CHICAGO — Greenbuild, the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual conference, swept through Chicago last week, cramming the facilities at McCormick Place with more than 21,000 attendees and 850 exhibitors.
The conference site appeared overwhelmed at times with limited space for educational seminars and attendees waiting in long lines to hear speakers and purchase food and beverages.
WASHINGTON — The Forest Stewardship Council-US is calling for project submissions for the third annual Designing & Building with FSC Award, which will be presented at the 2007 USGBC GreenBuild International Conference and Exposition in Chicago in November.
The FSC annual award recognizes building projects that have furthered responsible forest management through the incorporation of FSC-certified wood products.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Green Building Council’s membership voted overwhelmingly to adopt a more stringent application of the organization’s sustainable-building rating system.
In a move aimed at improving the energy performance of USGBC-certified buildings, projects will be required to incorporate at least two rating points under the Optimize Energy Performance criterion in order to be eligible for LEED recognition, officials say.
SAN FRANCISCO — The $25 million Orchard Garden Hotel became the first hotel in the city awarded LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The 86-room hotel, which is set in the heart of San Francisco’s tourist belt between the historic Union Square and Chinatown, is the third hotel in the United States to receive LEED recognition for environmental sustainability, officials say.
WASHINGTON — A technical advisory committee for the U.S. Green Building Council released a report that does not recommend imposing restrictions on the use of PVC in buildings seeking LEED certification until there is more research on the subject.
The Technical and Scientific Advisory Committee recently published the report that states PVC — also known as vinyl — did not perform better or worse overall than alternative materials with regard to its impact on the environment or human health in commercial building applications.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Green Building Council is scheduled in March to launch its LEED for schools rating system, which was created specifically for design and construction of K-12 schools.
Based on the LEED for new construction category, the LEED for schools system will update key areas that have the greatest effect on children in the learning environment.
