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The University of Florida has completed a pilot study that examines the use of Green Advantage® Certified personnel on construction projects pursuing LEED certification. The study found that projects using Green Advantage® Certified Practitioners achieve greater health and environmental benefits than projects without, and that the more Green Advantage certified personnel, the greater the benefit achieved.
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Green Advantage, Inc. and the Colorado Community College System have created a statewide industry-driven model to prepare and credential workers within the green building industry. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has announced two new educational tools that will help prepare Colorado's clean energy workforce to meet the environmental and employment challenges ahead. Along with a green jobs handbook, Ritter announced 13 community colleges in the state will offer a Green Advantage® Certification program beginning Fall 2009. The program will instruct the state’s community college students on the latest in green construction practices and technologies and offer a nationally respected and accepted credential through Green Advantage.
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Paul Wingard knows construction. Having worked on jobs ranging from hard-rock tunnels to high rises, roads to roofs, and as a water utility contractor, underground utility contractor, and professional engineer, Paul notes that he has never worked on the same job twice.
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To architect Elizabeth Floyd, a career in mainstream architecture wasn't enough. While Floyd was highly interested in green design in college—working on backpack and tents in those days—she worked for 16 years in traditional architecture until 2003. By then she decided, “if it wasn't green, it wasn't interesting”. She took a leave of absence to travel and explore alternatives, including a course on bamboo construction in Costa Rica, and returned committed to stay in architecture but to reach out to others interested in “common sense” solutions to building. She became a LEED Accredited Professional in 2003 and joined Washington, D.C.'s Sustainable Design Consulting the following year, first as a consultant and then, in 2005, as a full-time architect.
As reported in the summer issue of GreenLight and on the organization's Web site, Green Advantage changed the policy for training organizations earlier this year. No longer does Green Advantage require training organizations to go through an application and approval process qualifying their instructors or curriculum. This change opens training opportunities to a broader range of organizations that are free to prepare practitioners for the Green Advantage Exam. Liz Boastfield, Director of Communications for Green Advantage, has been talking with prior and prospective training organizations and from her view, the organizations are thrilled. With the change organizations have what Liz calls “a gear up and go opportunity” to provide training in a multitude of formats by a wide variety of training professionals at a time when contractors are calling for training at record levels.
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Once again, a LEED-recognized green building project has used Green Advantage® Certified Practitioners to earn the Innovation and Design Credit under LEED version 2.2. Glasstown Residence at River Park in Millville, NJ earned certification under LEED. The 90,000 sf five-story multi-family housing complex with 100 units was the first green and affordable senior housing project in New Jersey. The use of Green Advantage certified contractors and subcontractors achieved an Innovation credit.
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Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont and Utah can now claim Green Advantage® Certified Practitioners! With these four new states represented, Green Advantage now covers most of the United States—with only four outstanding states (South Dakota, Nebraska, Mississippi and Wyoming). To locate Green Advantage Certified Practitioners, please see our searchable database on the Green Advantage Website.
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Michigan
In July, the Holland (Mich.) Sentinel announced that staff of GDK Construction have received the Green Advantage Environmental Certification for Commercial and Residential Construction. GDK's president, project manager and four site superintendents earned the Green Advantage Certification. This is a continuation of GDK's commitment to environmental stewardship, given the March recognition of GDK's construction of the City Flats Hotel and Bistro by the U.S. Green Building Council. The USGBC awarded the project LEED Gold Certification. (Holland Sentinel, Biz Buzz, “GDK staff gets certification”July 4, 2009)
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- Consider substituting other pozzalanic materials for a portion of the cement in concrete. [Note: A pozzolan is a material which, when combined with calcium hydroxide, exhibits cementitious properties.] Traditional cement production is estimated to contribute approximately five percent of global CO2 emissions as well as requiring significant energy use to produce the cement. While the addition of flyash and slag can increase strength, they may change curing time and affect color, making their use sometimes inappropriate. However, their benefits should be examined throughout a job as different sites may provide opportunities for these older forms of cement mixes.
- Take care on material sourcing to ensure sustainable production. Bamboo, for example, is a plentiful, rapidly renewable, strong and useful design and construction material. However, China doesn't regulate bamboo quality, making it essential for construction designers and practitioners to know the source and view installations and project samples. Vendors should be willing to provide warranty and a track record of their product. The optimal strength of bamboo is between three and seven years of growth with six years being optimal. If cut too early, then bamboo doesn't reach the strength needed to perform as intended. Inferior performance can lead to materials flooring being removed—an action counter to the desire for longevity so essential to sustainability.
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We want to hear from you, our Green Advantage® Certified Practitioners, about what is and isn’t working in the field. In future issues of our GREENLIGHT newsletter, green tips, best practices, certification success stories, or other articles selected for publication will include the contributor's name, picture, company, and website address. Your ideas and thoughts about how to be more successful with green building are appreciated!
We’d love to hear back about your experiences in the use and marketing of green products and technologies as well as any other green-related experiences you'd like to share.
In addition, please contact us if you have a project that you would like considered for the Green Advantage Spotlight Feature. Selected spotlights will appear on our home page as well as in future issues of GREENLIGHT. Send your Green Tips and Best Practices, ideas and exemplary project photos to info@greenadvantage.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
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