News
Green Building & Eco Friendly News
We are excited to share green building industry developments, news about our Member Companies, and of course current Rate It Green information. Please feel welcome to submit interesting news you have found. Note that Rate It Green does include news announcements as a part of some sponsorship offerings.
You can also learn more by following Rate It Green on social media. We greatly appreciate your likes, follows, and general votes of support.
The Numbers Are Out: Energy Efficiency Jobs in America Grow to More than 2.3 Million
The third annual installment of Energy Efficiency Jobs in America brings expected good news in reporting continued growth in energy efficiency jobs to more than 2.3 million in 2019, with a current growth rate of 3.4% and an expected growth rate in the next year of 7.8%. The energy sector is now the largest sector of the economy, with energy efficiency as its fastest growing segment. No state experienced declines in energy efficiency employment in 2018. Efficiency businesses added 76,000 new jobs in 2018… Show more
AIA Approves Resolution to Take Greater Action Against Climate Change
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Board approved an official resolution to engage the architectural profession to take action in the fight against climate change. According to 2019 AIA President William Bates, FAIA, “We are making this our top priority in order to address the crisis our communities face. Moving the needle on this critical issue—that threatens the future of our planet and humanity—requires our firm commitment to achieving carbon neutral goals in the built environment and our immediate action… Show more
President Barack Obama to GIve Keynote Address for Greenbuild 2019
The US Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that Former President Barack Obama will be giving this year's keynote address at Greenbuild in Atlanta, Georgia, November 19-22,
According to USGBC President and CEO Mahesh Ramanujam, “President Obama is a global leader and a longtime friend of the green building community. While in office, his administration negotiated the landmark Paris Climate Accords, expanded the impact of our field and helped open the door for energy efficiency investments in both the public and… Show more
Johnson Controls Wins BIG's 2019 Sustainability Product Award
Conratulations to Johnson Controls for winning the Business Intelligence Group's (BIG) 2019 Sustainability Poduct Award for the company's YORK® Mission Critical Direct Evaporative Cooling Air Handling Units. Acording to Maria Jimenez, Chief Nominations Officer, Business Intelligence Group, "“The role of sustainability is becoming more prevalent in most organizations, but these nominees have provided everyone with a leadership standard we can all model."
BIG's Sustainability Awards "honor … Show more
The Living Future Institute's Framework for Affordable Housing - 2019 Update Released
The Living Future Institute has released an update of the organization’s Framework for Affordable Housing, first published in 2014. The Framework offers guidance and resources for providing multi-family sustainable affordable housing that is safe and healthy. The Living Future Institute also works with 27 leading housing developers to build multi-family housing projects that have no energy bills and are free from toxic materials.
To download the Toolkit, and to learn more and view related, additional resour… Show more
South Carolina’s Energy Freedom Act - Passed with Bipartisan Support (Unanimous in the Legislature)
The number of solar installations in South Carolina may more than double in the next five years with the recent passing of the Solar Energy Freedom Act, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The new law is exciting for a number of reasons, but perhaps most notable is that the South Carolina Senate and House votes were unanimous. This bipartisan support is exciting and a great sign at a time when reducing energy use and promoting sustainable and renewable energy are critical to meet climate goals requ… Show more
LEED® and USGBC Recognize Global GreenTag Product Health Declaration™ (the GreenTag PhD™)
Congratulations to Rate It Green Member, Global GreenTag LLC, Americas! The certifier’s Global GreenTag PhD, Materials Transparency Certification Program (reviewed and assessed by the LEED Committee and MR Technical Advisory Group (TAG) has been formally recognized within the LEED framework of Rating Systems. The program is among the most stringent product disclosures in the world, and now noted by LEED and USGBC (US Green Building Council) as a Program that is formally recognized for not only LEED v4.1 but also v4.0, appearing in th… Show more
New York Passes Landmark Climate & Community Protection Act - 100% Carbon-Free Electricity by 2040, Net-Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050
With Andrew Cuomo's signature, New York joins California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Washington, in committing to generate 100% of the states electricity from carbon-free sources including solar, wind, hydropower, (and nuclear power for some, but that's a discussion for another day) by 2050 at the latest. Hawaii, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico have also targeted 100% clean power.
The state's goal to reach 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040 and economy-wide, net-zero carbon emissions by 20… Show more
Hunter Douglas Continues Working with Habitat for Humanity, Partnering with Local Dealers
Rate It Green Member Hunter Douglas has been a longtime supporter of Habitat for Humanity, and the company is continuing this work this summer while partnering with local dealers around the country.
A first project this summer involved North County Blind Co. and supported San Diego Habitat for Humanity. Since 1988, SDHFH has built over 200 homes throughout San Diego County, serving 900 men, women and children, with the support of nearly 200,000 volunteers and generous corporate and government partners.
… Show more
Wolfworks Inc. Wins the Connecticut Zero Energy Challenge
Rate It Green Member Wolfworks has won the Connecticut Zero Energy Challenge sponsored by energizeCT - for the 4th time!
The CT Zero Energy Challenge spotlights Connecticut homes that produce as much energy as they use. The 2018 Grand Prize award winning home was designed and built by Wolfworks on a hilltop site in Higganum.
With a compact 1000SF footprint, the home includes a 250SF loft space for a professional artist. The structure has a thick shell for insulation and is oriented for the large … Show more
Mindful Materials Pavilion to be Showcased at Futurebuild, March 5-7, in London
Futurebuild and GIGA have announced a partnership to create and launch a new Futurebuild product directory and a dedicated new area at the March 5th-7th event in London – The mindful MATERIALS Certification Pavilion.
The pavilion will offer a unique, focused setting for Futurebuild attendees and exhibitors to unite around and explore the latest thinking and opportunities in sustainable product certification. In addition to exhibition space for Certification Programme Operators and manufacturers with key sustainability certificatio… Show more
Rate It Green Member, One Click LCA, Awarded Energy Globe Award 2018
Rate It Green member, OneClick LCA, was recently awarded the Energy Globe Award for Finland 2018. Established in 1999, the Energy Globe Award is granted by the Energy Globe Foundation annually to “extraordinary sustainable projects” in order to promote sustainability worldwide. The Energy Globe Award is awarded annually to projects focusing on energy efficiency, renewable energies, and the conservation of resources. Over 6000 projects in more than 180 countries were submitted for consideration in 2018.
The award takes i… Show more
Applications are open for the InNOVAte 2019 Challenge - Apply by April 8
Applications are open for the InNOVAte 2019 Challenge - Apply by April 8! In partnership with CertainTeed and Saint-Gobain NOVA, Greentown Labs is seeking applications for innovative ideas to disrupt the built environment value chain. This program will focus on innovation in four key areas along the value chain: design and planning, procurement and distribution, building and construction, operation and occupation.
Selected Greentown Labs InNOVAte 2019 awardee(s) may be eligible for the following awards… Show more
ZeroEnergy Design's Farmhouse Wins Sustainable Design Award from Boston Society of Architects (BSA)
Congratulations to ZeroEnergy Design for winning a Sustainable Design Award from the Boston Society of Architects at the 8th annual BSAAwards Gala this January. ZeroEnergy recieved this honor for the company's Lincoln Net Positive Farmhouse project.
The 2900 sf Net Positive Farmhouse, built by Thoughtforms, was designed to produce 67% MORE energy than it consumes annually, and was designed with a super-insulated building envelope, high performance windows, an air source heat pump, an energy recovery ventilator… Show more
Appraisal Institute's FREE Guide to Value Green Buildings and Homes
Did you know that the Appraisal Institute published and offers a Commercial Green and Energy Efficient Addendum? This document provides a unique framework for assisting appraisers to value commercial asset and the value of its green component, such as solar panels and other energy efficient infrastructures. There are also articles published on the Appraisal Institute on a quarterly basis available on www.appraisalinstitute.org/publications. They teach appraisers on green topics as well as industry trends.
The link below leads… Show more
Falling Prices Help Solar Add Value to Your Home
Having solar panels on your home used to be "more of an 'earth warrior' statement than a great way to power a home while reducing electric bills." It is no longer the case. When the solar panels were first introduced back in the 1970s, the cost per watt used to $70. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) most recent report, it is now only $2.8 per watt in early 2017. It has now become a truly worthy investment for many homeowners.
More than 1.4 million American homeowners hav… Show more
Green Building Certifications Reach Record Levels in Nation’s Largest Cities
The number of America's certified green buildings are hitting a record high. Researchers have found green certified office space (either LEED certified or EPA's Energy Star label) across America’s 30 largest metro areas has reached 41 percent of market totals – the highest in the index’s history.
Chicago again claimed the top spot by having nearly 70% of its buildings green certified, followed by San Francisco at around 64%. Atlanta took the third place by having 58% of all buildings green certi… Show more
IPCC Report: Global Warming Crisis Could Come As Early As 2030
The new IPCC report issued in 2018 is "quite a shock, and quite concerning." said Bill Hare, an author of previous I.P.C.C. reports and a physicist with Climate Analytics, a nonprofit organization. In 2016, the IPCC accepted an invitation to analyze the impact of 1.5 °C above the industrial level instead of 2 °C. The new report is contributed by 91 authors from 40 different countries, citing more than 6,000 scientific researches and included a total of 42,001 expert and government review comments. The report not only summarize… Show more
2018 International Green Construction Code (2018-IgCC), Released on November 8
The 2018 International Green Construction Code (2018-IgCC) was released on November 8 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), International Code Council, ASHRAE and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).
The 2018 International Green Construction Code, or 2018-IgCC, will help governments streamline code development and improve industry standardization through a comprehensive document that emphasizes easy adoption, use and enforcement.
"Our hope is that building professionals and policymakers alike adopt better, greener b… Show more
What are You Doing Today for Energy Efficiency Day?
October 5 has been declared Energy Efficiency Day, by the US Senate, and over 40 local governments and more than 300 communities, companies and organizations: https://bit.ly/2RtpohM
To learn more and to take action in your home or neighborhood, visit: https://www.energyefficiencyday.org/take-action/
Show more
Green Building Melting Pot - A Quick Look at Our 100 Most Recent Company Members
Who’s joining the Rate It Green community, and how are we evolving? We were curious at to what we'd learn if we took a snapshot of the most recent 100 companies to become Rate It Green Members.
I was pleased to see the diversity we’re seeing as we grow. 12 of our most recent organization members are Building/Contracting organizations, which makes sense, but we saw higher percentages of other service organizations, including cleaning/remediation services (9), plumbing (9), and real … Show more
Spotlight on GreenCE Inc., our Newest Premium Listed Company
We’re pleased to introduce GreenCE, Inc. as a sponsor for the Rate It Green platform. GreenCE is an AIA Education Provider and USGBC Education Partner based in the Portland, Oregon area. GreenCE provides free AIA continuing education for design professionals seeking their mandatory CE hours. In addition, the organization offers no-cost LEED specific hours and the only free LEED Exam Prep program in North America.
“We are very excited to be working with Rate It Green. Collaboration and innovation are the core principle… Show more
Rate It Green's Open Green Building Calendar
We're excited to announce the launch of Rate It Green's open Green Building Calendar. More than the tool itself and the events we can now host and promote, this calendar represents the idea of expanding collaboration. As a platform, Rate It Green of course facilitates online connecting and discussion. But we all know that when we can get together in person, we can also learn and collaborate in tremendous ways.
What's so exciting about a Calendar? Lots! For one thing, the calendar will accept events in ANY&… Show more
Post Election '16 - What Can You Do?
Rate It Green is not a political organization to be sure, but this community resource supports the natural environment by working with others to lessen the impact of the built environment. We promote healthy and sustainable building practices, and it's our goal to help as many people and companies connect and share informatoin to help green building become mainstream. As such, our goals pretty much make it clear that we support safe air and water, healthy and green materials and buildings, resouce and energy efficiency , reuse a… Show more
See you in New Orleans!
Allison Friedman will be attending the Healthy Building Materials Summit and Greenbuild October 21 - 25, in New Orleans. Email afriedman@rateitgreen.com if you are also attending and want to meet in person. Here's to a great week! Show more
Build YOUR Ideal Rate It Green!
With Rate It Green's Community features now live, it's now time to build YOUR ideal Green Building Community! Ideas for participation include:
Create a Profile, and show off your talents and expertise
Register Your Company and List your Products and Services
Rate Products and Services you have worked with
Start or join a Discussion, and ask or answer questions
Create or Join a group of folks with similar interests
Submit a "Comments" for a Directory listing
Reach out to other M… Show more