Activities
Green Builder® Coalition Partners with ARCSA on WERS
The Green Builder® Coalition is honored to announce a 2-year partnership with the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association® (ARCSA) on the advancement of water efficiency and rainwater harvesting through the Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS) program.
ARCSA’s mission is to promote sustainable rainwater harvesting practices to help solve potable, non-potable, stormwater and energy challenges throughout the world. ARCSA is very pleased to partner with The Coalition to provide educational and technical assistance on rainwater harvesting to further water efficiency.
“We at ARCSA are excited to move forward with the Green Builder® Coalition’s WERS program in our MOU to promote the mission of our groups and save our precious water resources,” says David Crawford, ARCSA president. “Through our MOU, we will be promoting more water efficiency through sustainable rainwater harvesting to use local, onsite water resources, instead of municipal potable, which is often times limited or reduced due to drought, declining supplies, or environmental restrictions.”
“The use of rainwater has both environmental and economic benefits. In addition, rainwater capture is an important element in achieving a lower WERS,” said Collignon. “We’re very happy to partner with ARCSA to help foster superior rainwater harvesting practices.”
The agreement addresses CEUs for ARCSA APs and WERS verifiers, and announces support for ARCSA-ASPE-ANSI Standards 63 and 78 as the Rainwater and Stormwater Standards used in both the WERS and its training curriculum.
Since February 2014, The Coalition has helped develop the WERS program for new and existing residential properties. It was first used in November 2015 to help a New Mexico homebuilder save significant time and money on his pursuit of a building permit.
As I Am…
Jose Ekonomo
Periodically, we’ll sit down with a green building professional to gain a personal insight into their motivations, inspirations and experiences. This issue, we feature Jose Ekonomo, craftsman and builder.
The Torch: What motivated you to enter the sustainability industry?
Jose Ekonomo: Helping homeowners be more efficient and helping create a new culture amongst builders and craftsmen.
TT: Describe your first green project. Did you encounter any hurdles on that first project? (If yes, how did you overcome them?)
JE: The first I would say was a bit of a unique circumstance. The design wasn’t a “Green” design per se, but the General Contractor was implementing practices I had never seen on a jobsite, such as placing recycling bins for employees and subs to use, re-using materials as much as possible and focusing on improving weatherization and insulating techniques. (This was in 2003.)
TT: What building product or technique do you think will be the next “game changer”?
JE: Building codes will always be a game changer for sure especially when they are continually evolving and improving energy efficiency.
TT: Who inspires you the most?
JE: Steve Jobs.
TT: If you had it to do over again, what profession would you choose?
JE: Architect.
TT: What do you enjoy the most when you’re not at work?
JE: Great experiences with my family.
TT: What’s the most important piece of advice you’d like to pass along to others?
JE: Plan in decades. Think in years. Work in months. Live in days.
Industry News
DOE Releases Proposals for 2018 IECC
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) participates in the public process that produces the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). As a participant, the Department develops proposals to be considered as part of the ICC code development process.
They have publicly released their residential and commercial proposals for the upcoming 2018 IECC code development cycle. You can view them by visiting the Building Energy Codes Program page.
The deadline for all code change proposals is Monday, January 11, 2016. For more information on submitting a proposal to ICC, please visit their code development page.
DOE to Host Webinar on 5-year Strategic Plan
The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is hosting a webinar on Thursday, January 7th, at 12:00 PM CT to discuss the 2016-2020 Strategic Plan. The 36-page Strategic Plan provides the necessary framework for responding to the global challenge of climate change and ensuring that the U.S. is a global leader in the clean energy economy.
If you are interested in joining the webinar, please register via GoToWebinar.
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