WASHINGTON — With capital spending activity among restaurant operators trending upward in recent months, nearly half of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the last three months — the highest level in five months.
WASHINGTON — As part of a presidential effort to help U.S. businesses create jobs and strengthen their competitiveness, the Department of Energy announced a pilot initiative to reduce some of the hurdles that prevent companies from working with national laboratories by speeding up the transfer of federal research and development from the laboratory to the marketplace.
WASHINGTON — In an effort to determine the benefits of interagency cooperation, the U.S. Government Accountability Office conducted a review of current initiatives by federal agencies to foster green building in the nonfederal sector, and determine what is known about the results of the initiatives.
The agency identified 94 initiatives implemented by 11 agencies, with 18 initiatives by the Environmental Protection Agency and 17 by the Department of Energy.
ROCKFORD, Ill. — The Fabricators and Manufacturers Association announced its new Green Manufacturer Network, a professional organization of individual members aimed at driving the transition to environmentally friendly manufacturing.
BETHESDA, Md. — Final hearings last month for the 2012 International Green Code yielded a number of advances, including what some call a straightforward approach to minimum thermal requirements for roof and wall systems. The new code will also extend the minimum thermal requirements to all low-slope roof replacements involving above-deck insulation.
The council will publish the first edition of the code in the spring of 2012, and expects it to become the primary benchmark for green construction standards and practices.
DALLAS — Davaco Inc. expanded its operations to include multi-site sustainability and resource reduction solutions that help retail and restaurant chains optimize their performance, thanks to its recent acquisition of retail sustainability consulting firm Ecoxera.
Justin Doak, founder of Austin, Texas-based Ecoxera, will continue to serve as the company’s president.
MILFORD, Conn. — Demand for phase 1 environmental site assessments on real estate projects involving 10 or more properties increased 13 percent in the third quarter of 2011, reaching the highest level in five quarters, according to Environmental Data Resources Inc. (EDR), a Milford, Conn.-based environmental data firm.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs contracted with the Green Building Initiative to help the department meet the government’s sustainability mandate for federally owned or leased buildings. It will develop an assessment system and apply it to the 180 VA buildings currently undergoing Green Globes certification.
The Green Building Initiative, a nonprofit ANSI Accredited Standards Developer, has previously been contracted to develop building sustainability assessment and certification services within the federal sector.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — LEED-certified existing buildings surpass newly constructed LEED buildings by 15 million square feet on a cumulative basis, the U.S. Green Building Council announced.
“The U.S. is home to more than 60 billion square feet of existing commercial buildings, and we know that most of those buildings are energy guzzlers and water sieves,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO of the USGBC. “Greening these buildings takes hands-on work, creating precious jobs, especially for construction workers.”
RALEIGH, N.C. — A new overview of the 2012 domestic construction market shows a long and slow recovery for the construction markets, according to the recently released report by FMI, a Raleigh, N.C.-based consulting firm serving the engineering and construction industry.
The report states that demographics will demand improved infrastructure in health care and education, and sustainable or green construction will drive demand for LEED-certified buildings.
