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Sustainability is bigger than we think.

The GreenCityBlueLake Network is the network of organizations, projects and people that are leading the transformation to a sustainable future in Northeast Ohio. This network is bigger than commonly appreciated—and it's growing rapidly. It's setting an inspiring new agenda for the region. It's creating a cool identity for Northeast Ohio as a place of green cities on a blue lake. And it's providing a context for planning and action that will help move the region into the 21st century.

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Preview the Environmental Center Virtual Tour

The CEC and Virtually Green are developing a Virtual Tour of the Environmental Center to educate the public about its green building. The tour highlights just a few of the building’s features.

As an immersive educational project, 360-degree panoramic photographs allow viewers to navigate the building, click on components like light fixtures and furniture, learn about LEED design features and hear first-hand experiences from tenants about the building.

Click the button on the Virtually Green site to send comments and suggestions. If you’d like to see more of the building included in the tour, let us know. Take the tour now

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New Case North Residential Village Will Be Green

Case Western Reserve University is in the process of designing a new residential facility that will advance environmentally responsible practices in planning, design, constrction, living and learning in its master plan. To learn more about this exciting project visit the Case Western Housing website at housing.cwru.edu or download the brochure (PDF).

HPAC Engineering presents:
Engineering Green Buildings Conference
The first-ever national conference on green buildings for engineers
Co-Hosted by Cleveland Green Building Coalition
July 20-23, 2004

Engineering Green Buildings (EGB) will provide intensive, interactive training sessions and case-study discussions for the commercial, industrial, and institutional building sectors for new construction, renovation, and O&M. It will serve as a forum for introducing green-building processes and products to the non-residential mechanical-engineering community. It will also serve as a forum for the mechanical-engineering community to hone their skills to meet the challenges of green-building design, construction, operations, maintenance, and commissioning.

For more information or to register, visit Engineering Green Buildings.

In conjunction with this conference, Cleveland GBC is offering workshops on Building Commissioning and the USGBC workshop on LEED for Existing Buildings. Cleveland GBC is also offering a speaker event with Bob Kobet, "What Good is a Green School if No One Knows How to Use It?"

LEED for Existing Buildings Workshop
This official USGBC workshop is offered by Cleveland GBC in partnership with the Engineering Green Buildings Conference
July 23, 2004

This half-day session for building owners, facility managers and design teams will cover the technical requirements and process for achieving certification under the LEED for Existing Buildings Rating System scheduled for public release in 2004.

Register online with USGBC

Workshop: Advanced LEED
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Cleveland State University
Convocation Center
Cleveland, OH
Register for this event through the USGBC Training Calendar

This workshop provides in depth instruction and hands on exercises to prepare design and construction professionals for pursuing LEED Certification of projects and/or LEED Professional Accreditation. Participants will build on their knowledge of the LEED-NC Rating System criteria and use LEED tools and resources in individual and team exercises. Completion of the LEED Intermediate Workshop or a strong knowledge of the LEED-NC Rating System and general green building practices and technologies is strongly recommended.

Greening Your Home Series:
Greening a Site with presentation by Jim LaRue
Saturday, February 14, 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Cleveland Environmental Center, Lower Level
(Use Lorain Road Entrance)
3500 Lorain Avenue
Cleveland, OH

Please register in advance by calling 216-961-8850.
Free for Cleveland GBC Members
$5 for non-members

When planning a new house or rehabbing an old one, we are often so focused on the building itself that we overlook the impact the building process can have on the site now and in the future.

  • Maintaining natural shade
  • Keeping water on the site (reducing runoff)
  • Landscaping to reduce the need for toxic chemicals for maintenance

Jim LaRue will address these issues for both new and existing homes.

Green Building Coalition Names Interim Administrator

In an effort to maintain organizational continuity and allow the most deliberative search possible for replacement of its outgoing Executive Director, the Cleveland Green Building Coalition’s Board of Trustees has appointed Wendell Robinson as Interim Administrator. Mr. Robinson will be responsible for oversight of the coalition’s day-to-day operations, and will assist in the recruitment and hiring of a replacement for the Green Building Coalition’s founder, Sadhu Johnston, who has assumed a position with Mayor Richard M. Daley’s executive staff in Chicago.

“With Sadhu’s departure, we realized that we had some significant shoes to fill,” said Christopher Noble, the Chairman of the Cleveland Green Building Coalition’s Board of Trustees. “Rather than react and replace him immediately, the Board wants to take a thoughtful and thorough approach to finding a new Executive Director. We want to be sure that we find the best possible person for the position. Bringing in Wendell allows us the flexibility of time and expertise to accomplish this.”

Wendell Robinson is a professional services consultant providing counsel and interim management to non-profit organizations. He recently served as the Executive Director of the West Side YMCA and currently provides organizational assistance for the Ohio Close the Gap Campaign. His work with the Cleveland Green Building Coalition will also include assisting current staff in project implementation and maintaining funder relationships.

“I’m looking forward to helping the Coalition as it takes this step into the future,” Robinson said. “Sadhu did a great job assembling such a highly qualified staff, and it’s my honor to help them with moving the organization’s mission forward.”

The Cleveland Green Building Coalition’s Board has created a committee to direct a nation wide search for its new Executive Director. Information regarding the position’s qualifications and other criteria can be found here.

Tree-planting Party at the Cleveland Environmental Center on October 11, 2003

Join us from 9am to 3pm on Saturday, October 11, for a planting party of our EcoFence at the Cleveland Environmental Center on the corner of Lorain and Fulton.

EcoFence Planting Poster

Click on the poster image for a larger version.

(Full size – 1.84MB)

Strawbale Picnic Pot Luck

On Saturday, September 20, there will be a picnic-style potluck gathering to dedicate the strawbale tool shed built last year during the Strawbale Workshop at the EcoVillage Community Garden. The event begins at 5:00pm, the dedication is at 6:00pm, and things wrap up at 7:00pm. For more information, view the event flyer.

Director of Green Schools Hired
August 11, 2003

Tim GolerThe Cleveland Green Building Coalition has hired Tim Goler to direct the school facilities initiatives of the Cleveland Green Building Coalition.

Mr. Goler brings years of experience in the education and community development fields to the organization. Previous accomplishments include working as Director of Urban Development at the Learning Communities Network, various functions at the Cleveland Municipal School District, including: Director of Parent Involvement, and Advisor to the Superintendent. In addition to his commitment to Greater Cleveland he serves on various boards and advisory committees.

This new position has been created because The Cleveland Green Building Coalition recognizes that each day 1 in 5 Americans spends time in school facilities and that each day over $2 million is spent on facilities construction across the State of Ohio. Simple green school strategies employed early in the process of school design can significantly reduce the on-going costs of maintaining the facilities. Schools designed and constructed with green building strategies can significantly increase student productivity while decreasing the number of sick-days that students take.

This newly created position aims to insure that the best design and construction practices are employed in Northeast Ohio and that state and local policies encourage these strategies. To learn more about green schools concepts, visit the Green Schools section of this site.

Shaker Heights Energy Assessors

Interested in being an energy assessor for the Shaker Heights Go Green Rebate Programs? See the forms below:

There will be a pre-proposal meeting on September 11, 2003, at 9:00a.m. at the Shaker Heights Community Building that any interested energy assessor can attend if they want more information or have any questions. Proposals are due by noon on September 19, 2003.

Contact Jayme Lucas at 216-491-1373 or jayme.lucas@ci.shaker-heights.oh.us for more information.

Green Contractors Wanted

The City of Shaker Heights has released the Request for Letters of Interest and the Interested Contractor Form for the newly created Go Green Rebate Program.

In the fall of 2003, The City of Shaker Heights will introduce the “Go Green” Rebate Program, a home improvement program designed to help homeowners make their homes healthier and more energy efficient. The program will encourage homeowners to get energy audits, and to make home improvements based on those audits. The City will provide rebates for work, and help residents access low-interest loans

For more information on the program, or how to become involved, click on either link above to see each form.

Shaker Heights City Council Unanimously Approves Green Building Legislation

Members of Shaker's City Council voted May 27 to approve a Green Building measure that would support use of sustainable building and design practices in all new public and private construction.

The City's focus on green building includes construction of its new firehouse and planned infill housing using green techniques, as well as the following:

  • Redevelopment of Shaker Towne Centre with attractive, walkable streets
  • Energy reduction projects incorporated into Thornton Park operations
  • Interior lighting fixtures in City buildings converted to energy efficient fluorescents
  • Approximately 3,000 tons of recyclable material collected last year
  • Landscaping
    • Reduced use of herbicide lawn application
    • Incorporation of native plant material, requiring less water and care
    • Mulching grass clippings to limit use of landfills and to fertilize lawns
  • Use of environmentally friendly cleaning supplies, whenever possible
  • Working with residents to identify opportunities to expand and improve green space, known as the Greenspace Initiative.
  • Historic preservation
  • Transit friendly environment
  • Streetscape redesigns with better water drainage and recapture of rainwater for trees.

The City sees the following benefits as a result of this focus:

  • Good Fiscal Management - relatively small initial investments leverage annual energy and other savings, freeing up funds for other services.
  • Quality of Life - high quality, healthy living and working environments are known to improve performance and reduce illness.
  • Economic Development Potential - business opportunities in environmentally friendly communities exist for green product entrepreneurs and for new homebuyers.
  • Environmental Stewardship - green practices minimize local ecological degradation.

For more information, call Kamla Lewis, Director of Neighborhood Revitalization, 491-1370.

City of Lakewood Adopts Green Building Policy

On April 7th, 2003 Lakewood City Council unanimously adopted a green building policy.? Councilman Denis Dunn, the leader of the effort?discussed the benefits of the policy for the?health of the community and the environment, as well as the potential financial benefits for the municipality.?? The full policy as adopted is included below:

A RESOLUTION to adopt a City of Lakewood Green Building Policy,to promote sustainable development strategies consistent with the enormous opportunities to effect change in the way buildings are designed, built, and maintained to ensure that Lakewood is an environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy place to live and work.

WHEREAS, development and construction practices are main contributors to the depletion of natural resources and a major cause of air and water pollution, solid waste, deforestation, toxic wastes, health hazards, global warming, and other negative consequences; and

WHEREAS, buildings currently use one-quarter of the entire world?s wood harvest and consume two-fifths of all material and energy flows. Fifty-four percent of U.S. energy consumption is directly or indirectly related to buildings and their construction. Building construction and operations account for 35 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions; and?

WHEREAS, Green building practices provide the framework and tools to build in an efficient, healthy, and ecologically responsible manner while serving the public?s interest, as these techniques:

  • Conserve energy, water, and other natural resources.
  • Strengthen established goals related to increased density, mixed use, and transit-oriented development, storm water and erosion control, brown field redevelopment, and increased bicycle and pedestrian access.
  • Save the city, building owners, and tenants money through increased operation and maintenance efficiencies.
  • Improve indoor air quality and the health, well being, and productivity of occupants.
  • Help reduce public infrastructure costs related to development.
  • Minimize local ecological degradation (habitat, air, soil, and water) through efficient site and building design, sustainable construction practices, and low impact building materials and operational practices.
  • Keeps money in the local economy and creates new local industries and jobs; and
?????

WHEREAS, Lakewood encourages investment and the redevelopment and renovation of many buildings within the community, the need to create additional strategies to protect air and water quality, minimize the depletion of natural resource, and abate inefficient land use practices exists. The built environment represents a major opportunity for the City, along with local designers, engineers, developers, builders, lenders, appraisers, and other sectors of the building trades, to address local and global environmental degradation. Promoting energy and resource efficient building practices is one such strategy; now, therefore:

???????????BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1.?????????

That this Council, for itself and on behalf of all the citizens of this community, adopts a City of Lakewood Green Building Policy, to promote sustainable development strategies consistent with the enormous opportunities to effect change in the way buildings are designed, built, and maintained to ensure that Lakewood is an environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy place to live and work, which reads:

City of Lakewood Green Building Policy

I.?Policy Statement

The City of Lakewood shall incorporate green building principles and practices into the design, construction, and operation of all City facilities, City-funded projects, and infrastructure projects to the fullest extent practicable. Furthermore, the City will provide leadership and guidance to encourage the application of green building practices in private sector development. This policy is expected to yield long-term cost savings to the City?s taxpayers due to substantial improvements in life-cycle performance and reduced life-cycle cost

In addition, the City shall evaluate all land purchases for future development on the basis of reducing environmental impacts that include, but are not limited to, transit and bicycle accessibility, urban and brown field redevelopment, solar access, on-site storm water mitigation capacity, and vegetation and habitat restoration.???????????

Integrated Design and Life-Cycle Analysis

Successful green buildings depend on applying whole-systems strategies to rigorous life-cycle analysis. Effective integrated design strategies consider and solve a variety of relevant issues simultaneously. Life-cycle analysis helps assess the net present value of the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and disassembly of a facility as well as the health and productivity of its occupants. When integrated design and life cycle analysis are combined, better and more affordable building strategies emerge. Currently, design and construction budgets for City-owned facilities are established using square-foot formulas based on industry standards (facility type, land value, and other factors affecting cost prior to design). In addition, construction and operations budgeting occurs separately – making it difficult to invest in green building practices that may have higher up front costs. In order to develop green building strategies that have the most beneficial economic and environmental benefits, the City should apply 20 to 30 year life-cycle costing that integrates construction and operations and maintenance budgets into all building related capital improvements.

LEED Rating System

The City of Lakewood Green Building Policy should be tied, in part, to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC was formed in 1993 to accelerate the adoption of green building practices, technologies, policies, and standards. The USGBC developed LEED to help stimulate green building market transformation. USGBC membership consists of more than 2000 organizations including product manufacturers, environmental non profit organizations, building and design professionals, building owners, and local and state governments.

LEED is a third party certification system designed for rating new and existing commercial, institutional, and high-rise residential buildings. The use of LEED helps to establish minimum performance levels, creates a common design and construction practice framework, and allows Lakewood to measure its sustainable building performance relative to other jurisdictions using LEED. In addition, USGBC provides technical rulings, training, networking and marketing to members.

II.?Policy Objectives???????????

  1. The City of Lakewood shall attempt to integrate the LEED certification level of green building practices into all facilities projects constructed, owned, managed or financed by the City including new construction, operation and maintenance strategies, and major retrofits.
    2. ???????????
  2. The City of Lakewood shall encourage green building practices for current and future civic buildings and program areas, to include libraries, recreational facilities, senior and affordable housing, and schools.
    3. ???????????
  3. The construction, operation, and maintenance of public infrastructure that serves building development shall be periodically reviewed in order to further integrate sustainable practices.?
  4. The City shall promote the voluntary application of the Green Building Guidelines in private sector building design, construction, and operations.

III.?Implementation

  1. The City of Lakewood Green Building Policy shall be forwarded to the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Board of Building Standards and Buildings Appeals, the Division of Community Development and the Lakewood Heritage Advisory Board for review consistent with the above referenced policy objectives.
  2. The Housing Committee and the Administration shall issue a semi-annual progress report to City Council on efforts to promote sustainable development and green building practices.

Section 2.?

That the Clerk of Council be and is hereby authorized and directed to forward a certified copy of this resolution to the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Board of Building Standards and Buildings Appeals, the Division of Community Development, the Lakewood Heritage Advisory Board, the Housing Committee of Lakewood City Council, and the Administration for implementation, and that a copy of this resolution be spread upon the minutes of this meeting.

URS Green Design Gets National Honor


The new Federal Courthouse in Youngstown, Ohio has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The courthouse is the first LEED-certified building in Ohio and the nation’s first federal courthouse to earn LEED certification.

The Cleveland office of URS, the nation’s premiere design firm located in the historic Warehouse District, prepared the architectural, engineering, and environmental design drawings in conjunction with Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York City. Dick Corporation was the construction manager.

LEED certification is proof that the construction industry is becoming far more environmentally conscious. The LEED standards, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a coalition of industry leaders that promote environmental building, recognize buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work.

Case studies have shown that LEED can directly reduce building construction and operating costs through greater durability and enhanced occupant productivity. The LEED Rating System places great emphasis on energy and water management that can cut utility costs in half.

The four-story Youngstown Courthouse is approximately 50,000 square feet and houses the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Internal Revenue Services, congressional offices, the U.S. Trustees, and the General Services Administration.

The courthouse, which incorporates regional architectural traditions and indigenous materials in the design of its interior and exterior, was planned for energy efficiency, ease of maintenance, and efficient space utilization and flexibility.

“The Youngstown Courthouse is a perfect example of they way URS is beginning to design buildings with an environmental impact,” said Gary Hribar, URS Vice President of Business Development. “The LEED certification is significant in that it gives us a solid endorsement that our ecological designs are on target.”

URS is a global, full-service company that employs 350 people in Northeast Ohio and more than 26,000 employees worldwide. The firm has more than 300 offices in 30 countries.

Energy Smart Community Challenge

Several Cleveland organizations have successfully partnered to place Cleveland as an Ohio leader in energy efficiency by being awarded the The Governor’s Energy Smart Community Challenge. The awards are an opportunity for numerous Ohio Communities to take a leadership role in creating an energy efficient economy. Governor Taft believes that “Ohio’s prosperity in the 21st century will depend, in part, upon our ability to conserve energy and use it more efficiently. I commend the community award winners for their creative initiatives, which are helping Ohio become more energy efficient.”

The Cleveland partners, including The Cleveland Green Building Coalition, Detroit Shoreway CDO, Earthday Coalition, EcoCity Cleveland, and Entrepreneurs for Sustainability have identified numerous goals which they will work together to achieve by 2005.

2005 goals include:

Transportation – A) Develop a car-sharing operation to include bikes and scooters; B) 100 alternative fuel vehicles centrally fuelled.

Renewable Energy – A) A total of 50Kwh solar generating capacity; B) One large-scale wind generating project in Northeast Ohio.

Buildings – A) Green building advisory services; B) Green schools adopted in Cleveland; C) Five local builders to adopt green residential construction practices.

Business and Industry – A) Five businesses to adopt energy efficiency programs; B) Five industries to adopt energy efficiency programs.

Media – A) Conduct five presentations to editorial staff of local media; B) Public Relations Firm to provide assistance in educating media on benefits of energy efficiency; C) Public television to air ODOD video series.

To get involved with our partnership contact the CGBC Office (216) 623-0033. To learn more about the Governors Energy Smart Community Challenge, visit: http://www.odod.state.oh.us/cdd/oee/es_challenge.htm


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