According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 47 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are from existing buildings. From a global perspective, reducing energy consumption in buildings is imperative for a sustainable future.

So when property owners and managers transform (more…)

Homeowners may hold some common misconceptions about how to begin conserving energy in their homes. In this article, I hope to debunk a few of those misconceptions. An energy audit is a good place to begin as it will show homeowners where to concentrate.

A report called Driving Demand for Home Energy (more…)

Opening day for baseball has finally arrived and MLB officially has its third LEED certified ball park. Miller Park in Milwaukee joins AT&T Park (San Francisco) and Target Field (Minneapolis) in an all-star lineup of energy conscious Major League facilities. However, Miller Park is the first LEED certified ball park that also has a retractable roof. Johnson Controls, (more…)

In last week’s post, I stated that the Army was abandoning LEED certification in lieu of a green building code based on ASHRAE 189.1. But it is now clear to me that I misinterpreted the testimony of Dr. Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense.

Instead, the Department of Defense is going to (more…)

Summer is just around the corner, and for those who live in big cities, that means spring warmth will soon give way to searing heat. Green roofs can help regulate city temperatures, giving people, and the electrical grid, a much needed break.

On April 30th, Toronto will become the first city in (more…)

We have entered a new era of green building policy. The Army is abandoning LEED certification.

On February 28, 2012, I reported, via a BuildingGreen article, that the Army had reiterated its commitment to LEED certification despite DoD re-authorization legislation that banned LEED Gold and Platinum certification. (more…)

The Department of Energy and several interesting partners (both BOMA and NRDC, for example) have launched a website consolidating green lease resources.  It is available here.  A number of public agency versions of leases, as well as some guidance documents are included.

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PennEnvironment released the "Building A Better America" study yesterday quantifying the benefits of strong building codes and other policies promoting energy efficiency.  A press release summarizing the findings is available here, and the study can be downloaded here. 

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Pittsburgh is the second largest city in the state of Pennsylvania, in North Eastern United States. The city is known for its economic influence, especially its steel industry, but is also known for its robotics, financial services, technology, and health care. The city is also home to a number of major worldwide financial institutions, including Federated Investors, PNC (more…)

It’s probably a safe bet to assume you’ve never been in or even passed by a zero energy building. The U.S. Department of Energy lists only eight zero energy buildings in the U.S. on its high performance building database (though there are a few others scattered across the U.S.). A number of developers, such as (more…)