IS BLUE THE NEW GREEN?
PSFK.com
Full article :
What is "Blue Thinking"? "
It is a business response to a changing economic landscape. It doesnt go away and it's not a project with a budget." In an article by Tamara Giltsoff , it's suggested that blue Is the new wave of sustainability.
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"BlueThinking in this economy is significant because business is forced to reflect on current practices and re-engineer to fit with market change."
"Blue Thinking doesnt stop just because budgets are getting tight. In fact the opposite: Blue is being embedded in long-term strategic planning, and now more than ever in these transformational times."
The phrase Blue innovation instead of Green was coined by Bob Isherwood, ex Saatchi & Saatch Worldwide Creative Director -- referencing an "ocean of opportunity".)
The Green Is On...
Whether we call it blue or green, one thing's certain: market change is upon us. Aligning your business practices and strategies to this change is vital to your sustainability.
Keep America Building
thegreenison.org
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
WHOLE BUILDING PARTNERS
kggreen.com
COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL
GREEN BUILDERS
AND CONSULTANTS
IN-HOUSE LEED ACCREDITED
PROFESSIONALS
KG Green is a sustainable building consortium. With over thiry years experience in the industry, we've brought together trusted and talented project teams to advocate and build-it green.
KG GREEN 1866 900-3131
Top Sectors for Growth by 2013
WHO ARE WE?
IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU.
More than half of all firms will be largely dedicated to green in five years, with green making up over 60% of all projects. Despite financial concerns and some construction market downturn, green building is expected to expand across several sectors.
THIRD Eploring to Moderate
Office
18% 20% 15%
Residential
13% 19% 25%
SECOND Significant Share
Government
17% 13% 24%
FIRST Largely to Fully Dedicated
Education
11% 20% 17%
Healthcare
Expectation of firms' green market share from exploring to moderately dedicated to fully dedicated.
13% 11% 8%
SOURCE: McGraw-Hill Construction
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Percent of Sector
Spending on construction projects dropped by over $137 billion in November 2009 to a six-year low of $900 billion, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of newly released figures from the Census Bureau.
AGCA said construction spending dropped 13.2 percent compared to 2008.
The same downtrend has led to increased interest in green building by the financial community. Lenders and insurers have come to see green buildings as better for their bottom line and are working to get new reduced-rate loan products, insurance packages, and metrics into place.
SOURCE:: McGraw Hill
The sustainable mantra: People, Planet, Profit...
While we can all agree that these three words are in the correct order of importance (and taking into consideration the sobering statistics we're facing), it's reassuring to know that within the movement towards sustainable building, there is opporutiny for businesses to rise, transition, and profit.
KG GREEN partners with devlopers, builders and construction companies to facilitate their entry and ensure their success in green building. Information, education, and consultation are needed in order to stay competitive and keep pace within this swiftly changing and maturing industry.
First of all, we're just like you.
We're experiencing the same change you are.
With over a century of building experience and experienced green builders on our team, we're working to bring you economically and environmentally sound living solutions.
Solutions for the change we live today in communities that
will be there tomorrow.
Your lifestyle, your budget, your health.
Times are changing... you hear it and you experience it in your everyday life. It's happened pretty quickly and it can be stressful keeping up.
So your priorites change and with them your life changes.
What may have worked before becomes unsustainable. or simply unnessary.
On this site, you'll find some answers. Alternative ways
of looking at where and how you live.
MUNICIPALITIES ARE THE GATEWAY FOR BRINGING
GREEN BUILDING PRACTICES AND THEIR BENEFITS
INTO THE PUBLIC'S AWARENESS.
When compared with construction in the private sector, expectations for public buildings (and levels of LEED certification) are generally higher and performance expectations more demanding.
There are many tools available for municipalities to achieve these goals. However, as we transition from old practices into the new, accessing and implementing these tools can be challenging..
Budgetary considerations are of paramount importance (in particular to municipalities) in planning and executing green construction. Grant and publicly funded projects are increasingly expected to reach what are often lofty LEED goals
The green market and LEED guidelines are relatively new. Projected spending can be underestimated; resulting in eleventh hour changes and compromises. This is escepecially problematic when funding is often LEED certification dependent. Market knowledge coupled with executive "green" estimating skills are invaluable.
We also assist private construction companies involved in public construction to better understand green compliance directives in this sector (from the bidding process through job completion,. Our consultants ensure practical, accurate measures are used in job estimating and implementation that meet or exceed LEED goals).
RENT OR OWN ON YOUR TERMS (contact us for price list)
Different terms are right for different people at different times. We're making it easy for you. Change brings choices. We want you have tthe right ones.
LEASING: Short Term: Long-Term:
Our propeties have a limtied number of short-term One to three year leasing options.
(3-6 month) lease spaces available.
If when your lease is up, you want to invest in your lifestyle, part of your past rent can be used to make this happen.
OWN:
Flexible convential financing is available to you Lenders cooperation and low monthly payments make owning your space easy and affordable.
More often than not, your montly payments will be lower when you own.
IF YOU DECIDE TO SELL AND YOU CAN'T GET WHAT YOU PAID -... WE'LL BUIY IT BACK
SUCCESSFUL
GREEN PROJECTS
BEGIN WITH A
ROBUST
KNOWLEDGE BASE.
LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design : The gold standard for green design and construction. Administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). USGBC certifies buildings as well as individual projects within existing buildings and accredits professionals within this scope of achievement. Projects must comply with all prerequisites and accrue a designated number of points. Certifications are point-dependent and may be rated as Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum
LEED AP Certifications
(LEED Professional Specialty)
LEED AP Building Design + Construction
LEED AP Homes
LEED AP Interior Design + Construction
LEED AP Neighborhood Development
LEED AP Operations + Maintenance
All LEED AP's are professionals in the industry and have both experience and education in their respective fields.
LEED AP
LEED personnel have the expertise you need to comprehensively plan your projects, to understand the budgetary and technical requirements needed to meet LEED certifications, and to ensure contractual agreements are mastered and met.
Understanding that the scope and needs of all jobs vary, our services are tailored to meet your individual needs -- from one hour of consult time, to full-time LEED AP's.
Web and phone consults available
Monday through Friday
8:00AM to 6:00PM ET.
Green Building Addendum 310: The Association of General Contractors publishes a set of documents called the ConsensusDOCS that manage the owner/contractor relationship. In November 2009, the group released the construction industry's first comprehensive standard contract document addressing the unique risks and responsibilities associated with building green projects. ConsensusDOCS 310 Green Building Addendum is designed to work with other ConsensusDOCS documents or other form contracts.
GBF -- Green Building Facilitator A GBF is a person or entity responsible for coordinating, implementing and concluding necessary documentation to achieve the projects green building goals. While the project architect remains responsible for incorporating the specific green measures into the design, it is the GBF who bears the liability if the green building goals are not achieved. The Green Building Addendum is designed to be used in conjunction with developing the underlying agreement between the owner and GBF, which will address commercial terms such as compensation, damages, and insurance requirements.
consensusdocs.rog
CONCENSUSDOCS GREEN ADDENDUM
GREEN BUILDING INSURANCE: An emerging risk of green building is the liability of design professionals if a LEED project does not reach the proposed level of certification. This potential liability currently isnt covered under the standard language of errors and omissions insurance, which excludes guarantees. Little precedence means there is a lack of data available on this issue and the associated risks.
AIG's AIGRMGreen Reputation Coverage -- AIG's insurance product covers more than just bad press. It seems this policy acutally covers a green building project that fails to achieve LEED certification. Although certainty as to what is considered an adverse green claim is still not clearly defined, this is still an important first step to properly insuring owners, contractors and architects involved with projects seeking LEED certification.
http://www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com/
Spurned by Banks, Builders Look Elsewhere
Private-equity firms are stepping into the vacuum left by banks’ flight from lending to small and midsize home builders. “The banks just are not doing construction loans,” says Robert Mecay, a real estate developer who is trying to build a luxury condominium complex on the south shore of Lake Tahoe in Zephyr Cove, Nev. So Mecay and his partners in the Tahoe Beach Club project are seeking $150 million of equity or debt financing from private-equity firms. The money isn’t cheap. For loans, some private-equity firms were offering interest rates of roughly 15% to 20%. But Mecay, whose previous projects have relied on bank loans, wants to start the project soon, while construction costs are low as subcontractors and suppliers scrap for scarce business. (www.wsj.com) -
As Loans Dry Up, Builders Work for Banks
Home builders in some of the nation’s hardest-hit housing markets are going to work directly for banks, in a little-used arrangement that is helping to ameliorate conditions in some battered local economies. The builders traditionally got loans from banks to build homes, but that credit has largely dried up. The contract work builders are getting is welcome as many of them struggle to stay afloat.
Builders from California to Florida are starting to contract their services to lenders, many of whom have been left holding unfinished homes after the original builder went belly up. While there are no data on the trend, and it hasn't taken-off in the Northeast (yet), many builders are taking this work for the first time/
The trend helps preserve relationships between builders and lenders in a strained time for the two. In some of these situations, home builders are working for the same institutions that won’t lend money to them. (www.wsj.com)
Wall Street Journal (3/1/10); Jim Carlton
Funding Hope for Green Retrofits
PACE BONDS (Property Assessed Clean Energy)
PACE is a bond where the proceeds are lent to commercial and residential property owners to finance energy retrofits (efficiency measures and small renewable energy systems). OWNERS then repay their loans over 20 years via an annual assessment on their property tax bill. PACE is not a national program (there is a proposal from the White House pending) Sixteen states have passed legislation to date (NJ not yet one of them).
As with any new governmental program, there are critics of the PACE program. The critics of the White House's PACE program are opposed to the first-lien rights:
To stay up-to-date on the progress of PACE national and state legislation go to:
http://pacenow.org/.
http://www.nbnnews.com
ENERGY-EFFICIENT WINDOWS: Windows are the biggest source of heating and cooling energy loss in homes. We recommend using windows for both new and replacement fthat have shown consistent performance -- well above energy star ratings (Rated by The AAMA - the American Architectural Manufacturers Association)
INSULATION RETROFITTING: There are millions of under-insulated homes in the United States. Up to 75% of costly heat escapes through walls and attics that are either poorly insulated or have no insulation. Both homeowners and the government are eager to turn things around to save on home energy costs. The federal government, as well as states and counties, offer incentives to retrofit existing homes. The market is growing as well as product choices and performance.
GEOTHERMAL: Geo-thermal heat pumps use 30% less energy than standard heat pumps by taking advantage of the earth's underground temperature to condition the home, With a geothermal systemta reasonably tight 2000-sq.-ft. home can be heated and cooled for dollars (some say $1) a day. You'll pay considerably more up front, but in many cases, the payback can come in as little as two or three years. Once the system is paid off, the annual return on investment can approach 20 percent.
Renovation of a 1970's South Border Home using Serious Windows
homes
HVAC -- Solar and GeoThermal
Insultation Retrofitting
Energy Rated Windows/Doors
Water Collection/ Treatment Systems
HOME REDUCTION:
If you're home's too large for your needs and the market is preventing you from downsizing, consider reducing the amount you spend on heating and cooling. Internal repurposing of areas that require HVAC, will reduce utility bills. An obvious choice for extra space is storage.; but there are other options as well.
Contact us for innovative solutions: simple to extravagant. You'll use the extra space, maintain your home's value, and reducie your monthly bills.
SOLAR PANELS
http://www.solarpanelinfo.com/
USGBC GREEN HOME GUIDE
http://greenhomeguide.com/
DSIRE NJ STATE Rebate/Incentives
http://http://www.specjm.com/DSIRE/results.asp
For older or historic
GREED ROOFS
http://www.greengridroofs.com/
SERIOUS WINDOWS
http://index.seriouswindows.com
ENERGY STAR TAX CREDITS
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
http://www.nps.gov/history
Preservation Briefs
Information on Restoring and
Retrofitting older homes
NATURAL COTTON INSULATION
http://www.bondedlogic.com
STORAGE WOOD FURNITURE
http://www.batinau.com/
ENERGY TAX REBATE
http://www.energytaxrebate.com/
GREEN HOME
http://greenhomeguide.com/know-how/topic/5
JOHN'S MANVILLE INSULATION
http://www.specjm.com/residential.asp
SOLARPhotovoltatic Solar Calculator
http://pvwatts.org/
Lighting retrofits benefits:
•Energy Savings -
•Improved Lighting Quality -
•Reduced Maintenance and labor costs
•Pollution Reduction
Cutting Energy Costs
Energy Edge identifies where and how your electricty is being used and solves many of the problems that contribute to inefficient electrical systems and high electricty bills.
Once installed, Energy Edge delivers immediate, non-stop savings -- cutting your bottom-line costs every time your facility uses electricty.
A lighting retrofit ireplaces components in your lighting system with counterparts that make it use energy more efficiently. A lighting upgrade is any strategy that reduces the system's energy use. Energy savings are realized over time that can be significant enough to not only pay for the new equipment, but produce a return on the investment.
Understanding Energy Consumption
Utilities bill their customers in a variety of ways, including an energy use charge, demand charge, power factor charge, fuel adjustment charge and other charges.
To reduce energy consumption, we can either reduce the input wattage or reduce the hours of operation. Input wattage can be reduced by replacing lamps and ballasts with more-energy-efficient counterparts or outright removal of lamps and ballasts. The hours of operation can be reduced using automated and occupant controls as well as other methods.
Lighting retrofit consultants will analyze your facility, make lighting upgrade recommendations, complete paperwork for available rebates, install the new system, safely recycle the old parts, help with maintenance or warranty issues.
8% to 30% GUARANTEED
savings --
backed by a surety bond from the world's largest insurance
company
Significantly increased electrical system capacity
30% to 40% return on investment
Automatic functionality (no staff involvement)
Improved cooling capacity of air conditionioning and
refigeration
Elimination of voltage surges and transients*
Lease option, eliminating the need for any capital
expenditure -
NO-OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES.
http://www.lightsearch.com/resources/
LIGHTING, CALCULATIONS, FORMULAS
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Sustainable interior design, architecture, and construction guidelines focus on the overall health of building occupants. It is a depature from the outmoded practice of short-term profit. A new dawn in design strategy has arrived -- a realization that setting the bar higher on in-door environmental air quality reaps long-term financial benefits.
While there is a growing focus on improved ventialation -- custimarily energy efficiency can translate into interiors that are relatiively air-tight. . Offgasing (release of volitile organics or VOC's) from materials bought into the building in the normal course of ffinishing, furnishing, painting, and decordating spaces tend to stay longer and have a greater adverse impact on occupants health.
Design projects, from floor to ceiling fits for new construction to retrofitted interiors in existing buildings, offer an often overlooked opportunity to increase a project's green standin.
Working with LEED -certified interior design professionals ensures not only qualifiable indoor air, but also a quantifiable return on investment. Chooses design strategies that work and products that live up to claims and high expecations will also ensure a greater return on investment.
ORGANIC
LOW-VOC
IN-VIORNMENT PRODUCTS
It's commonly believed that when it comes to energy efficiency and buildings there's some low-hanging fruit -- but going after the rest costs a lot of money. Actually, that's not true, says C. David Myers, vice president for Johnson Controls and the firm's president for Building Efficiency.
plannersweb.com
The Future Belongs to Walkable Communities
From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:
"The future belongs to walkable communities," claimed planning scholar Reid Ewing at a forum in Burlington, Vermont, sponsored by the University of Vermont Transportation Research Center and the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Full articlehere
Ewing, who recently joined the faculty at the University of Utah's City and Metropolitan Planning program, has long focused his research and writing on land use and transportation issues. His career's included stints as Director of the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University and as a research professor at the National Center for Smart Growth. Interestingly, he's also squeezed in two terms in the Arizona state legislature.
In the just-published State of Green Business 2010 report, GreenBiz takes an extensive look at the data behind the move toward making mainstream businesses greener.
Download Reporthere
Full articlehere.
treehugger.com
POWERLeap Proselytizes Piezo Tiles In Chicago.
Elizabeth Redmond is pioneering piezoelectric sidewalks in her Chicago hometown as well as abroad. Her pilot sidewalk in Ann Arbor gave her data on how to best create a sub-flooring system with intelligent "harvesting" to store and then apply energy generated from footfalls to lighting and other low energy use appliances. Now her company POWERLeap is working to get needed investment to create commercially available tiles. Redmond's dearest hope is to have permanently installed sidewalks in Chicago. DUE DATE: 2011.
Photo credit POWERLeap via Facebook.
www.energybuilder.com/greenbld.htm
GREEN BUILDING PRIMER
BUILDING COUNCILS
LEED PROJECT MANAGEMENT
SOFTWARE
worldgbc.org
WORLD GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL
www.buildinggreen.com
BUILDING GREEN SUITE
articles, case studies, and specifications by LEED category
energypriorities.com/entries/2009
ENERGY PRIORITES Leed Project Management
usgbc.org
US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL
gbworkbench.com/site/
BUILDHQ LEED
www.eere.energy.gov/buildingscommercial_initiative/
HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS
Case Studies Database
usgbcnj.org
US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL NJ CHAPTER
leeduser.com
LEED PROJECT NAVIAGATION SOFTWARE
www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/
GREEN HOMES BUILDING ADVISOR
Technology and Materials Selection Design Resource
STATE, MUNICIPAL, POLITICAL
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/category
NYT ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
www.njslom.org/magart-2009-06-pg48.html
NJ STATE LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES
www.sbis.info
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING INFORMATION SYSTEM
Information resource for tools, technologies, and case studies
http://www.usgbcnj.org/page3.php?id=29
USGBC NJ
USGBC-NJs Advocacy Committee
en.openei.org/wiki/High_Performance_Building
OPEN ENERGY INFO
High Performce Building Standards NJ
www.RETScreen.net
CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT ANALYSIS SOFTWARE
Leave a comment, ask a question, commiserate, facilitate.... please keep it green. ..
If you'd like to join our team of green building advocates and consultants, or if you're interested in becoming a partner company, we'd like to hear from you. Please contact us using the form below -- or fax your resume to 732 657-4583.
Name
Email
Subject
"The green building movement needs to rethink its focus on fitting ever more energy-saving devices into increasingly goofy buildings. Architecture that instead taps into public tastes for tradition, familiarity and comfort will give us places that create their own natural preservation societies, because they are loved. Reusing old buildings is the true green architecture. Buildings designed for decades must give way to buildings designed for centuries." ::Providence Journal
PHONE: 1 866 900-3131 FAX: 1 732 657-4583
KG GREEN, LLC
PO Box 3199 3199 Route 9
Princeton, NJ 08752 Freehold, NJ 07728
GERDING THEATER
The building is both the nations first historic renovation on the National Historic Register and the first performing arts venue to receive a LEED Platinum designation.
kGrace Foudation is a not-for-profit organization based in Trenton, NJ We're committed to help keep American builders working by devloping projects
and sourcing construction funding. Through greening the future, our goal is to see the present construction industry once again thrive and prosper.
Please visitthegreenison.orgfor more information.
Our current concept program is Pod Nine... a low-to-moderate income, green, youth-oriented housing option. The layout and structure will incorporate core sustainabe building practices with socially-connected living spaces.
Pod Nine will foster environmentally-responsible attitudes by highlighting our human connections. -- to each other and our eco-systems.
We are currently seeking a suitable first location -- retrofitting and greening an existing building in a walkable neighborhood.
Please visitchangeyoucanlivein.comfor more information.
If you'd like to get involved in bringing this innovative, exciting concept to fruition (from sponsoring to mentoring and everthing in-between), please submit your name, email address, and a short message on the contact form or call us at 1 866 900-3131.
"We see domestic economic and social change as an opportunity to introduce an eco-responsible paradigm shift to the diverse and growing number of people seeking one." ~ KGF
Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.~ Paulne R. Kezer
