Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal — Green Buildings — January 25 - February 7, 2013 — A
www.marejournal.com
Letter from the Executive Director
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
As we start off 2013, many of us are looking at 2012 and thinking about how to make this a better year. Many of us in are focusing on the question “How do we better prepare for the impacts of severe weather, such as last fall’s Superstorm Sandy?” As a recent USGBC blog by Clay Nesler (Vice President, Global Energy & Sustainability, Johnson Controls, Inc.) put it, “This extreme event placed a heavy burden on those affected and was a test of how well these buildings were designed and operated. The results were mixed.” According to analysis of aerial imagery by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, nearly 72,000 buildings in NJ were damaged by Sandy, with more than 500 of those considered “destroyed.”
BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR Anastasia Harrison, AIA, LEED AP Gensler VICE CHAIR Wayne D. DeFeo, LEED AP DeFeo Associates TREASURER Ed Seliga Advanced Solar Products, Inc. SECRETARY RJ Donnelly, LEED AP Donnelly Industries, Inc. PAST CHAIR WilliamAmann, P.E., DCEP, LEEDAP M & E Engineers, Inc DIRECTORS David Cardella Cardella Waste Services Zach Gallagher, P.E., LEED AP NJ Meadowlands Comission Joe Porrovecchio, LEED AP, CRM Carbon-Key, LLC Paul Qvale, LEED AP Hillmann Group Lisa San Filippo, AIA, LEEDAP, BD&C Turner Construction Co. Faith Taylor Wyndham Worldwide Andrew Topinka, CPMR Technical Group Services, Inc Ed Walsh, P.E. The Walsh Company Gregg Woodruff, PP, AICP, LEED AP, BD&C Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, Inc. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Florence Block Alliance Environmental, LLC Bill Gates, LEED AP BD&C Hunt Construction Anthony Marano Marano Group, Inc. Brad Miller, P.E., P.P.
FLORENCE BLOCK
On the topic of lessons learned, Nesler suggests that “moving forward, we should consider
three overall objectives of building resilience:
1. Reduce the initial damage to building systems and infrastructure. 2. Improve the reliability of emergency backup systems.
3. Have buildings support limited critical services for extended periods of time. 4. Designate and upgrade select buildings to provide critical community services. 5. Use passive design principles to increase building resilience. 6. Use distributed generation and microgrids to increase community resilience.
As Nesler so eloquently and accurately states: “Many of us involved in designing and operating the built environment have been promoting the environmental, economic and social benefits of more efficient and sustainable buildings for decades. There have also been strong voices in the sustainable energy industry calling for the greater use of renew- able energy, distributed generation and district energy systems as a more cost effective and environmentally sound approach to meeting future energy needs. As we learned in Superstorm Sandy, many of the same design and operational principles that lead to greater sustainability can also lead to greater resilience. As if improving efficiency, reducing costs, creating jobs and protecting the environment weren’t enough, we can now add increasing resilience to the list of benefits resulting from more sustainable buildings and energy systems.”
USGBC NJ has already convened a Resiliency task force, and is taking part in USGBC National’s Resiliency efforts as well. If you are interested in participating in the taskforce, please contact me at executivedirector@usgbcnj.org.
Sincerely,
Florence Block LEED Green Associate Executive Director, USGBC NJ
Chapter Events 2/8/13 - Energy Star v.3 for Single Family,
Multi-Family Low Rise, and Multi-Family High Rise Construction presented by USGBC-NJ Residential Green Building Committee. 7:30 AM – 12:00 Noon, Bergen Community College, Paramus, NJ.
2/21/13 - USGBC-NJ North Branch and AIA-NJ-Newark Suburban Joint Dinner Meeting Presentation: “Show Me the Money” How to Apply Maximum Incentives for Your Projects with speaker RJ Donnelly. Hamilton Park Hotel, Florham Park, NJ.
3/25/13- Networking Event hosted by the USGBC NJ North Branch. 6-8:00 PM, McLoone’s Boathouse, West Orange, NJ.
LEED Green Associate GENERAL COUNSEL Harry E. McLellan, Esq, LEED Green Associate
For details on all USGBC NJ events, visit www.usgbcnj.org
McLellan & Associates, LLC CHAPTER COORDINATOR Mary Ellen Garrigus Communications & Membership Coordinator Medea Villere ’ www.usgbcnj.org
Number of New Jersey chapter members: Number of USGBC member Companies in NJ: Number of LEED Accredited Professionals in NJ: Number of LEED registered projects in NJ: Number of LEED certified projects in NJ:
1229 275 3173 424 192
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