TOP NEWS AND OTHER GREEN EVENTS

Showcase Your Green Products in GBA's
New Office
Green Building Alliance is pleased to announce our plans to relocate our office to the Riverwalk Corporate Center late this year. Our intent to build out existing office space in an historic property to achieve LEED-CI Gold.

Please join us in this effort to develop a "first stop for green building" in our region. GBA is seeking the following, and a nearly-final layout of the office space can be found at http://www.gbapgh.org/MiscFiles/8.8.05.pdf

Some of Which Include:

• Refurbished conference room table preferably with cut-away for power supply
• Energy Star® appliances
• Controls and Sensors
• Wood – Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood products, etc.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact GBA's Deputy Director, Jeaneen Zappa at jeaneenz@gbapgh.org
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October 9 - Green Building Alliance's Second Annual Members-Only Social Event
All members are invited to join GBA for an evening that promises a sparkling range of discussion topics, Dale Chihuly's breathtaking exhibit "Gardens & Glass," live music, and hors d'oeuveres/cocktails

October 9, 2007, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Schenley Park
GBA Members: $10
Guests of GBA Members: $15
RSVP to karenp@gbapgh.org by October 1, 2007
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Pittsburgh Climate Protection Initiative --
Public Meetings Scheduled
Come learn about the impact of global warming and offer your ideas for reducing greenhouse gases locally. The Pittsburgh Climate Protection Initiative is conducting a series of meetings to solicit suggestions from City of Pittsburgh residents on how local government can lead the way in reducing greenhouse gases and their impact on the local economy and human well-being. Sign up at a meeting for a chance to win an energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulb.

Meetings are scheduled for the following dates in various City neighborhoods: Sept. 4, 5, 6, 11, and 12 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm www.pittsburghclimate.org
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GBA Product Innovation Grant Open Houses
and Proposal Deadline
Through a competitive selection process, the Green Building Alliance will award Product Innovation Grants to projects that seek to develop and introduce green building products to the marketplace. Proposals for up to $100,000 are due September 28, 2007.  These grants are financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority; The Heinz Endowments, and the Richard King Mellon Foundation.  All Product Innovation Grant documents can be downloaded from http://www.gbapgh.org/grants.asp.   Open houses to for those interested in submitting a proposal and networking with other applicants are scheduled for the following locations: 

September 10, 2007 – 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Pennsylvania State University, 107 Engineering Unit B, University Park, PA.

Please RSVP to research@gbapgh.org for this event.

September 12, 2007 – 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Carnegie Mellon University, Rangos 1, University Center, Pittsburgh, PA
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Group Home Certified as 'Green' Building
A group home for the mentally ill has the distinction of being the smallest "green" building in the country. The Edgewood group home operated by the New Castle Human Services Center was certified by the U.S. Green Building Council with its LEED designation. The building off of Old Pulaski Road serves as a long-term group home for mentally ill people making the transition from the hospital to home.

Rebecca Flora, executive director of the Green Building Alliance of Pittsburgh, said she uses this project as an example for her large builders when encouraging them to use more energy-efficient building practices. "This one little project is a seed that can help people change," she said.
[Read a related article]
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October 25 - 2007 AIA Middle Chapter Symposium
Symposium speakers are gearing up share perspectives on how to make green building pay off for clients, innovative energy efficiency options in building design, and state initiatives that promote green building. An evening presentation at the City View, atop Johnstown’s famed Inclined Plane, will highlight legal considerations tied to green building.Our slate of speakers includes:

• Maureen Guttman, AIA, Executive Director, Governor’s Green Government Council
• Rebecca L. Flora, AICP, LEED AP, Executive Director, Green Building Alliance
• Matthew Rooke and Dustin Eplee, Burt Hill
• Paul Petrilli, PE, HF Lenz Company
• Robert Hughes, Esq., Ames Gough

Earn CES credits, network, and check out the latest industry products and services in one day - at one easy and convenient location! Visit www.aiamiddlepa.org for Symposium updates.
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Best Buy To Build Only Eco-Friendly Stores
Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal reports that beginning in early to mid-2008, Best Buy intends to build only eco-friendly stores, certified by the USGBC through LEED . Best Buy announced the plan in its recently released corporate responsibility report. According to the USGBC, if all Best Buy stores were LEED certified, the retailer would cut its energy use by approximately one-third.

Best Buy’s announcement is made possible by its inclusion in a group of 20 retailers - including Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank, Starbucks,and Target  - that have been working with the USGBC since mid-2006 to test-pilot a new bulk certification program.
Read More.
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PNC: Green are its Branches
PNC Bank is taking on the color of money. The Pittsburgh financial services company has opened 43 environmentally friendly, or 'green,' branches since 2002 and has its first Philadelphia branch under construction at City Avenue and Monument Road. That stock of green branches has given PNC a jump on national competitors by having buildings certified by the USGBC.

The two largest U.S. banks also have gotten into the action. Citigroup Inc. said in May that it would spend $50 billion over 10 years to address climate change and would open its first green branches next year.
Read More.
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LEED for Homes Opens for Second Public Comment Period
The LEED for Homes pilot rating system has been in pilot phase for over a year and a half.  USGBC held the first public comment period on LEED for Homes from June 13 to July 14. Thank you to all those who submitted comments; we received over 1100 comments during the first period that were used to help refine the rating aystem as appropriate. The rating system is now open for second public comment period.  Please use the following link for more details and to weigh in on changes made since the first public comment period. This public comment period will be open from Friday, August 24, 2007 to Sunday, September 9, 2007, closing at midnight PDT. We appreciate your feedback.
More Info.
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UPCOMING GBA EVENTS