CEO, United Technologies Climate, Controls & Security.  "It also confirms that we now see more pull than push for green buildings."

In the next three years, the sectors with the largest opportunity for green building around the world include new construction and renovation projects. Sixty three percent of firms have green work planned in new commercial projects and 45 percent in new institutional projects by 2015, and 50 percent have plans for green renovation work. In the United Kingdom and Singapore, green renovation projects were planned by the greatest number of firms at 65 and 69 percent respectively. In Brazil and UAE, new projects pose the largest opportunity. In Brazil, 83 percent of firms are planning to work on new green commercial projects over the next three years, and in the UAE, 73 percent have new green institutional projects planned.

"It is notable that over the next three years, firms working in countries around the world have green work planned across all building types, incorporating both new construction and renovation," said Harvey M. Bernstein, vice president, Industry Insights and Alliances for McGraw-Hill Construction. "The existing building market is a ripe opportunity for green building, and we are seeing that play out in the market. It is clear that green is becoming an important part of the future landscape of the global construction marketplace, and firms will need to be prepared for that transition."

Green buildings are also expected to garner business benefits for building owners. For new green building projects, firms report median operating cost savings of 8 percent over one year and 15 percent over five years, as well as increased building values of 7 percent (according to design and construction firms) and higher asset valuation of 5 percent (according to building owners).

For green retrofits, operating savings are higher than for new buildings with operating costs reported to decrease by 9 percent over one year and 13 percent over five years. Asset valuation is also expected to increase, though at more moderate levels than for new green buildings—design and construction professionals expect 5 percent increased building value from green retrofits, and owners expect higher asset valuation of 4 percent. For green projects, payback on efforts is expected within 8 years for new projects and 7 years for retrofit/renovation work.

Other significant findings include:

"We’ve been on the ground watching the markets shift to green around the world. Today, there are green building councils in 92 countries around the world—more than double what it was when we first looked at the green building market globally in 2008," said Jane Henley, president of the World Green Building Council. "The business case is helping move the markets, and this study underscores the importance of measuring and reporting those benefits."

"This study validates what we’ve experienced the past couple of years — that the business community has fully embraced green building as a strategic business imperative that also happens to have a strong societal benefit.  We see this as a success of LEED and all the rating systems that have helped drive green building movement globally," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council.

The study also revealed that approximately 48 percent of the work by U.S. respondents was green—with that share expected to increase to 58 percent by 2015. These results are consistent with McGraw-Hill Construction’s 2013 Dodge Green Construction Outlook that sized the green building share of new construction starts in the U.S. to be 44 percent by value, and up to 55 percent by 2015.
The findings are drawn from a McGraw-Hill Construction survey of firms across 62 countries around the world. Firms include architects, engineers, contractors, consultants and building owners. The sample was drawn from firm members of the World Green Building Council in 62 countries, other global industry associations, and the ENR Top Lists. Of the respondents, 92 percent are members of Green Building Councils around the world. The results include a feature of 9 countries around the world with sufficient sample for statistical analysis. The study expands and contrasts against McGraw-Hill Construction’s 2008 Global Green SmartMarket Report study. Given the survey sample source, McGraw-Hill Construction compared the sample against a non-GBC member audience, which was comparable in terms of involvement in green and planned activity. Further, the U.S. sample was consistent with McGraw-Hill Construction’s extensive analysis of the U.S. construction market through its Dodge project data.

The study was produced in partnership with United Technologies with support from the World Green Building Council and the U.S. Green Building Council. Other research association partners include the Chartered Institute of Buildings, International Federation of Consulting Engineers (Fédération Internationale Des Ingénieurs-Conseils), Association for Consultancy and Engineering, Conseil International du Bâtiment (International Council for Building), Architect’s Council of Europe, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. A separate survey of global manufacturing firms was also conducted.

The results of the study will be presented today in San Francisco at the International Summit at the Greenbuild Conference and Expo at the Moscone Center—West Building, with remarks by Geraud Darnis, president & CEO United Technologies Climate, Controls & Security at noon pacific time and presentation by Harvey Bernstein at 4:15 p.m. pacific time. The study will also be discussed at a panel from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. pacific time on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the McGraw-Hill Construction Booth #3539 in the Moscone Center—North Building Exhibit Hall. The panel will feature executives from McGraw-Hill Construction, United Technologies Climate, Controls & Security, World Green Building Council and U.S. Green Building Council.

For more key findings from the 2012 World Green Buildings Study, visit http://bit.ly/ZD4zz5. The full report containing these and other study results will be published as part of McGraw-Hill Construction’s SmartMarket Report series, with global release anticipated in the first quarter of 2013.

###
About McGraw-Hill Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction’s data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, GreenSource, and Engineering News-Record— create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, J.D. Power and Associates and Platts, a leader in commodities information.  With sales of $6.2 billion in 2011, the Corporation has approximately 23,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

About United Technologies:
United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries.

Media Contact:
Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications,
McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

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Quality and Value Driving Growth in the Green Building Market—According to New McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket Report on Green Homes and Remodeling

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Schools & Universities Report Health & Productivity Benefits from Green School Efforts, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket Report

Press Release

Schools & Universities Report Health & Productivity Benefits from Green School Efforts, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket Report

NEW YORK – February 27, 2013 – According to a new report released today by McGraw-Hill Construction entitled New & Retrofit Green Schools-The Cost Benefits and Influence of a Green School on its Occupants, both K-12 and universities are reporting significant benefits from their green school efforts—both in improved child health, wellbeing and performance, but also teacher and faculty satisfaction. These results are accompanied by reported financial benefits from green school activities.

According to the study, nearly all K–12 school (91%) and university (89%) respondents report that green schools have improved the health and well-being of their students. Additionally, 70% of K –12 schools and 63% of university leaders report green efforts as raising test scores of their students.

Leaders also report other benefits from their green schools efforts:

McGraw-Hill Construction's Dodge Green Construction Outlook, drawn from proprietary project data reported in November that 54% of education construction was green in 2012—up from 30% in 2008, and it is expected to grow, which reinforces the importance of this study and the benefits green buildings can offer.

The report also includes opinions from the design and construction community, and reports form their clients mirror the results from the schools and universities directly. 85% of architects report a positive impact on health and well-being from their green school projects, and 85% of them are reflecting student mobility and health concerns into the design of their buildings.

The study was produced with the support of the U.S. Green Building Council Center for Green Schools, Lutron, Project Frog and Siemens. Survey and data partners included the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, The American Institute of Architects, Associated General Contractors of America, Green Schools National Network, National Association of Independent Schools, National Building Museum, Society for Colleges and University Planning, and Second Nature.

This report is being released with the opening of the new Green Schools exhibition at the National Building Museum (www.nbm.org). A press preview of the exhibition is scheduled for Thursday, February 28, 2013 from 10 am to noon at the Museum in Washington, DC.

To download the full New and Retrofit Green Schools SmartMarket Report, go to http://analyticsstore.construction.com/index.php/new-and-retrofit-green-schools-smartmarket-report-2013.html

###

About McGraw-Hill Construction: McGraw-Hill Construction's data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, GreenSource, and Engineering News-Record— create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies: McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, J.D. Power and Associates and Platts, a leader in commodities information.  With sales of $6.2 billion in 2011, the Corporation has approximately 23,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

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Cuban athletes get pay raise, green light to work abroad

Cuba's Raicel Iglesias pitches a ball during the last preparation game for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Fukuoka in this March 1, 2013 file photo.

Credit: Reuters/AIN /Ricardo Lopez Hevia/GRANMA

By Nelson Acosta

HAVANA | Fri Sep 27, 2013 2:23pm EDT

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban athletes will be allowed to work abroad and have been granted significant pay increases for their performance, official media said on Friday, in hopes of stemming a decline in the country's results in international competitions.

The government's decision came as athletes, in particular baseball players, are defecting in record numbers, with 21 currently contracted by the U.S. major leagues, some earning multimillion dollar salaries.

Just this week, a promising young Cuban pitcher for the national squad, Raicel Iglesias, 23, failed to show up for training and was widely believed to have left the island, which would make him the latest prospect to seek a lucrative contract in the United States.

Cuba's famed boxing team suffered a similar series of defections in recent years, lowering its performance at the Olympics, world championships and other international events.

The exodus of athletes is mainly due to wages equivalent to $20 per month, in sharp contrast to their potential earnings abroad. The new measures would increase those salaries to between $40 and $200 for top athletes.

The measure is the latest reform of the Soviet-style system under President Raul Castro, who replaced ailing brother Fidel in 2008 with a call to update the country's economic and social system to the 21st century.

Cuba's Council of Ministers approved the measures "to perfect the compensation system of athletes, trainers and specialists," Granma, the Communist Party daily, said.

"Other measures will progressively go into effect to update practices so they are more in sync, from our perspective, with the world and thus contribute to achieving better results in sports," it added.

Although the salary increases are still modest by international standards, they are not considered insignificant in Cuba, where most public services are heavily subsidized.

"The country is changing and sports is not an exception," Stefano Arcobelli, a local baseball expert, said.

"Athletes will now be more enthusiastic and once more put their teams out front in many sports where they have lost their edge, for example volleyball and fencing," he said.

The Cuban government has repeatedly denounced what it calls the theft of its talent, charging it is part of U.S. efforts to undermine socialism and part and parcel of sanctions that do not allow contracts with Cuban athletes, who pay taxes to the government.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, who left Cuba in 2012, signed a seven-year, $42 million contract. Puig made his Major League debut on June 3 and has emerged as one of the top contenders for the Rookie of the Year title.

Oakland Athletics outfielder Yoenis Céspedes, winner of this year's Home Run Derby, the popular competition the day before the annual All-Star Game, defected in 2011 and signed a $36 million, four-year contract.

The new measures, approved by the government last week, allow athletes to sign contracts with professional leagues abroad, breaking with a policy established soon after the 1959 revolution, which shunned professional sports as exploitative.

The athletes will still have to "meet their obligations to national teams," Granma said, including in international competitions, and contracts with foreign teams will have to go through the state's sports institute for approval.

The announcement in Granma did not specify which foreign countries, but the U.S. major leagues were likely to remain off limits to Cuban players, baseball experts say.

Since the revolution, only a handful of baseball players living in Cuba have been contracted by foreign leagues.

This year, outfielder Alfredo Despaigne played for the Pirates of Campeche, Mexico, in July and August, and third baseman Omar Linares, as an official "exception," was allowed to play in Japan's professional league in 2000.

Under the new performance-based pay scale, athletes will earn higher monthly salaries and can obtain bonuses for success in national and international competition.

For example, an active Olympic gold medalist will earn 2,500 pesos a month, equivalent to $104 at the local exchange rate. Top baseball players would earn 5,000 pesos ($208) a month. Cuba's national championship team will earn a 65,000 peso bonus ($2,700), while the runner up will receive 45,000 pesos, ($1,870).

(Editing by David Adams and Doina Chiacu)

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Adobe's New Mega Office: Green Facts

Adobe's New Mega Office: Green Facts - 2013-06-05 20:06:55 | Interior DesignInterior DesignAdvertisementSkip navigationthe magazinecurrent issuephoto galleriesmarket tabloidarchiveseditorial submissionsadvertisesubscriber servicesreader services cardnew productsall- accessories- building products- flooring- furniture- green- kitchen & bath- lighting- outdoor- textiles- wallcoveringsdigital librarymonthly newsletterprojectsphoto gallerieseducationalgreenhealthcarehospitalityinstitutionalkitchen & bathofficeresidentialretaildesignwiredaily blogin the magazineweekly newsletterindustrygiantsjobzone classifiedsceu centerassociationsinterior design bookseventshall of famebest of yearcalendar of eventssubmit an eventneoconIDtvalldesigning new yorkdesign giantsneocon 2010 recapsneocon 2010 showroomsneocon 20112011 hall of fame videosproductFINDfollow usTwitterFacebookLinkedInTumblrNewsletter
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Adobe's New Mega Office: Green FactsInterior Design Staff -- Interior Design, 6/5/2013 4:06:55 PMA reservations-only dining room with chairs by Lievore Altherr Molinay.


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Project: Adobe Systems
Location: Lehi, Utah
Firm: WRNS Studio, Rapt Studio
Square Feet: 280,000
“Are you kidding me?” that’s what WRNS Studio partner Bryan Shiles remembers saying to himself when he first saw the site for Adobe Systems’snew regional office. Lehi, a tech-industry boomtown that Utahoptimistically calls Silicon Slope, is on the high desert plain betweenSalt Lake City and Provo. Shiles describes the landscape as “spectaculartwo mountain ranges, a lake occupied by worthless, exurban dreck.” Yet the
Adobe Utah campus is anticipating LEEDv3 Gold certification.
Keep reading for the project's key sustainability factors.
 
Sustainable Sites
Bicycle storage and showering facilities are provided to encourage biking. Large areas of the property are allocated for habitat restoration and will not be used for any development in the future.
Energy & Atmosphere
High-performance glass provides excellent insulation, and energy-conserving equipment and fixtures further reduce electricity consumption.Daylighting contribution reduces energy demand of artificial lighting; 93% of occupants have views to the outside.The building is designed to achieve 23.5% energy cost savings below the ASHRAE 90.1 baseline, and consume 32% less energy than the ASHRAE 90.1 baseline.Heat generated from the server rooms is reused to warm the atrium.Annual heat recovery savings is approximately 20,000 kWh/year. 
Material Conservation
23% of materials were sourced and manufactured locally (within 500 miles of site; lumber and concrete sourced from less than a mile away).27% of materials has recycled content.Construction waste management resulted in diversion of 87% of waste.80% of wood is FSC-certified.
Water Reduction
Low-flow toilets and waterless urinals contribute to a 44% reduction from baseline water usage.Retention basins reduce the impact of stormwater on city infrastructure.The site is landscaped with native and drought-tolerant plantings.  
Indoor Environmental Quality
None of the paint or coating products used on the interior of the building exceed the allowable VOC limits.None of the composite wood and agri-fiber products contain added urea formaldehyde. 
Materials & Resources
87% of construction waste was diverted from landfill. 23% of building materials were regionally sourced. 
Operational Policies and Educational Opportunities
Adobe has instituted policies for green cleaning that meet LEED EB standards.Adobe is participating in a post-occupancy evaluation with its staff to help fine-tune the building’s mechanical and electrical systems.Real-time data on system performance is displayed on screens in public spaces.Radiant floors have a windowed section with graphic information on strategies and energy systems.Sustainable strategies are represented in signage throughout the project.
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