Latest in the growing list of small architecture firms created with an explicit focus on sustainability is

Architerra, led by Ellen Watts, AIA, and Dan Arons, AIA. Architerra plans to focus on high-performance building design, sustainable urban design and campus planning, smart growth, adaptive reuse, and brownfield redevelopment. The... Read more

first U.S. laboratory approved to test office equipment to the German Blue Angel standard (see

EBN

Vol. 12, No. 11). AQS, based in Atlanta, will test office equipment including printers, fax machines, and photocopiers for emissions of ozone, benzene, styrene, dust, and volatile... Read more

The green-building consulting firm Paladino & Company, Inc. has hired

Kristin Ralff Douglas as director of business development and programs. Ralff Douglas will lead the expansion of Paladino’s Get to Green® training workshops and direct programs tailored to campus and multiple-building clients who are adopting a sustainable asset-... Read more

The City of Santa Monica Green Building Program has announced a

grant program to encourage green building in the private sector. The City offers a grant for any building certified under the LEED® Rating System for New Construction—$20,000 for each LEED Certified building, $25,000 for Silver, $30,000 for Gold, and $35,000 for Platinum.... Read more

Following a four-year development process, the nonprofit Building Commissioning Association (BCA) unveiled its commissioning certification program on April 12, 2004. According to BCA, this is the first international commissioning certification program offered by a nonprofit organization. BCA anticipates that the certified commissioning... Read more

Stanford University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is seeking applications for a tenure-track assistant professor or untenured associate professor

position focusing on the sustainable development of buildings and other infrastructure. The review of applications will begin September 15, 2004. More information is... Read more

Smart growth policies are good for construction jobs, according to a study published by Good Jobs First, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center promoting best practices in economic development. The report, “The Jobs are Back in Town: Urban Smart Growth and Construction Employment,” counters the assumption that “smart growth equals no growth... Read more

Three conservation organizations have sued the federal government to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require maximum achievable

reductions in mercury and other toxic air pollutants emitted by coal- and oil-fired power plants. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA’s deadline for issuing these standards was December 20,... Read more

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), the organization most actively promoting green roofs in North America, has announced the winners of its second annual Awards of Excellence.

Winners were selected for industrial and commercial, institutional, and residential projects for both intensive (with more than 6” of growing medium) and... Read more

Christine Ervin is stepping down from her leadership role.

Rick Fedrizzi, founder and president of Green-Think, Inc., and founding chairman of USGBC, has been selected to fill her position in an acting capacity. According to the Council, “The change is... Read more

Scientific Certification Systems, Inc.has released an

Indoor Air Quality Performance certification program for interior products. The program is designed to demonstrate product conformance with the indoor emissions limits associated with California’s Section 01350 specification, as well as emission criteria in the LEED

® Rating... Read more

green building strategies at two new supercenters in Aurora, Colorado and McKinney, Texas. The retailer plans to partner with colleges and universities to measure the success of the technologies; results will then be shared with the broader design and retail industries, and... Read more

® Rating System based outside the U.S. was officially launched in Vancouver, British Columbia on April 14, 2004 by the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). The program is now accepting project registrations and has, in fact, already received its first full application, from the City of Vancouver. The development of LEED-BC was... Read more

Awards & Competitions

2004 Design Competition for an Ecohouse. The competition is based on the principles described in the book

Ecohouse 2. Author Sue Roaf says the challenge is “to... Read more

The

Certified Wood and Paper Association (CWPA), which was formed in 2002 during a reorganization of the Certified Forest Products Council, ceased operations on April 15, 2004. According to a letter on the CWPA Web site by the Board of Directors, the organization was forced to dissolve due to lack of financial resources. Michael... Read more

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Michael Holtz, president of Architectural Energy Corporation in Boulder, Colorado;

Peter... Read more