Green/Sustainability News
Report promotes stronger codes for energy efficiency - 7/2/2008
Lydia DePillis, E&ENews PM reporter The United States could slash energy consumption by investing in green design incentives and adopting building standards aimed at increasing energy efficiency, according to a report released today by an advocacy group.
Britain gears up for $200b green shift - 7/1/2008
As the Federal Government wrestles with the implementation of a national emissions trading scheme, the British Government is preparing for what it says is the biggest shake up in power generation since the Industrial Revolution. The nation will have to spend the equivalent of more than $200 billion to ensure that renewable energy makes up 15 per cent of the UK's requirements in less than 12 years time. The Government admits the plan is going to cost Britons more, but it says the price of inaction would be far greater.
NEF funds first green multifamily project in CT - 6/29/2008
National Equity Fund, Inc. (NEF) is celebrating its $8.9MM equity investment in the first green multifamily development in the state of Connecticut (see also National Equity Fund).
Experts set standards for UK Eco-Town developers - 6/22/2008
RDATE:23062008 The fifteen experts on the Eco-towns Challenge Panel have today set out a series of recommendations for potential eco-town developers, designed to improve their plans to create world-leading sustainable developments. Many bidders have been praised for their vision and commitment but others are warned that their ideas must be more ambitious or that they lack innovation. Formed of leading experts from the worlds of design, the environment, transport and sustainability, the Panel were tasked with reviewing developers' proposals, providing expert advice on their work and challenging them to meet the highest standards possible. Developers were grilled on issues ranging from their ability to reduce the carbon footprint of residents and their reliance on cars to the likely "day in the life" of an eco-town resident in 2020.
Hilton is first hotel to earn LEED and Green Seal - 6/17/2008
The Hilton Vancouver, Washington, one of America's first sustainably-designed hotels, makes history again this month as the first hotel in the world to earn both Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Green Seal certifications. Green Seal, an independent nonprofit organization providing science-based environmental certification accolade comes three years after the hotel became the first major U.S. hotel - and the first Hilton Hotel - to earn LEED certification. "The Hilton Vancouver, Washington is the only hotel in the world to achieve environmental sustainability certification from two top universally accepted and independent analysts," said Jeff Diskin, senior vice president, brand management - Hilton Hotels & Resorts. "This hotel has set a new standard for helping to minimize environmental impact while providing the very best in service and amenities to guests."
Housing project to be largest green lowrise in Canada - 6/16/2008
The mounds of brown dirt covering 10 hectares near the intersection of St. Clair and Midland Aves. will soon become a beacon of green for the City of Toronto and beyond. Construction has begun on Evergreen, a $100-million joint development by the Monarch Corp. and the Toronto Economic Development Corp. (TEDCO) on land that had once been slated to be part of the Scarborough Expressway, a roadway that was never built. Evergreen will become the largest, green lowrise residential project in Canada. The 206 singles and townhouses to be constructed to basic LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Houses standards will double the number of green houses in Canada, according to Mayor David Miller. They will also serve as a model for the Toronto Green Building Standard and act as a learning tool for other municipalities and builders across the GTA, province and country.
Berkeley study finds green building pays back - 6/11/2008
Everyone's talking about "going green" but the cost of the investment has, up to now, been difficult to justify. Energy savings aside, what are the financial benefits of using environmentally sustainable materials and technology in construction? Professor John Quigley at the University of California, Berkeley - Haas School of Business is conducting the first systematic analysis of environmentally-sustainable construction and its economic impact on the real estate market. In the working paper, "Doing Well by Doing Good? Green Office Buildings," Quigley and coauthors Piet Eichholtz and Nils Kok of Maastricht University, Netherlands, determined that investments in proven green building practices lead to sizable increases in a property's market value and effective rent, or the average per square foot rent paid. Green certified buildings produced an 8.5 percent increase in effective rent. The additional annual rent for going green amounts to almost $309,000, based on the average size building. Likewise, the incremental value of a green structure is an estimated $5.1 million more than an ordinary building. The study did not calculate the incremental cost of investing in green building practices.
Tallest green tower opens in Philidelphia - 6/9/2008
Amidst loud cheers and applause from more than 500 spectators, Liberty Property Trust CEO Bill Hankowsky and Senior Vice President John Gattuso, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Comcast Founder Ralph Roberts, and design architect Robert A.M. Stern officially opened the newest, tallest and greenest member of the Philadelphia skyline - Comcast Center - at a reception this evening. The 58 floor, glass-encased tower rises 975 feet into the air. It surpasses One Liberty Place, developed by Liberty's predecessor company, Rouse & Associates, as the city's (and in fact, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's) tallest building. A high performance green building, it has been designed to achieve LEED certification from the US Green Building Council. Comcast Center features 1.25 million square feet of Class A office, restaurant and retail space; a dramatic eight-story winter garden that includes a major art installation by sculptor Jonathan Borofsky, a half acre public plaza with a seasonal café and unique fountain installation, and "The Comcast Experience," a ground-breaking hi-definition video wall standing 83.3' wide by 25.4' high, showcasing a one-of-a kind intersection of media, technology and public art.
CEMEX goes green for new U.S. Headquarters - 6/1/2008
CEMEX Inc., the nation's largest cement and ready-mix company, announced today that it has signed a lease for its U.S. headquarters in a building that will be constructed as one of the few green buildings in Houston, further showcasing its commitment to the environment through sustainable development practices. "Clean air, water and sound environmental management applications such as green building practices are fundamentals to our success as a company," said Gilberto Perez, President of CEMEX USA. "Locating our U.S. headquarters in an office built upon sustainable ecological and environmental principles strengthens our company and preserves the quality of life for present and future generations."
Eco attorney warns against green building bills - 5/30/2008
NEWARK, N.J., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- More than a dozen bills working their way through the New Jersey Legislature aim to make green building the law the of the land in the Garden State. But, codifying the fast-growing and, so far, entirely voluntary trend toward eco-friendly buildings could lead to unforeseen consequences for all parties involved, warned James A. Kosch, a veteran environmental attorney in LeClairRyan's Newark-based Tort Defense Group. "When you have a flexible, voluntary standard and make it mandatory, you put both the government and the developer in a box," he said. "Government mandates are imperfect because they codify only a point in time. Meanwhile, economics, engineering and taste move on."
