Get Ready. The Building Green Expo is coming back to New York on April 20th 2010. The Building Green Expo will be held at the 7 World Trade Center and is open to all.

This year, the Building Green Expo will feature an educational focus. Elementary students from the NYC public schools will be invited to attend and take part in an interactive workshop. The workshop will teach students how green initiatives work and how they can become "future green leaders".
 
Also, this year, they will also hold  a Green Contest called "How Green is your Building?". Contest participants will need to demonstrate how their building reduces its carbon footprint and how efficiently it uses energy and water resources. They'll announce the winner at the VIP reception to be held immediately after the day's workshop and events.
 
This is a good chance for all construction industry folks in NY to network and educate the general public on what their companies do. I know why I will be going there. In addition to the awesome networking, I'm interested in attending some of their workshops and also to see who wins the Green contest.
 
If you want to go to the Building Green Exp, go to www.BldgGreenExpo.com to learn more about the event.
 

There are 100 ways New York City’s building codes can be made more environmentally friendly simply by imposing energy-saving requirements on any new construction or renovation conducted.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was presented these recommendations by a panel of recommended various options including rules to insulate glass skyscrapers and making individual apartments better manage indoor temperature.

Of course, the City Council would have to approve these recommendations but if approved, these changes could "amount to a big gain,” said the panel’s chairman, Russell Unger.

Russel Unger is also the executive director of the New York chapter of the United States Green Building Council.

New York wants to reduce greenhouse gases produced by the various buildings NY has. Experts estimate that these buildings are the source of over 75 percent of the city's total emissions. In December 2009, NY's City Council passed new legislation which required large building owners to pay for energy audits and for them to take steps to reduce energy consumption in their buildings.

Upon receiving the recommendations from the panel that Mayor Bloomberg had convened 18 months ago, Mayor Bloomberg said this "these recommendations were critical to meeting the city’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030."

Look forward to seeing how City Council decides to move forward. Will keep you posted….

Like Green news? Want to learn more about Green schtuff? Well, here's your chance. The
Built Green Conference & Expo is being held on Friday, March 12 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, WA.

This is a must-attend conference for all individuals who are in the building industry. Whether you are a builder, an architects, or a designer or whether you are a vendor or consultant looking to engage with other building professionals, you need to be there.

Learn about green building practices and products and also become more familiar with building more sustainable communities. Sounds interesting?

Visit their website to learn more. And oh, if you plan on attending, give me a jingle and we'll plan to meet up and discuss "green"!

Green construction. Green building processes. Sustainability. Renewal Energy. Not just buzz words anymore. I'm hearing news of LEED certified buildings and more and more LEED certified projects.

LEED certification may just be the next credential that all of us building and construction industry folks should be thinking of getting.  Basically LEED Green Associate candidates need to pass a two hour multiple choice computer-based exam. The exam covers the fundamentals of green building and also on the LEED Green Building Rating System. You pass if your score is at least 170 out of 200 on the exam.

The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) website allows you to register online for the exam.

And you'll need to have one of the following qualifications to be eligible for the LEED exam:

• Involvement on a LEED project
• Work experience in a LEED company

As more and more focus turns to "green" construction, this LEED certification can be a valuable tool in all of our tool boxes. So go out and get LEED certified and be prepared for more job opportunities in 2010 and beyond.

The Earth Advantage Institute has released the Top 10 Building Trends for 2010 and I'm sharing a few interesting ones here:

• Energy Dashboards in Homes: These dashboards would show real-time energy usage in homes. Interesting concept but I see the worth of this one. Wouldn't you want to know how to conserve energy if you know how energy was being utilized? It's similar to adjusting your eating habits to lose weight or your driving habits to conserve gas so I see this as a great tool for office and home use.
   
• Energy Labels: Again, interesting that something like this hasn't been implemented yet or has widespread usage yet. Energy ratings on homes and commercial properties will help buyers decide which properties to buy based on how well they allow energy conservation  So similar to a miles per gallon on your car or calories per serving label on your food, these energy labels can tell a prospective buyer determine which property to buy based on a comparison of energy labels from similar properties. It will also motivate owners to improve their properties to compete with other properties that do better at energy conservation. Really like this trend and can't wait to see how this will play out.
   
• Reduced Rates for Green Building: This makes sense I suppose but I'm not so sure that it is fair to assume that just because someone bought a green property, they'd be more responsible towards managing the property better. Technically a homeowner could get a great deal on a green property but not keep up with the maintenance of it and could just as easily default on the house payments as any other owner.  Will wait to see how the financial community reacts to this thought process.
   
• Rightsizing Homes: Ah, yes. This one is for sure going to be an evolution. Smaller homes, smaller add-ons; gone are the days of huge mansions and large properties. Conservation will remain top priority until such a time that the US economy returns to its glory days.
   
• Eco-districts: Love this one. Creating greener communities to enable residents to access all supplies and services within walking or biking distance. No motor fuel usage, no pollution, better air quality, reduction of sedentary lifestyle, etc. etc. So many benefits if we can actually see this happening in suburban towns.
   
• Water Conservation: Yes, this is going to be huge. The EPA finalized a new specification for new homes in December 2009, which allows water usage reduction by about 20 percent. Implementation of mandatory water efficiency in buildings may be coming from Europe to US soon. Water as a depleting resource is a huge environmental concern.
   
• Sustainable Building Education: I'm skipped 8 and 9 to talk about my favorite predicted trend, educating people on how to build green. A whole slew of professionals will need to continue getting Green Certifications including builders, contractors, electricians, and designers, not to mention real estate agents, insurance agents and other professionals who work in the construction field. With education, we are sure to get better and better at green (er) construction processes, materials, and technology.

I can't wait to see some of these trends becoming a way of life in the construction field. Think I'll go do some more reading on this and report back to you my learnings….