• Meet The Trainers: Scott Kelly and David Johnston
  
• We Want To Hear From You!
  
• Spotlight On: York College of Pennsylvania Engineering Innovation Center
• 2008 Tax Deduction Supports Commercial Green Building Practices
  
• Green Advantage in the News: Certification Benefits Building Professionals
  
• Welcome to GA's New COO and General Counsel
  
• Announcing Green Advantage's New Director of Certification
  
• Green Tip from Matthew Wylie of Texas
  
• Green Advantage at GreenBuild
  
• California Adopts Green Building Code
  
• Making a Difference: GreenFleet!
  
• Green Advantage Success Story: D.C. Chapter of NECA
  
• Upcoming Green Advantage Training Opportunities
  

Meet The Trainers: Scott Kelly and David Johnston

Green building was responsible for keeping Scott Kelly in Philadelphia. Scott found himself frustrated with the professional resistance to green and sustainable practices in the Philly region.

He had packed his bags and was seeking opportunities elsewhere when a former client called asking him for help on a what he called a “LEEDS” green office building. What a difference Scott has made in a short time.

Scott stayed in Philly and launched Re:Vision Architecture, one of the region's leading lights in green building. Re:Vision works exclusively on green and sustainable projects with a quarter of its business focused on educating architects and contractors about sustainable practices. In 2007, the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects named Scott the AIA Philadelphia Architect of the Year.

Scott waxes about greenbuilding in the attached video clip:

http://guerillaeducators.typepad.com/ge/2007/12/sustainable-des.html

The interview takes place at Aerzen Corporation's iconic new office/industrial complex in Coatesville, PA. It is the first industrial application of straw bale design in the United States and the country's first industrial application of Earth Tubes, as well.

In addition, Scott serves as an instructor for the Green Advantage® (GA) -Commercial Certification workshops. Scott was an early supporter of Green Advantage and one of the authors of the commercial curriculum. Scott has led around 17 GA workshops, preparing close to 1,000 people for Green Advantage Certification.

Scott stresses the benefits of Green Advantage Certification:

• Green Advantage introduces contractors to new concepts and techniques.

• Green Advantage helps remove the resistance of contractors to green and sustainable building and increases contractors' willingness to try it.

• Ultimately, Green Advantage results in a new skill set and a market advantage for contractors, important assets in these tough economic times. Contractors find they are able to beat the competition on bids, interviews, and end cost. Green Advantage helps them get more jobs.

• Green Advantage saves money by implementing good construction waste protocol, for example.

• Green Advantage gives new meaning to work, helping contractors do better for themselves and their families.

Scott notes that this last point may bring the relevance of green building home to some contractors. Green building may help the contractor's pocketbook and also his or her health. The health impacts of construction products are as important for workers as they are for the end user. When discussing PVC welding cement in classes, for example, Scott is greeted by stories of liver problems among the friends of workshop participants after a lifetime use of the material. The importance of integrating green thinking throughout the entire construction process is emphasized. Contractors come to realize the need for “green cleaners” to minimize VOC or chemical off-gassing or toxic residues.

An additional benefit of Green Advantage is that a contractor can earn an Innovation Credit for LEED by using GA-Certified staff. Certification offers a cost-effective alternative to other possible LEED credits, such as measurement and verification of building systems, and provides a market advantage for the Certified contractor considering a project bid. Scott points to Re:Vision Architecture’s role in earning the first LEED Innovation Credit awarded for GA-Certified professionals at Lake Smetana in Eden Prairie, Minnesota (see related article about the Bainey Group). Re:Vision also was involved in the LEED Innovation Credit for use of GA-certified professionals on the new 82,000 SF, multi-use office and retail space for Dansko Shoes in West Grove, Pennsylvania. The Dansko facility achieved LEED-NC Gold Certification.

For Scott, being a GA trainer helps build a cadre of people who understand green design and possible partners for future projects. Scott finds that GA training helps him build relationships with contractors and subcontractors and vet who he wants working on future jobs.

Contractors aren't the only participants in Scott's trainings of course. Architects, developers, real estate professionals, engineers, and building operations and management staff all benefit from Scott's knowledge of green building principles, practices, and processes. Scott draws on both his personal passion and his design experience with more than 60 LEED projects for each training program. Scott also does individual coaching of design and construction professionals on green building and LEED. Such coaching often helps change the mindset of national companies.

Scott emphasizes that this is an “incredibly exciting time to make a difference” and that Green Advantage is playing a significant role. For more information, see Re:Vision Architecture’s Web site.

Meet David Johnston

Residential Green Advantage® nationally acclaimed trainer and author, self-proclaimed “recovering builder”, and visionary. His job is “to facilitate the transition from conventional practice to green building,” a transition that is, in his view, a necessity not a luxury.

David is the founder of What's Working, Inc., a unique firm that guides clients ranging from individual homeowners to corporations and from states to municipalities on how to incorporate green building into everyday practice. Part of this is to lead residential GA training workshops. As one of the original GA trainers, David has introduced thousands of builders and other practitioners to green building. Now, each year, he leads more than 20 GA training programs across the country.

To David, the value of Green Advantage stems from its role as a third-party, independent source for certification: “Customers want to know that the work is certified quality. Consumers are seeking credible professionals to do green work and they're frustrated when they can't find them. People want the benefit of healthier products in their homes and the monthly savings that are possible from green building.” He continues, “the ‘green myths’ are that you can't find green products that perform, that they're expensive, and that you can't find architects or contractors familiar with these products and their installation and use. Consumers need confidence that their green investments will perform. Green Advantage addresses these myths head on.” In the process, GA introduces building professionals to green techniques in ways that make sense to them.

One way is through the Green Advantage training structure. David points to the workshop format, which uses builders’ language and follows the building process: starting with the foundation, then framing, roofing, plumbing, HVAC systems, and, finally, interior finishes.

David's own success in leading the GA training stems from his “builder brain.” Builders are the hardest audience, David says, but he gets through to them because he draws on his own building experience. He knows firsthand the challenges of locating exotic materials needed for a project while still making the weekly payroll.

Overall, David notes that green building is reaching a tipping point within the industry. Green building accounts for five to ten percent of residential building but this, according to David, is bound to increase. In fact, the head of the National Association of Home Builders pronounced last spring that builders who aren't building green when they come out of the recession won't be around much longer.

David tackles this need directly in his most recent book, Green from the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Home Construction (April 2008, Taunton Press). Designed as a reference for homeowners and contractors, the book offers “down-to-earth explanations of green building basics...for every step in design and construction, from framing to finishes.”

Since 1992, David has focused exclusively on building green. He helped Boulder, Colorado, develop the first national green code, the GreenPoints program, launched in the mid-1990s. He was also involved in California's Build It Green program that led to state-wide green building code (see the related article on California's recent incorporation of green building into the state's building code).

David's introduction to green building came in the 1970s. Solar energy was booming, and David realized that he could build homes that saved energy. He went to work with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop the national solar program. He had been building since high school but found his passion for building green as the only way to build.

Johnston is a sought-after lecturer and keynote speaker and has represented the United States at International Energy Agency meetings to develop international research agreements in the area of sustainable construction. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the prestigious SAM International Sustainability Pioneer Award from the European business community. He was given the“Corporate Excellence Award for Sustainable Development” from the University of Colorado and the“Environmental Hero for 2004” title by Interiors and Sources Magazine. Johnston was also named “Builder of the Year” by the Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and has been inducted into the Remodeling Magazine Hall of Fame.

What's next for David? He's working on a Web-based platform of national green building training and is planning additions to the Green Advantage training program. He intends to incorporate continuing education as part of the GA certification process and to develop the curriculum for advanced Green Advantage training. He hopes that Green from the Ground Up will be the basis for future residential Green Advantage training programs. Keep your eyes on www.greenbuilding.com for new developments and learn more at David's corporate Web site: www.whatsworking.com.

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