The region’s investment in a green convention center is paying off. Pittsburgh-based consulting firm, evolveEA performed a ground-breaking study to evaluate the David L. Lawrence Convention Center’s (DLCC) operations, marking the first time a prominent LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified building has undergone a comprehensive evaluation for green operations, which has culminated in the facility becoming the first LEED Platinum convention center certified under the Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance rating system. Christine Mondor, Principal... 

Part III of our series, Navigating the Sea of Sustainability Standards, will round out our overview of the complex framework and standard marketplace. While this series may not be fully comprehensive, it presents food for thought concerning leading framework and sustainability evaluation tools across a number of relevant industries and trades. Others continue to compile more complete databases, including very sector specific standards and certifications—one such database can be found at ecolabel index. We prefer to simply illustrate the importance for an organization to evaluate... 

Part one (Places) of our three part series, Navigating the Sea of Sustainability Standards explored the role of standards within an expanding green building market. In summary, certifications and standards have ushered in a new era of green building development, by establishing a set of shared principles, which has led to rapid market uptake. Given the success and widespread expansion of rating systems such as LEED and Energy star into the design, construction and operations industry, we ask next what certifications and standards might best apply to an organization and its... 

evolveEA’s Christine Mondor will speak at a Green Building Alliance event addressing the DLCC’s green features, performance, and operations, past, present, and future. evolveEA led the project team that analyzed the convention center’s performance as an innovative green building. Christine will highlight the challenges and triumphs in this effort that’s sure to have significant implications for the Pittsburgh region and for the convention center industry. Pre-registration for this event is recommended. Time and location are as follows: Hall A David L. Lawrence... 

Upon its completion in 2003, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLCC) received LEED-NC Gold certification, was the world’s largest green building (at 1.5 million sq-ft), and was the first LEED certified convention center. Since its opening in 2004, the DLCC has generated more than $673 million in direct local spending1 to Pittsburgh businesses, much of which has resulted from events attracted by the DLCC’s sustainability focus. To capitalize on the support of the Convention Center’s operations, evolveEA and its consultant team was hired by the Heinz Endowments... 

When it comes to sustainability there’s a vast sea of information available—and it’s not always easy to parse out accurate claims vs. marketing hyperbole. Phrases such as ‘all natural’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ have been slapped on about everything and anything we buy. First let us acknowledge that everything is relative, and that these claims often exist somewhere along a spectrum, but beyond that, how might an individual better determine the accuracy of a particular claim or make a more informed choice?  One common and effective way to verify such claims... 

Greening Existing Buildings on College Campuses | evolveEA Attending this year’s annual AASHE conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh supported our ongoing efforts in the realm of higher education, one of the leading sectors in sustainability thinking and implementation. We have been particularly interested in helping schools improve their overall performance by way of LEED certification for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (EBOM). The presentation above explores this concept in-depth, as a method of engaging college... 

Returning from the Food Marketing Institute’s Energy and Store Development Conference in Atlanta, I pondered the unique role that supermarkets play in our daily lives. Trends unveiled at the conference include a blurring of the lines between restaurant and store, as well a move away from hydrocarbons towards natural refrigerants, such as CO2, that cause no ozone depletion. This would be a welcome transition, as Keilly Whitman, Manager of the EPA’s Greenchill program, noted that a typical store’s refrigerant leakage alone has more environmental impact than the store’s... 

Buildings are the most ubiquitous form covering modern landscapes. Their pervasiveness presents a paradox—our built environment is both crucial to and a symbol of modernity—but also a major contributor to degradation that threatens future prosperity. Simultaneously, our buildings define and separate us as human, but require significant yet finite environmental resources. Buildings in the United States are responsible for consuming 70% of all electricity generated, and cover 50,000 square miles of land, an area equivalent to the state of Ohio. Over the past twenty years we’ve... 

Alcoa, a global leader in mining, refining and smelting Alumina, has been committed to corporate wide sustainability initiatives since the 1980’s. Alcoa began to report and actively reduce emissions as early as 1993 and has reduced absolute greenhouse gas emissions 37% as of 2010 against their 1990 baseline targets. They’ve won numerous global sustainability leadership awards and have begun to effectively implement strategic sustainability initiative across the corporation. The management staff at Alcoa’s corporate headquarters has similarly been committed to sustainable... 

Nobel Prize Winning economist Milton Friedman was famous for his statement that, “the business of business is business. “  He believed the best thing a company could do for society was to maximize its profits, and any other activities related to social or environmental causes were unnecessary and possibly detrimental to business and society. Yet, if you have been following the latest business and sustainability related news, you are probably inundated with daily headlines like: “Why Employee Engagement is Critical to Sustaining Sustainability”, “Private...