The Hines CalPERS Green Development Fund has been capitalized with over $120 million in equity and leverage that will allow investments of up to $500 million. Houston-based Hines Interests, LP, one of the world’s largest developers, recently announced that the fund had already begun deploying capital toward the fund’s investment goal, developing high-performance office buildings certifiable through the LEED^® Rating System for Core and Shell Development. With its partners, Hines has already developed LEED certified office buildings in Atlanta (1180 Peachtree) and Chicago (One South Dearborn) and recently began LEED pre-certified projects in Washington and California. California’s public pension fund, CalPERS, is the nation’s largest. Hines is online at www.hines.com. CalPERS is online at www.calpers.ca.gov.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), with support from national land developer Newland Communities, has announced a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an organization dedicated to addressing global issues through the commitments of individuals and organizations. USGBC has committed to creating a one-year consumer-education campaign on its website, which is visited by more than 300,000 people each month. The campaign, valued by CGI at $250,000, will educate homeowners and builders about green building practices that can help them save energy and thus lower their contribution to global warming. It will also coincide with the launch of USGBC’s LEED^® for Homes Rating System as well as the pilot period for LEED for Neighborhood Development, which focuses on urban development projects.

The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve Operations Centre in Sidney, British Columbia, is the first building to earn a Platinum rating in the Canada Green Building Council’s LEED^® Rating System. Designed by Larry McFarland Architects, Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, the building features an innovative heating system that feeds ocean water through a titanium-plate heat exchanger and heat pumps, providing heat for the radiant-floor system. In addition, a rainwater catchment system provides water for toilet flushing, and a photovoltaic system provides 20% of the building’s energy needs.

Oregon’s Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLSTM) has announced that it will include energy-efficient and green features in its home listings starting in the spring of 2007. RMLS, which covers Oregon and southern Washington, will include information on homes that are certified by Energy Star^®, LEED^® for Homes, and several other programs, as well as those with high-efficiency furnaces and appliances, on-site renewable energy, or other sustainable features. Home listings will be searchable by green features, a capability RMLS says homebuyers and real estate agents are looking for. The RMLS listings are online at www.rmls.com.

Collins Pine Company, owner of Collins Almanor Forest in Chester, California, has joined the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR). Established by a state governmental statute in 2000, CCAR works with companies in California to register greenhouse gas emissions and create a baseline for future reduction requirements. Collins Pine, which owns and manages three forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, will join CCAR under the registry’s forestry protocols and will track the emissions associated with its forest management, reforestation, and conservation efforts. Greenhouse gases sequestered in the forest will also be tracked and registered for possible sale as emission reduction credits in a future carbon trading system. Collins Pine is online at www.collinswood.com.

The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts–Lowell recently launched the CleanerSolutions Database, a free, online tool for evaluating surface-cleaning products. According to TURI’s laboratory testing manager, Jason Marshall, TURI has performed thousands of trials since 1993 to evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning products. Over the years, TURI has built a database with that information, along with manufacturer information on recommended uses, and TURI’s test data on global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, volatile organic content, flammability and reactivity, and acute toxicity. Manufacturers of all kinds use the database to find alternatives for their cleaning needs: “If they’re making something, nine times out of ten they’re going to have to remove something from the finished product,” Marshall said. TURI also continues to test more janitorial products, and search enhancements in the works will make the results easy for facility managers and homeowners to find. The database is online at www.cleanersolutions.org.

Interface, Inc., a leading producer of carpeting and other textiles, has united its various global operations under the corporate name of Interface. The company’s textile division is now called InterfaceFABRIC, and its carpet division is now InterfaceFLOR. “Our re-brand will help to eliminate any confusion that exists about our various brand names and reinforce the sustainability ethic that is central to all our businesses and services,” said Lindsey Parnell, InterfaceFLOR CEO in Europe. The shift to the new brand on marketing materials will be gradual, according to the company, to avoid unnecessary waste. InterfaceFABRIC is at www.interfacefabric.com, and InterfaceFLOR is online at www.interfaceflorcommercial.com.

Solar Energy International (SEI) recently held its first workshop, Photovoltaic Lab Week, at its new facility in Paonia, Colorado. Attendees installed three solar electric systems in the lab yard, gaining renewable energy training while helping SEI complete part of its new facility. SEI purchased the 7-acre (3-ha) site in Paonia in 2005 and has completed office and housing facilities for the staff. Future workshops will focus on installing a wind generator and creating a small multiuse building using natural building methods. SEI is online at www.solarenergy.org.

Even with flyash and other cement-reducing additives, portland cement is still required to make concrete for most projects. But now there might be a way to specify that the cement comes from a relatively efficient plant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a program to help increase the energy efficiency of cement plants and recognize the most efficient among them. The Energy Performance Indicator (EPI) for cement plants includes a spreadsheet that computes the efficiency of a facility based on the type and amount of energy it uses and the amount of cement it produces. The tool then compares the plant’s efficiency to the national average. EPA classifies plants that score in the top 25% as “energy efficient.” The EPI for cement plants was created with technical support from Argonne National Laboratory and the Portland Cement Association.

The new General Motors Corporation’s (GM’s) Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant is the world’s first automobile manufacturing plant to achieve a Gold rating under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED^® for New Construction rating system. Designed and constructed by Alberici Group, Inc., the plant is expected to save 40 million gallons (175 million l) of water and 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity over its first ten years of operation, compared to a conventional plant. The plant features a rainwater collection system, a reflective white roof, energy-efficient task lighting, and 75 acres (30 ha) of preserved natural habitat. GM hasn’t reported on the efficiency of the new crossover sport utility vehicles to be manufactured in this building, but we trust they’ll do justice to their birthplace by achieving fuel economy consistent with the building’s energy performance!