Thinking Green: International Living building Institute (ILBI)

As we move forward in our industry to reshape the way we design and build we look for stepping stones to help us find our way. LEED Certified buildings are the first step. LEED is helping us understand the areas we need to concentrate on and helps with the hows. But as I stated in previous postings we need to be able to move past LEED requirements and create more sustainable building environments to reshape our surroundings.

The Living Building Challenge is a program initially launched and continues to be operated by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council www.cascadiagbc.org (a chapter of both the US Green Building Council and Canada Green Building Council) and has quickly become the most advanced green building rating system in the world.
Started by the Cascadia Building Counsel in 2006, it is comprised of 16 prerequisites and six areas of concentration. It takes LEED and pushes it to the next level. There are no points to be achieved just prerequisites. Check out my previous blog about all the details of this challenge.

The International Living Building Institute is where you can find educational forums and support on the hows of this movement. Check out their website www.ilbi.org.

Thinking Green: Green Building Policies and Programs

You don't have to have a PHD in policy to understand the importance of regulations in Green Buildings. You only need to know that there is need to develop Green Building initiatives; there is need to make changes and innovations in markets and organizations; there is need to create green building program services and more. How can change be made? Where do I start? Can I make a difference? These are some questions we ask ourselves. The answer is yes. We all can make a difference, we just have to have the dedication and passion to make these changes and understanding the need for action.

Having the drive to be a leader in initiating these changes is one thing but also having some guidance of those who came before us is another. The book by Lucia Athens is one of the first books published on this subject that I have found. I met the Author last month and her actions in the community and strive in this field have given her a large knowledge base that she has shared with us in this book.

I recommend this book to all that have a passion of sustainable living.

Eco Products: Greener Product LLC

Looking for a great green search engine for green products, that are also LEED approved from the start.

Look no further than Greener Product LLC.

This company is a web-based platform that supports the manufacturer by cataloging their qualified green products and providing the ability to quickly search for building products, evaluate each product against the United States Green Building Council’s LEED standards (LEED) and then save or print the evaluation report, which can be easily inserted into your project file.

This free service platform allows the building specifiers to quickly search for green building products and then once identified evaluate those product against the LEED standards they are to be applied to. A simple 4 step search engine helps you narrow down your search. Here is how it works:

1st step – you choose the product type you are looking for and what LEED credit attribute you are looking for. Example, within 500 miles, certified woods, rapidly renewable, etc.

2nd step – you are given a list of products with a check on the attributes they carry. Here you can choose one or more of the products you want and add it to your project list. You also have manufacture information and contact number, if you need more information, samples, etc.

3rd step – you will be asked to what LEED rating system you are looking to achieve. Example, LEED New Construction 2009, LEED for Schools or even for projects registered under LEED v2.0

4th step – is the documentation summary, where all the information on the product is listed as well as how many LEED points can be achieved by choosing it.

This website cuts down on the time needed to research the products for a LEED project. Getting the right documentation is very time consuming, with this site you can concentrate on the more important parts of the project.

For more information check out the website @ www.greenerproduct.com