Wednesday, June 27, 2007

USGBC Developing IAQ Design Guide

June 13, 2007 -- Washington, DC
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), along with other key organizations will develop a design guide which will address indoor air quality (IAQ). The guide will describe an integrated process for achieving improved IAQ in all elements of a building. USGBC will collaborate with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA) on this endeavor. The design guide will consist of a textbook and a professional development course, which will be designed for the building and design community.Upon its completion, these tools will function as a prescriptive compliance path for Indoor Air Quality. The tools will assist building professionals in implementing high-performance designs and improving IAQ performance in buildings. The book is slated to be published in April 2009, followed by the professional development course.

LEED energy performance requirements increase

ENR NEWS ALERT
Energy Performance Requirements within LEED Rating System to Increase 14%
The U.S. Green Building Council’s membership overwhelmingly approved a new requirement for all LEED certified projects to achieve at least two “Optimize Energy Performance” points within LEED, which will improve the energy performance of all LEED certified green buildings by 14% for new construction and 7% for existing buildings.
Beginning today, all newly registered commercial LEED projects will be required to achieve the two “Optimize Energy Performance” points within LEED. The new requirement will reduce the environmental and economic impacts associated with excessive energy use and maximize energy performance of buildings through cost effective energy efficiency measures. To help projects achieve the new energy reduction requirements, a prescriptive compliance path is currently under development as an alternative to energy modeling. The two mandatory points will count towards a project's LEED certification.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Howdy!

Welcome to the Northgate Sustainability Forum!

This is where we'll develop and share our vision for environmental stewardship and sustainability.

Tell us your ideas and let us know what you think!