LEED 2009 Increased Energy Requirements Effective Now - TMS Sustainability E-News, Vol. 8, No.7

The Masonry Society

Sustainability E-News

April 15, 2016

Volume 8, Number 7

SPONSORED EDITION

From the Editor

I am attending the ASTM E60 Committee on Sustainability meetings in San Antonio this week. Hot topics being discussed include the scope and impacts to be considered in life cycle assessments (LCA). Should interior finish items be included in whole building LCA? If so, what constitutes an interior finish item? Should land use impacts be considered in LCA for products or buildings? As LCA becomes used more widely, interest in these issues has increased. Recycling and how it is accounted for in LCA is another hot topic. I would encourage you to consider participating in E60, particularly if these are areas of interest to you. For more information on ASTM visit their website .

Christine "Tina" Subasic, PE, LEED AP

[email protected]

NOTE: Inclusion in this newsletter is not an endorsement of the products and materials featured, nor have these products been evaluated by TMS or the editor. Furthermore, the views expressed in the articles featured are those of the article authors.

GREEN BUILDING NEWS

In the first article below, AIA Committee on the Environment takes a look at whether or how design strategies and building performance have evolved over the nearly 20 years of the Top Ten Awards. The general findings show improvement in the indicators considered. ~Tina

The Past, Current, and Future State of High-Design, High-Performance Buildings

ECOBUILDINGPULSE.COM

A new report from the AIA Committee on the Environment reviews past COTE Top Ten Award winners to identify trends and lessons in sustainable design and construction. Read more .

Over 30% of Local Governments Have Sustainability Plans in Place

ECOBUILDINGPULSE.COM

Results of a recently released national survey suggest that local governments are most driven to put sustainable policies in place due to the positive impact they can have on the economy. Read more .

125-year-long Construction Project Makes Use of Virtual Reality

THESTACK.COM

Construction on the Sagrada Familia church in Spain has been ongoing for almost 125 years, but don't think crews are stuck in the old ways. Virtual and augmented reality, drones and a data center play roles in the project. This year could see Big Data enter the construction arena as well. Read more .

GREEN PRODUCT NEWS

The article below is rather long, but points out that determining what is "green" is never as simple as it looks. ~Tina

There Is No Such Thing as a Green Product

SSIR.ORG

Touting products like LEDs and recycled plastic packaging as "green" is misleading, because it fails to account for their effects on markets and consumer behavior and for the resulting environmental consequences. The authors offer what they say is a better approach: measuring the overall "net green" impact of the product in this article .

CODES and STANDARDS NEWS

While LEED v4 isn't required until November 1st, recently approved changes to LEED 2009 mean that more stringent energy criteria are required now. Read more in the link below. ~Tina

USGBC Making Significant Change to LEED 2009

GREEN BUILDING LAW UPDATE

The U.S. Green Building Council has announced that all new projects registering for LEED 2009 beginning on April 8, 2016 will need to satisfy increased minimum energy performance thresholds. USGBC reported the results of the balloting with 78.6 percent of the consensus body voting in favor of this change to the 7 year old rating system. With this change, projects must now earn a minimum of four points in the Energy Performance credits. Read more .

Standard Being Developed for WELL Building

FINANCE-COMMERCE.COM

The US Green Building Council is working with the International WELL Building Institute on a building standard to create a cleaner indoor environment. "WELL is focused on getting the building occupants -- the users -- to be as high-performance as possible by looking at physical, mental and emotional well-being," said researcher Becky Alexander, a researcher in this article . People spend as much as 90% of their time indoors and the goal is create buildings that are healthier for people.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Presentations on Masonry Sought for TMS Annual Meeting

MASONRYSOCIETY.ORG

The Masonry Society is looking for excellent technical presentations on masonry for our Annual Meeting that will be held on October 6-11 in Raleigh, NC. Presentations are typically 20 minutes in length and will likely be scheduled for Saturday, October 8. If you wish to present a topic, please email a title, a 1 paragraph description, and a 1 paragraph bio to TMS by April 20, 2016. TMS's Meetings Committee will consider topics and will notify speakers if they have been selected to present in May or early June.

Call for Papers: International Conference on Durability of Building Materials and Components

ASTM.ORG

The 14th International Conference on the Durability of Building Materials and Components (DBMC) being held from 29th to 31st May, 2017, in Ghent, Belgium has issued a call for papers . This International Conference is the 14th Meeting of the well-known and prestigious DBMC Conferences that take place every 3 years. The intent of hosting these conferences is to bring together those concerned about durability of building materials and components and thus provide a forum for discussion of the most recent research and practice in this domain.

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