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Interface joins Chicago Climate Exchange
 Interface,
Inc. has become a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange
(CCX), a voluntary, multi-sector market for reducing
and trading greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As a member
of the CCX, Interface commits to quantify and report
emissions from the manufacture of its products in North
America. The CCX requires members to reduce GHG emissions
each year for a minimum of four years and CCX members
can meet their reduction commitments by making on-site
emission reductions or buying credits on the CCX market.
Members who reduce emissions beyond stated goals are
able to sell their reductions on the Exchange. Interface
joins the World Resources Institute, Rocky Mountain
Institute, Green Mountain Power, Ford Motor Company,
International Paper and numerous others in this effort.
“We are proud to be joining the Chicago
Climate Exchange,” said Michael D. Bertolucci,
president, Interface Research Corporation and senior
vice president, Interface, Inc. “Doing so is very
much in keeping with the path that we have laid out
for reaching sustainability on seven key fronts—specifically
our goals for eliminating all harmful emissions. We
strive to lead others forward through the power of our
influence by supporting those voluntary initiatives
that are focused on the creation of economically viable,
market-based solutions for averting global climate change.”
“As we continue to diversify our
membership, I am pleased to have Interface join CCX,”
said Dr. Richard L. Sandor, chairman and CEO of CCX.
“They represent a new sector in our Exchange and
are an innovator in environmentally responsible products.
I applaud Interface for their forward thinking and look
forward to their contributions to CCX.” Interface,
now celebrating its 10th year on the journey to sustainability,
considers global climate change to be a key strategy
for reaching its goals for preserving the earth for
future generations.
For more information on Interface’s
environmental initiatives, visit these web sites: www.interfacesustainability.com
or www.terratex.com.
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Jacoby Development sponsors EarthCraft
House internship program
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James Hickman and Jim Jacoby
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Long time Southface friend and supporter
Jim Jacoby recently found a way to broaden his involvement
with the organization. Always impressed by Southface’s
ability to recruit and educate talented young people through
our internship program, Jacoby nominated an intern who
is now in the middle of a six-month EarthCraft House internship.
Furthermore, Jacoby Development has directed a contribution
to the EarthCraft House internship program. For information
on supporting any one of our many programs, email our
Development Director at marci@southface.org. More information
on internships and fellowships, online at: www.southface.org |
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Initiatives give affordable housing
developers funds to build green
Many affordable housing financing and
support programs are encouraging high performance, healthy,
and durable projects. Southface has taken its expertise
in the area of energy efficiency and housing to collaborate
on a new state initiative. With Southface, an advocate
in the planning process, the Georgia Department of Community
Affairs saw the potential of “green” through
the initial EarthCraft House Multifamily pilot project.
Now it provides incentives for ENERGY STAR home certification
through the 2004 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) that
determines which affordable housing projects receive
tax credit financing. Aided partly by a grant from The
Home Depot Foundation, the state of Virginia is currently
contemplating a similar approach in their QAP and is
hoping to test its viability through pilot projects
in 2005. The Enterprise Foundation recently announced
a program that will provide upwards of $550 million
in grants and specialized financing for affordable housing
projects that meet sustainability requirements. This
momentum seems likely to expand and continue.
However, some barriers to success must
be overcome. Principle among these is the added cost
of pre-construction project evaluation, such as plan
reviews and energy modeling, to determine if participation
in a green building certification program is feasible.
For-profit developers are able to recover these costs
from the homebuyer, but affordable housing developers
do not enjoy the luxury of this margin.
This initiative provides matching funds
to enable non-profit developers to analyze the environmental
performance of their projects, ten of which will pursue
certification and become EarthCraft Affordable Housing
pilot projects. The mission of the EarthCraft Affordable
Housing Initiative is to demonstrate that sustainability
and affordability go hand in hand. Southface provides
developers and contractors with support on both project
planning and in the field. The grant will build the
capacity of participating affordable housing developers
and stimulate consideration of green building in the
affordable housing community at large.
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Arthur M. Blank Family Office gains
“golden” recognition for Leadership in Energy
& Environmental Design (LEED)
The Arthur M. Blank Family Office building
in Atlanta received recognition for Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED), becoming the first
LEED-Gold certified building in the Southeast region.
Home to The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation as well
as the parent company of the Blank-owned businesses,
AMB Group, LLC, the building opened in March 2004 and
was officially certified LEED-Gold in August.
“In designing and constructing our
family office, we challenged our entire team to deliver
a building that would provide a healthy work environment
with both psychological and physiological benefits to
its occupants,” said Arthur M. Blank, chairman
of the family foundation and chairman and CEO of AMB
Group. “We wanted to do the right thing for our
associates, community and environment, and to hopefully
cause others to follow our example. This award is a
tribute to the group of committed professionals who
helped us achieve our goals, and it is a wonderful culmination
of our dreams, plans and efforts.”
The environmental focus of the family
office building is also in keeping with the work of
the family foundation, which supports nonprofit programs
to protect the environment.
“It is because of the high level of commitment
shown by these types of projects that the USGBC is progressively
realizing its goal of transforming the nation’s
building practices,” said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC
president, CEO & founding chairman.
The team working on this project included
Southface as well as:
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Bill Darden, project manager, Darden
& Company |
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H. Jay Enck, Commissioning & Green
Building Services (CxGBS) |
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Surber Barber Choate & Hertlein
Architects, architectural design |
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Culpepper, McAuliffe and Meaders,
Inc., interior design |
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Barrett Woodyard & Associates,
mechanical and electrical design |
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HighGrove Partners, landscape design
using Xeriscape™ principles |
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PBS&J and (Barrett Woodyard &
Associates), landscape irrigation |
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Hardin Construction Company, LLC
and Humphries Company, construction and contracting
services |
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Tributary at New Manchester devoted
to EarthCraft House
Tributary at New Manchester, a 1,600-acre development
planned adjacent to the Chattahoochee River and the
2,500-acre Sweetwater Creek State Park, will hold a
significant number of EarthCraft Homes in upcoming years–approximately
2,500. According to Rick Mildner, chief operating officer
of Douglasville Development, all homes at Tributary
at New Manchester will be constructed to EarthCraft
House standards. Mildner also said, “In addition
to providing a healthier living environment inside the
home, EarthCraft-certified homes have been shown to
deliver lower operating costs.” EarthCraft House
has certified about 2,000 single-family homes in its
five-year history, and the program is excited for a
commitment of this size. Currently those committed to
building 100 percent of their homes EarthCraft House:
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Atlanta Habitat for Humanity |
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Coastal Living Homes (Savannah) |
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Culiver & Grimshaw Inc. |
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Donny Brook Homes, Inc. |
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Hatcher Homes |
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Haven Properties |
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Hedgewood Properties Inc. |
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McConnell Homes |
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Summerfield Homes |
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Vaughn Homes, Inc. |
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Winslow Homes, LLC. (Macon) |
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Greenprints partners with NAHB Green
Building Conference
The March 2005 NAHB Green Building Conference is co-hosted
by Greenprints, the Southface conference that has served
Atlanta’s design and construction community for
eight years. This year a special Greenprints Track has
been included in the March 14-15 conference sessions,
which aim toward “greening the American dream.”
Topics include proper HVAC sizing, integrating solar
into conventional construction projects, preventing
mold and the return of a Greenprints favorite –
an extended hands-on workshop on community design. The
closing keynote address will be delivered by Pam Sessions,
president of Hedgewood Properties. Pre-conference activities
include a green building tour of EarthCraft new construction,
renovation, multifamily and community projects. Pick
up a registration brochure at Southface or learn more
about the conference online at www.NAHB.org/greenbuilding.
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At the Winter Solstice Party, Southface handed out
its annual awards. The Southface Award of Excellence
was given to The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association,
and accepted by Bill Robie. The 2005 Volunteer of the
Year Award went to the Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable
steering committee, including (seen holding plaques,
left to right): Tom Weyandt representing the Atlanta
Regional Commission and Georgia Planning Association,
Robert Reed representing AIA Atlanta, Susan Kidd representing
The Georgia Conservancy and Leon Eplan representing
ULI Atlanta. Also receiving a Volunteer of the Year
award was Keith Howard of Styro Systems (see above).
Members of the Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable steering
committee not pictured: Kerry Blind representing the
ASLA Georgia Chapter and Gregg Johnson representing
ACEC/GA.
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The Arthur M. Blank Family
Office graciously hosted a kick-off event for the Southface
Eco Office. In attendance were Atlanta developers, product
manufacturers and those interested in learning more about
the Eco Office. If you wish to learn more about how you
can be involved
in the Eco Office, contact Marci Reed at marci@southface.org
or call
404/872-3549 ext.124.
Pictured left: Sales Manager Christy Hughes, Director
of Marketing (New Equipment Business) Russ Mitchell and
Tim Disher, Assistant VP, Regional Sales Manager of KONE
Elevators & Escalators, which has committed to donate
an elevator to the Southface Eco Office. |
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A veteran
of the commercial construction industry, Dianne
Butler will bring her skills to the residential
segment as the newest member of the EarthCraft House
team, serving as the EarthCraft House development
director. Previous positions with Architect’s
First Source, Construction Market Data Group (CMDG),
and Building Systems Design (BSD) have given her
a wealth of experience working with building product
manufacturers, on regional and national levels.
In the past, Butler has participated with endeavors
through the American Institute of Architects and
Construction Specifications Institute. |
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Nadine Lang
recently joined Southface as the residential workshop
coordinator. With a background in accounting, computer
science, counseling and education, Lang will use
her expertise to oversee the various trainings hosted
by Southface and EarthCraft House. Lang is also
a certified credit counselor and housing counselor.
During her years as an education coordinator and
a housing counselor with the Consumer Credit Counseling
Service, she was involved with the Housing &
Urban Development (HUD) Home Ownership Center in
Atlanta. |
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