Janus Welton, a CSBA from New York, and 4 CSBA team members were awarded third place in the Aleutian Islands Design Competition at Living Future 2012 in Portland. 104 Teams from 21 different countries accepted Cascadia Green Building Council’s challenge to design and build an affordable, energy-efficient home in one of the world’s most challenging environments. The design was required to meet strict standards of the Living Building Challenge 2.0 and meet the unique needs of the indigenous population of this region.

“This competition is designed to demonstrate that we have what we need to thrive in partnership with the ecosystems we inhabit, whether we live in dense cites or remote communities,” says Cascadia CEO Jason F. McLennan. “In the five years since the Living Building Challenge was issued, project teams have proven that buildings can benefit their environments. Our new partnership with the Aleutian Housing Authority will push the green building community even further, daring designers to rethink everything about how buildings are designed, how materials are sourced and how people interact with the built environment.”

Congratulations to Janus and Design Works!

http://competitions.living-future.org/

Ottawa, Ontario – January 24, 2012 – Working professionals interested in sustainability and green building now have a valuable new learning tool at their disposal. The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) is launching the Sustainable Building Advisor (SBA) program beginning March 23 at Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works. The SBA course is the latest offering from the CaGBC – Canada’s most trusted source of green building education.

The SBA is a comprehensive nine-month course with only two in-class sessions per month, making it ideal for professionals who want to expand their green building knowledge while working full time. This program, being offered for the first time in Ontario, is unique in that it requires no existing green building education or experience and is focused on practical, forward-thinking ways to design, construct and manage buildings that are resource efficient, environmentally responsible, cost effective, and healthy for all occupants.

“We are thrilled to deliver the SBA program as part of our roster of educational offerings,” says Cynthia Bland, Manager, Education and Delivery, CaGBC. “The SBA course’s unique structure and curriculum clearly speak for itself – our inaugural course in March is already over 60 percent full. Newly signed up participants are telling us that they are excited not just by the format, but by the new benefits the SBA course brings forward.”

“I’m hoping to gain skills that will add a dimension to my work both personally and for our company,” says new participant Paul Caverly who offers sustainable construction services to custom homes and major renovations. “It’s about gaining knowledge and credibility, and arming ourselves with new tools to promote sustainable construction.”
The SBA course provides an opportunity for students from a variety of disciplines and knowledge areas to learn together, not just about the basics of green building, but how to approach sustainability from a wider perspective. Former student Marsha Gentile says it is this multi-faceted approach that made it so unique. She took the course in Vancouver 2009, with 15 years experience in the construction industry under her belt, and credits this course with all of her success since.

“There were such a diverse group of people with different backgrounds and interests, all working together toward a common goal,” she says. “And hearing the local instructors speak with such passion was so encouraging. I had been teaching about sustainability with my own in-house company for a while, but after graduating it gave me the confidence to start teaching externally – and I actually won the Vancouver Regional Construction Association’s Educator of the Year Award in 2011.”
The CaGBC has selected Jeff Ranson as the Lead Instructor for the program in Toronto. Jeff brings with him a wealth of experience as both a project manager for several commercial building projects in downtown Toronto, and with various green building events in Canada. His work has included: managing the Green Building Festival; developing green building showcases for RBC’s Olympic Torch Relay and for CMHC’s EQuilibrium Zero Energy Homes pilot. Jeff will be joined by other Canadian expert instructors and guest speakers to be announced at a later date.

Upon completion of the SBA course, graduates earn the designation of a Certified Sustainable Building Advisor (CSBA) and will achieve 100 CE hours toward their LEED Professional credential maintenance. Canadian architects are also awarded core Continuing Education Learning Units in many provinces.
The SBA course will also be offered by CaGBC in Quebec and Manitoba in the future.
For more information, visit www.cagbc.org/education/sba.

About CaGBC
The CaGBC (www.cagbc.org) is the leading national industry organization advancing green building and sustainable community development practices. It is also the most trusted source of green building education in Canada – always providing the latest and most relevant Canadian material to green building professionals and post-secondary students. The CaGBC reduces environmental impacts from the built environment through education/training, building certification, performance benchmarking and reporting, advocacy and information sharing. The CaGBC is the license holder for the LEED green building rating system in Canada. CaGBC also delivers the GREEN UP Building Performance Program and supports the Living Building Challenge in Canada.

Media contact:
Renée Rietveld
CaGBC Media Relations
613-288-8075

SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The 4-month format of the Sustainable Building Advisor (SBA) Program in San Francisco will be taught by a network of over 25 subject experts and include site visits to exemplary projects throughout the Bay Area. The SBA Program trains professionals on green building tools, strategies, and principles used to achieve buildings that are resource efficient, environmentally responsible, cost effective, and healthy for occupants.

A 2011 national Green Outlook study published by McGraw-Hill shows that in 2005, green building projects had a 2% market share ($3 billion), by 2010 despite the spending drop in the building sector, the green building market rose to 35% ($54 billion) and is expected to be at 48% by 2015.

“These numbers may be even higher in California,” says Ryan Stroupe, the Pacific Energy Center’s Building Performance Program Coordinator and instructor for the SBA Program. By 2020, the energy code in California will require all buildings to be net-zero energy; meaning no more energy is used than is produced on-site. In the coming years, all building professionals will need to be experts in sustainable building.

The 4-month program begins on June 1, 2012 and meets every two weeks (Friday and Saturday). The full schedule is available online. Due to limited space, early registration is recommended and ends on May 1, 2012. Register early to receive a $300 discount on tuition fees. The 9-month program will continue to be offered.

About Sustainable Building Advisor Program

The SBA Program in San Francisco is a 100-hour certification course designed for professionals in the building industry and is provided by Lifelong Education Institute and Unified Systems LLC. The classroom portion of the program is hosted at the Pacific Energy Center, PG&E’s training facility in San Francisco. Certification is granted by the SBA Institute. More information can be found on www.SBAprogram.com.

The SBA Program is approved by the USGBC as a mastery level Education Provider Program. Continuing education credits are available for LEED Accredited Professionals and LEED Green Associates, American Institute of Architects (AIA) members and Build It Green members. Contractors and Architects with the Certified Sustainable Building Advisor (CSBA) credential meet the requirements to be a part of the Bay Area Green Business Program.

SOURCE Sustainable Building Advisor (SBA) Program

The unveiling last week of McGraw-Hill Construction’s Green Home Builders and Remodelers Study, at the National Association of Home Builders’ International Builders’ Show, in Orlando, Florida, affirmed — and put into sharper focus — previous observations (many of them anecdotal) about green building and its advances in the homebuilding and remodeling markets.

Because “green” can mean any number of things, depending on who is doing the marketing, McGraw-Hill noted that, for the purposes of the study, the term did in fact encompass “many factors,” including efforts to recycle materials and divert them from landfills. But it also emphasized that green is now most closely associated with techniques to increase the energy efficiency of a home. Builders included in the study reported that the additional cost to go green is now 7%, versus 10% in 2008 and 11% in 2006.

Trending up. The share of green construction increased from 2% in 2005 to 17% in 2011, a McGraw-Hill Construction study shows. More important, green construction’s market share is expected to continue to grow to as much as 38% by 2016, representing $87 billion to $114 billion in construction activity — a fivefold increase over 2011.

Potential for a big leap
In 2011, green homes comprised 17% of the overall residential construction market, the analysis showed. The core finding of the study, though, is that green construction is expected to comprise between 29% and 38% of the market by 2016 — a potential fivefold increase, from $17 billion in 2011 to somewhere within the range of $87 billion to $114 billion in 2016.

For remodelers who specialize in green upgrades — which, again, are mostly directed to improvements boosting energy efficiency — the expected increases in market share are even greater: 34% of remodelers expect to be doing mostly green work by 2016, a 150% increase over 2011 activity levels. Many homebuilders have shifted to remodeling, the McGraw-Hill study (and others) points out, because demand for homebuilding has dropped off so dramatically.
The study also showed that even though green construction and remodeling are growing nationwide, three regions are seeing higher than average growth: the West Coast, whose green-construction growth has been the most robust; the northern region of the Midwest; and New England.

McGraw-Hill promises to further analyze the study findings and release the results in April at the NAHB National Green Building Conference and Expo, scheduled to take place in Nashville.

Architect Kasia Osielczak of Beacon marvels at differences in building practices between the United States and her native Poland. She thinks she knows the cause.

There, and in much of Europe, “buildings are close together because of less land than in the U.S.” Also, in Europe, “It’s more natural for design and layout to take advantage of natural light. There are courtyards, atriums.”

That may have helped her feel a familiarity with the green principles now playing a large part in zoning, design and construction practices in this country, such as placing shopping areas closer to living areas in order to limit the need for cars, and designing residential and work environments to be less stressful and more healthful for those who spend their time there.

“It was an accident,” Osielczak said of finding a notice on craigslist for the nine-month course that led to her certification as a sustainable building adviser.

“Something about the way sustainability looks at a building and the impact it will have on the environment clicked in my consciousness. It made sense.” Osielczak said.

The course, the National Sustainable Building Advisor Program, which certifies its graduates as consultants on sustainable construction, has 1,200 graduates in the United States and Canada.

In New York state, the course is offered only in Kingston through SUNY Ulster’s Department of Continuing and Professional Education, where the program’s fifth year will begin in February. In its first four years at SUNY Ulster, the nine-month course of nine weekend sessions, field trips, special projects and study has yielded 38 graduates who are now sustainable-building advisers. However, they have used their new or expanded knowledge in ways that seem to exceed their number.

Osielczak has found more than one way to use hers. Besides incorporating it into architectural work, including some acquired through the program’s network of alumnae and instructors, she has initiated a Go Green Committee at the Randolph School in Wappingers Falls where her 5-year-old son is a student. The committee’s first project is to acquire rain barrels, then use them to recycle rainwater for the school’s vegetable garden. In keeping with the spirit of the school and sustainable building adviser course, Osielczak would like to have a positive impact on the surrounding area. She wants to “add an educational component, reach out to the community to teach them about rain barrels.”

While the course attracts architects such as Osielczak as well as contractors and others in the building field, its lack of prerequisites has led to a wide variety of students.

POU 1225 Sustainable Building Living & Being 2

Rebekkah Smith Aldrich has worked for the Mid-Hudson Library System for 12 years. There, for the last two, she has served as coordinator for library growth and sustainability. She has also established her own company, Sustainable Libraries Consulting, and speaks around the country about how to use integrated building design in library construction.

“I was intimidated at first,” Smith Aldrich said of her initial reaction to the class. But the fear was replaced by enthusiasm.

“No knowledge is assumed, and the information is presented with such a holistic approach, putting the ‘why’ before the ‘what.’ ”

She found this true of the guest speakers as well. “They were so fervent about their subjects.” Smith Aldrich recalled, adding with a laugh, “I don’t think they went easy on me, either.”

For structures from manufacturing plants to domestic violence shelters, Gail Christmann of New Paltz works with developers, contractors and design teams as an outreach project consultant for New York State’s Energy Research and Development Authority. She offers information and incentives to improve energy efficiency.

Christmann describes herself as “a tree hugger all my life … (my family) recycled and composted as long as I can remember.” Because of the sustainable building adviser course, “I now have tools and reasoning abilities to articulate the stance I have always held.”

Gail Beverly recently retired from IBM. Although she worked in information technology, her college major was natural resources conservation, and she was still drawn to that subject.

Beverly founded and now runs two consulting companies, one for information technology. The other, Fiddlehead Crosier Advisors, offers sustainability business planning and program development.

“In this economy,” Beverly said, “I find that it’s very useful to have two sets of skills to offer the market.” The class “gave me confidence I could cover all the bases.”

Beverly earned the highest score in the country on the certifying exam and now teaches the final class each year for the SUNY Ulster course, which prepares students for the test.

The course’s usefulness extends beyond new construction, said graduate Joseph Thompson, who works for Minuta Architecture in New Windsor. Thompson said that in the Newburgh area as sturdy pre-World War II structures are being retained, environmental concerns must also be addressed. As a project manager, he has “been engaged in a good deal of adaptive reuse, energy retrofit projects.”

When he recently managed a project at the Vail’s Gate Elementary School after taking the sustainable building adviser course, Thompson found he was more sensitive about insuring the interior of the school had “more daylight, good indoor air quality. The course definitely helped me make that a better project.”

The sustainable building adviser course had a profound effect on William Brinnier’s professional life as an architect and on his personal life as a property owner..

The class chose Brinnier’s plan to build an energy efficient home on 3.5 acres in Marbletown, as one of three projects for the course.

For Brinnier, the class work concerning his own property changed everything.

“By the time I completed the course, (my wife and I) had put actual building of the dwelling out at least two years … to include all the considerations involved in sustainable building — not only building material selections but design choices, location choices, size choices … coming to grips with the question of how we might live in the world in a way that is in harmony with our natural environment. He also learned more about the practical side.

“Green building costs less — always in the long run and more and more in the short term as well.” Additionally, Brinnier said, “it makes ecological sense … Lastly, green makes social sense,” because green buildings are “safe and healthy to live in, free from chemical hazards that are making so many of us sick in the buildings we inhabit today. It’s a win-win situation.”

Before he took the sustainable building adviser course, Brinnier, whose architectural firm serves residential clients in Ulster, Dutchess, Orange and Greene counties, “felt confident that I had extensive knowledge of what we call ‘sustainable’ . . . I was well versed in passive solar (such as where to place windows for maximum warmth and light from the sun during cold weather) and active solar … in what constituted a healthy heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems” and “‘green roofs’ and … handling of stormwater runoff.”

However, after the class, “I can honestly say there was much to learn. It is so important to keep in mind that everything is connected to everything”

Cliff Cooper, an industrial hygienist, concentrates on making environments physically and mentally healthy for those who work or live within them. He took the sustainable building adviser course during its first year, then taught it for the next three years while the first year’s instructor, Janus Welton, worked at Sage College of Albany as an assistant professor of interior design.

This fifth time around, the two plan to teach the course together, offering students a wide perspective on sustainability. Welton holds a fine arts degree as well as an architectural degree and has worked for Walt Disney Imagineering as a senior designer. Both have numerous awards and certifications in their fields.

Registration is open now for the upcoming session of the course. Because it’s beginning in February instead of the usual October, nine months would take the sessions into the summer. However, it will be left open to student preference whether there will be fewer weeks than usual between the weekends when classes are held, allowing the course to end in fewer than nine months.

The new outlook for those who design or build structures mirrors a new outlook for society as a whole.

“Decisions used to be made based only on whether it was a beautiful site,” Joe Thompson said. “Now there’s a whole other step regarding natural habitats, integrating the needs of the community, less use of transportation and utilities brought in with less visual impact.”

Before taking the sustainable building adviser course, Thompson said, he knew he wanted to expand his knowledge about environmental concerns.

“It wasn’t that I changed direction,” he said. However, the course “enhanced my sensitivity to those issues.”

Marji Yablon is a writer and voice-over performer who lives in Ulster County. Reach her at marjipearl@juno.com.

• Energy Benchmarking, using Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager
• Setting Energy Targets
• Financial Analysis Tools for Energy Projects
• Continuous Energy Improvement

Sessions are presented live and online by leaders in the field.
 November 1
Benchmarking Energy Performance (Stan Price)
 November 15
Goal-setting for Energy Improvements (Stan Price)
 December 8
Financial Analysis Tools for Energy Projects (Mark Jewell)
 December 13
Tracking, Maintaining, and Communicating Performance (Ken Baker)

All webinars: 10:00 am to 11:00 am (Pacific Time)

Registration Information

Cost: US $100.00*
Register at this link: https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=42e842

Important Registration Information
1. Registrations can be paid by VISA, MasterCard, or American Express. All fees must be prepaid.
2. Registration deadline is one week prior to this Webinar.
3. Requests for cancellation must be received one week prior to this Webinar.
4. Your email confirmation of registration is your receipt.
5. All registrants will receive login and other technical information regarding online connection approximately three days before the Webinar.
*Students who are currently enrolled in an active SBA Course receive a 50% discount!

The SBA Program is part of CaGBC’s efforts to engage and work with strategic education partners to develop and deliver green building training. The SBA Program supports professionals in achieving their LEED accreditation, and is approved for 100 credits on the Credentialing Maintenance Program (CMP) for existing LEED APs.

CaGBC is a trusted education source on a wide variety of topics that stimulate and support green professionals in their growth.

This partnership is very exciting since it accomplishes two important goals for SBAi: to deliver comprehensive, relevant curriculum to green professionals, and to create relationships that expand the green professional community. Come and visit both of us at GreenBuild in Toronto.

“I had no idea when I applied for acceptance into the SBA program, that it would be such a terrific experience. Although I’m only headed into the second month, the program has clearly demonstrated it’s depth of substance and value. The Valley Forward award only validates my thoughts. Congratulations on this award, I’m sure that there will be many more for you and your staff in the future. I am grateful, humbled and proud to be able to participate for the coming months.” - Rich Bowman

Valley Forward Association’s 31st Annual Environmental Excellence Awards program, held in partnership with SRP for the tenth consecutive year, took place on Saturday, September 17, 2011, at The Westin Kierland.

Known as the “Academy Awards” of the environmental community, the event is Arizona’s oldest and most prominent competition of its kind. It spotlights distinguished projects throughout the Valley that demonstrate a high level of environmental commitment and contribute to the region’s overall sustainability.

The coveted Crescordia Award (a Greek term that means “To Grow in Harmony”) set standards for the exceptional physical, technical and social development of our metropolitan area. A new design for this first-place award was unveiled at this year’s event.

This prestigious program has grown significantly over the years and now encompasses seven broad categories, including buildings and structures, livable communities, site development and landscape, art in public places, environmental technologies, environmental education/communication, and environmental stewardship (SRP Award).

The Sonoran Sustainable Building Advisor Program can be found at the newly formed IKOLOJI Sustainablility Collaborative. www.ikoloji.com

At IKOLOJI, it is our mission to advance a sustainable society through education and economic development by providing in-depth information and resources for the communities we serve.
WE ARE A SUSTAINABILITY COLLABORATIVE.
Our program enhances the participants’ capabilities by plugging them into a body of knowledge and a community of people dedicated to the advancement of sustainable growth. Some seek ideas to improve their organizations, some seek to bring competitive value to new companies, some are inspired to create new solutions, and some are compelled to implement sustainable projects in their communities. No matter the path they choose, it is the collective momentum of these individuals that will drive economic vitality and social equity in our society.
WE ARE A CREATION COMPANY.
We are about creating sustainable communities, creating projects based on sustainable principles, and creating a smarter workforce. We begin by equipping individuals with the tools and information to identify high sustainability solutions through our education programs. During the process we connect project developers with our participants to design a built environment that is an implement for social equity, environmental integrity and economic vitality. The output is a collective of skilled professionals with an expertise in sustainability who are able to move forward and create value for themselves, their organizations and their communities.

Phoenix Business Journal – by Mike Sunnucks
Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2011, 1:55pm MST
Related:
Education, Environment
From big companies like General Electric and Starbucks, to Main Street shops and garage startups, “green” job skills are growing more attractive to potential employers.

But a new study from http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/az/tempe/arizona_state_university/2520364/’s W.P. Carey School of Business says all those idealistic sustainability graduates coming out of U.S. universities also need to have other skill sets beyond wanting to save the planet from global warming, pollution and waste.

“Right now, sustainability jobs in business are linked to existing organizational structures,” says W. P. Carey School of Business Professor Kevin Dooley. “You’re probably not going to find a sustainability department in many companies, but employees with skills and interest in sustainability will get assigned to related projects and move up the ladder.

“Job candidates with both sustainability skills and a solid professional background in a field like business or engineering are receiving job offers that far exceed what’s warranted in the current market, and that’s because there aren’t many of them,” Dooley added.

Dooley said companies are hiring sustainability-focused executives to spearhead green efforts, and those managers will be hiring workers to help institute reforms and initiatives. The ASU research said prospective workers are most marketable to companies when they have a sustainability degree coupled with another area of concentration in a business or technical field.

Still, companies large and small see market value in “green” job candidates. Sixty-five percent of small businesses and 87 percent of large companies surveyed say they look favorably toward applicants with sustainability concentrations.

The goals of building green include the efficient use of energy, water, and other resources, the protection of occupant health and improvement of employee productivity, and the reduction of waste, pollution, and environmental erosion. Buildings in the United States are responsible for 40% of total energy consumption, 12% of water consumption, 68% of total electricity consumption, and 38% of carbon dioxide emissions.

In addition, commercial green building is projected to grow by 18.1% annually, according to new research revealed in EL Insights, from $35.6 billion to $81.8 billion.

EL Insights also reveals that green building is a source of economic opportunity and has potential to create 2.5 million American jobs, which is about a 30% increase in jobs within the construction industry.

According to EL Insights, companies can expect:

- Increased awareness of environmental issues such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to drive growth in commercial and residential green building,

- Large corporations to drive investment in innovative green building products and to lead adoption in the commercial sector,

-A greater opportunity in the commercial space over the residential space for the next year,

The collaboration between USGBC, the public sector, and real estate underwriters to be critical in…

This is a preview of EL Insights Subscription Content.

The latest issue of EL Insights includes original reporting and data on many green building features, including:

- Projected Global Green Building Materials Market Value
- Projected US Total Green Building Market Value
- Projected US Residential Green Building Market Value
- Projected US Commercial & Industrial Green Market Value
- Projected Number US Green Homes Built Annually

Delivered two times a month, every issue of EL Insights is developed to help businesses understand the implications of an emerging energy, environmental or sustainability technology, to inspire innovation within companies, and to provide executives with timely data, charts and market insights.

For industry insiders needing to stay informed, EL Insights is the one subscription that delivers opportunity-focused, actionable insights that are both engaging and accessible.

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/07/01/green-building-market-to-hit-173-5-billion-by-2015/