Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, an urban magnet school in Erie, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month to celebrate its new rooftop solar panels.  The 10.4 kW solar system was funded by a $112,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and follows an impressive history of energy-related initiatives at the school.

In 2007, environmental science students at the school conducted an environmental audit of the building utilizing Energy Star.  That spurred the creation of an after-school club, the Collegiate Green Team, to implement changes to reduce the school’s energy use.  With assistance from Earth Force and DEP, the Team made changes, primarily related to lighting, which resulted in savings of over $16,500 and the conservation of nearly 215,000 kW hours between March 2007 and January 2009.

The Collegiate Green Team is currently sharing its successes and assisting conservation programs in other schools.  Full details of the group’s achievements and ongoing activities are available on its website.

Read more:

Collegiate's Green Efforts Inspire Other Local Schools
 

“Imagine buildings that come in under budget, early and with few or no change orders. It’s happening today!”

This luncheon panel discussion on February 18 will address the current state of the construction industry and how it needs to improve and adapt to global, environmental and economic challenges.  Diverse panelists representing prominent firms will discuss BIM (Building Information Modeling), lean construction, Integrated Platform Delivery (IPD) and many of the laws related to construction and contracts. They will also talk about the award-winning corporate real estate consortium, Mindshift.

C-level executives, owners/developers and any professional working in building design, operations, products and consulting should plan to attend this event, which is sponsored by Haworth.

Register online or contact Karen Puff at GBA.

Have you been out of undergraduate or graduate school for five years or less?  Are you interested in meeting more people like yourself in the green building industry with whom you can network and grow?  If so, look no further!

If you are interested in being a founding member of GBA’s Emerging Green Professionals network, please contact Mike Embrescia.  In 2010, GBA will work to establish a local network of emerging green building professionals with fun, interactive events and happy hours.

GBA is also looking for groups of Emerging Green Professionals to participate in USGBC’s Natural Talent Design Competition (see below), which will offer a CASH prize--and the potential to actually see your LEED Platinum home design constructed in New Orleans!

The 2010 U.S. Green Building Council Natural Talent Design Competition will focus on the rebuilding effort in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Competitors are asked to submit designs for a LEED for Homes Platinum project that is affordably priced and functional for elderly occupants.  Student and Emerging Green Professionals will compete separately, and up to four national designs will be selected from local competition finalists to be showcased at Greenbuild 2010 AND constructed in New Orleans’ Broadmoor neighborhood in partnership with Salvation Army’s EnviRenew Initiative.

GBA will be a host chapter for this competition and is seeking local groups to enter and be judged by a GBA-led Selection Committee, which will choose Student and Emerging Green Professional competition winners for elevation to USGBC’s national competition.  Local winners will receive a CASH prize, the amount of which will be determined next month.

Full details are available online.  Registrations must be made via Open Architecture and full project designs (which include building plans, elevations, sections, etc.) must be submitted by May 31, 2010.

The following parties should e-mail Aurora Sharrard for more information:

• Interested individual emerging professionals looking for a team to work with
• Interested groups of emerging professionals
• Interested groups of undergraduate and/or graduate students
• Faculty interested in having their students participate in the competition as part of a class project
• Individuals interested in being on the local Selection Committee
• Companies interested in becoming the exclusive local sponsor of this competition
 

Platinum:

CJL Engineering
On Motion Media

Gold:

Centria
Forbo Flooring
PPG Industries

Silver:

Eaton Corporation
MaGrann Associates
Sota Construction Services
Zurn Engineered Water Solutions

Green:

Berner International Corp.
Chronicle Consulting LLC
Rycon Construction, Inc.
WTW Architects

Supporting:

Steamfitters Union Local #449

All their company logos appear below and also on the GBA website.

If you are interested in becoming a GBA sponsor, click here or contact Valerie Beichner.

The Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh is seeking internship placements focusing on clean technology and sustainability for aspiring engineers, scientists and other professionals from Northern Ireland.  If your company could benefit from a graduate intern, please contact the organization’s Jim Lamb at (412) 394-3900.

Click for more information about the program or to view the academic achievements of prospective interns.

A major renovation of the Duquesne Union at Duquesne University has earned Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system.  Early in 2009, the University’s Power Center on Forbes Avenue earned LEED Silver certification.

Through this $2.57 million renovation of the Union, student information, banking, retail and health services have been consolidated within one common location.  Among innumerable green features, the renovation includes low-VOC finishes, FSC-certified wood, regionally sourced and recycled materials, waterless urinals, public lavatories with infrared-activated electronic faucets, and an optimized heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

Read all about Duquesne’s sustainability programs and initiatives here.

We value your relationship with us and are sure you will benefit greatly through a GBA membership in 2010!  Our new membership levels provide all the same great benefits as before, including discounted fees to all GBA events; registration eligibility for our LEED test prep sessions; the ability to participate in a large number of member-only events; and, of course, the opportunity to network with our vast constituency.

Click here to join!!
 

The CCAC Green Institute, an expanding initiative of the Community College of Allegheny County, has a goal of operating as the partner and trainer of choice in the growing green movement.  The college is focusing on five distinct but related areas: consumer education, hands-on training, credit programs leading to green jobs, development of a speakers’ bureau, and a children’s component.

Initially launched in the fall of 2009, CCAC is continuing the program in its 2010 spring/summer community education schedule.  Learn more or view the many offerings here.

Seeking to ensure that there will be enough architects, construction managers and engineers to fill the industry's future needs, the ACE Mentor Program of America, Inc. is working hard to increase the awareness of and attract high school students to career opportunities in these fields.  ACE does this through mentoring and providing scholarship opportunities for students in an inclusive manner reflective of diverse school populations.

You can learn all about the program by visiting the ACE website, or by contacting the local Pittsburgh office at (412) 261-0710 or info@acepittsburgh.org.

If you are currently or have recently worked on a LEED-certified or registered project, please notify Sarah Moore (e-mail or call 412-431-0709 x6004) at GBA so we can include details about it in our publicatons and online!

ARAMARK and the IFMA Foundation released Sustainability in the Food Service Environment, a practical, real-world guide for introducing and advancing sustainable practices within food services.  The guide, the third in the Sustainability “How-to” Guide Series by the IFMA Foundation, provides an overview of several key areas in the food service environment, including building a business case for sustainability (along with effective measurement tools), procurement of sustainable foods, green buildings, energy management considerations and case studies.

Insights and expertise for the guide came from a cross-section of ARAMARK’s food and facilities management operators and subject matter experts.  It is a practical guide and reference for food and facilities managers across multiple industry sectors.

This question was posed by ed+c (Environmental Design + Construction) to attendees at the 2009 Greenbuild conference in Phoenix, AZ.  If you are wavering in your own commitment, need further motivation or sound explanations, or are just plain curious, listen to and read what the sometimes serious and sometimes funny respondents had to say!

Pittsburgh’s Schenley Plaza in Oakland won the Silver Award in the Environmentally Sustainable Project Category during the 2009 International Awards for Livable Communities (LivCom Awards) held last October in the Czech Republic.

Formerly a parking lot, in 2006 Schenley Plaza was converted into green, public space featuring four dining kiosks, free public entertainment, the PNC Carousel and a one-acre lawn.  The plaza's $12 million redesign was a collaborative project of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the Oakland Investment Committee of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.  The University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Facilities Management contributed to the plaza's conceptual design and managed the construction process.

The LivCom Awards, created to encourage best practices, innovation and leadership in sustainable development, is the world's only competition for local communities that focuses on environmental management and the creation of livable communities.

If you missed its unveiling during Greenbuild 2009, you can still download the latest annual white paper created by Building Design+Construction regarding the impacts of water on the green building market.  This newest report, Green Buildings + Water Performance, reviews the way water is consumed in the United States and the challenges that anticipated water shortages will bring to building owners.

The publication includes survey data from over 900 building professionals on water issues, the hidden energy costs of moving water and details on how the green building certification programs handle water issues.  Reusing water may be the “next big thing” in water conservation, according to the report, which concludes with a 21-point action plan for maximizing water efficiency in public, private and residential buildings.

CMU Lecture Series

The Steinbrenner Institute Environmental Distinguished Lecture Series at Carnegie Mellon University is featuring several very prominent and interesting speakers in February.  A few of the topics being presented include endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastic and social innovation/sustainable change.  All the lecturues are free and open to the public.  Click here for more details.

Funding Opportunities for Climate and Energy Initiatives

Over $523 million in federal funds for state, local and tribal governments pursuing climate and energy initiatives was recently released.  This round of funding opportunities from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will close within the next few weeks.

Urban Circulator Program is a program of DOT’s Federal Transit Administration in support of public transit projects that connect urban destinations and foster the redevelopment of urban space.  Responses are due February 8.

Livability Bus Program can be used for bus and bus-related facility capital projects, particularly if the projects promote a more environmentally sustainable transportation system.  Responses are due February 8.

Source Reduction Assistance can be used by states, territories, local governments, tribes, school districts, nonprofits, higher education institutions and community organizations for environmental projects that reduce or eliminate pollution at the source.  Responses are due February 4.

Weatherization Assistance Program has funding available to applicable agencies in their work to increase the energy efficiency of dwellings occupied by low-income individuals/families.  Response deadlines vary between February 15 and August 1.
 
Weatherization Training Centers and Programs have funds available to develop or expand these types of centers/programs.  Responses are due January 21. 
 
Community Action and the Environment (CARE) was established to fund local and tribal governments, nonprofits and universities working on community-based projects aimed at increasing awareness of and reducing risks associated with toxic pollutants and environmental concerns.  Responses are due March 9.
 

The LEED 2009 Reference Guide for Green Neighborhood Development is now available for purchase in both hard copy and electronic formats. It is specifically designed to provide the tools needed for developers, planners and architects to make sustainable choices for a neighborhood development project.

The publication includes detailed information on the process for achieving LEED-ND certification including, but not limited to: credit and prerequisite specifics: environmental, economic and social issues; related credits; a summary of referenced standards; discussion on how to implement the credits; calculation methods and formulas; and documentation guidance, examples, exemplary performance options, resources, and definitions.

To order, visit the U.S. Green Building Council Publications page.

Cranberry is Going Green
A Cranberry resident and member of Cranberry's Planning Advisory Commission details highlights of the township’s sustainability plan.

Braddock Nonprofit Lands Jobs Grant
Heritage Community Initiatives was awarded a $1.4 million Department of Labor grant to train people for green jobs.