Sustainable Development Focus
CBRE - Apr 14 Green buildings are good for the environment—that is well known. But what benefits do they offer the people who inhabit them? A recent report from the World Green Building Council tackles that matter head-on, looking at the impact of environmentally friendly construction on user productivity and well-being in the retail sector. One notable example, cited both by the Council’s report, is a major global retailer that explored the effect of natural light versus artificial light on sales. Using a concept store in which one half of the store was naturally lit and the other half was lit artificially, the company found that sales per square foot were significantly higher in the naturally lit half.
GreenBiz - Mar 4 There are many ways to reduce a company’s carbon footprint and energy spending, but you may be surprised at the most popular. Based on revenue gains last year in the various advanced energy segments — including solar, wind, gas turbines, biofuels, energy storage, and building efficiency technologies — the last grabbed the biggest share of revenues, at $63.6 billion globally and $52.8 billion in the U.S., according to the Advanced Energy Economy group. In addition, solar revenues jumped 21 percent year over year to $22.6 billion - and tripled over the past five years. SunPower Vice President Tom Starrs, head of market development and policy, said he sees three changing dynamics in the solar market propelling big uptake by companies, residents and utilities, including that utility scale power plants are finally gaining acceptance in the utility sector overall, with solar becoming a significant piece of many utilities' electricity generation.
Gizmag - Apr 13 A major redevelopment of Ford's Dearborn campus in Michigan is set to see it become greener, more high-tech, and better at fostering innovation. The Ford Research and Engineering Center Campus will be developed into a new product campus, designed to accommodate 24,000 people, with 4.5 million square feet of floor space. Employees will be able to get around using autonomous vehicles, on-demand shuttles and e-bikes, or via the walking trails, bike paths and covered walkways that will link the campus. The designs draw upon the WELL Building Standard, which is aimed at improving the wellbeing of employees based on air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mental and emotional health.
KQED - Apr 13 Historically, we’ve treated wastewater as something to be treated and dumped – a liability and not a resource. But Sebastien Tilmans may change our minds about that. Tilmans is the director of operations at the William and Cloy Codiga Resource Recovery Center at Stanford University. The center is working to accelerate the path to commercialization of wastewater technologies. California’s drought has helped to highlight growing interest in wastewater reuse to provide water resources for drinking water and non-potable uses such as flushing toilets and irrigation.
Los Angeles Times - Apr 13 Addressing decades of complaints from some of the city's most neglected corners, Los Angeles officials last week launched a groundbreaking effort to reduce health risks from industrial and traffic pollution that have plagued neighborhoods from the harbor area to the San Fernando Valley. The City Council unanimously approved special land-use restrictions for some of L.A.'s most polluted neighborhoods and adopted citywide requirements for higher-rated air filters in new developments near freeways. The measures mark a significant effort to bring environmental justice to toxic hot spots where residents of largely low-income communities have for years fought for greater health protections from a heavy concentration of junk yards, auto body shops, oil refineries, factories, freeways and other pollution sources.
Affordable Housing Finance - Apr 15 The Six in Los Angeles, which had its grand opening this month, is Skid Row Housing Trust’s first development with permanent supportive housing specifically for veterans. The Six provides 52 units of permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless veterans and disabled individuals. With solar thermal panels, Energy Star appliances, water-efficient fixtures, and environmentally friendly building materials, The Six has also received LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
