About the Book
The book The Law of Green Buildings: Regulatory and Legal Issues in Design, Construction, Operations and Financing was co-published by the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources and the Environmental Law Institute in August 2010. It provides readers with an overview of green buildings and sustainable development. It highlights significant statutes and regulations as well as legal issues that attorneys and other building professionals should be aware of when advising clients seeking to construct, finance or lease a green building. It is available here.
The book is roughly organized into five sections. The first section provides an overview of green buildings as well as green building rating systems. The second section of the book concerns significant federal, state, and local green building laws and initiatives. The third section of the book addresses green building finance and building energy options. The fourth section of the book examines the siting of buildings as well as green construction and materials, building water use, and retrofitting. The fifth and last section of the book examines legal issues related to marketing green buildings as well as emerging legal issues in green construction. This section also addresses adapting buildings to climate change.
The book is current as of late 2009 (with some subsequent developments also reflected). To help readers keep track of this ever-changing field, we are setting up this blog for new legal developments in green buildings. View it here or through links to individual articles below. The blog is administered by Cullen Howe. Please feel free to email him at Cullen.Howe@aporter.com.
Blog Links
Report Finds that Green Codes Task Force's Recommendations Reduce GHG Emissions and Save Energy (March 1, 2012)
Report Quantifies the Environmental Value of Building Reuse (Feb. 10, 2012)
Federal Court Rules that Municipal Energy Code is Preempted by Federal Law (Feb. 8, 2012)
Report Finds Support for Underwriting Building Retrofits (Feb. 2, 2012)
New York City Releases Energy Benchmarking Report for Municipal Buildings (Jan. 18, 2012)
New York City Enacts Three More Recommendations from the Green Codes Task Force (Jan. 3, 2012)
President Directs Federal Agencies to Enter Into $2 Billion Worth of Energy Efficiency Contracts for Buildings (Dec. 23, 2011)
NYC Department of City Planning Introduces Zone Green (Dec. 22, 2011)
Town of New Castle Adopts Green Building Law (Dec. 21, 2011)
EPA Releases Guidelines to Ensure Healthy Indoor Air Quality During Energy Efficiency Upgrades (Dec. 6, 2011)
New York City's Benchmarking Law: How It Works (Nov. 10, 2011)
Washington, DC Stormwater Permit Requires Installation of Green Roofs (Nov. 3, 2011)
Court Refuses to Dismiss Lawsuit Concerning PACE Program in California (Sept. 14, 2011)
Department of Energy Will Use Full-Fuel-Cyle Analysis When Determining Energy Conservation Standards for Appliances (Aug. 24, 2011)
Department of Energy and ASHRAE Sign Memorandum of Agreement to Develop Energy Efficiency Standards for Buildings (Aug. 7, 2011)
Department of Energy Requires States to Review and Possibly Update Their Building Energy Codes (July 22, 2011)
Obama Administration Launches Better Building Challenge (July 6, 2011)
New York Passes Innovative Financing Mechanism for Improving Building Energy Efficiency (June 28, 2011)
Report Finds that BBI Would Create Over 100,000 Jobs and Save Nearly $1.5 Billion a Year in Energy Costs (June 14, 2011)
Report Finds that Climate Change Could Affect Indoor Air Quality (June 8, 2011)
Global Agencies Launch Project to Promote Energy Efficient Buildings in East Africa (June 1, 2011)
New York City Announces Program to Test Green Products in City-Owned Buildings (May 27, 2011)
Report Finds that Existing Technologies Could Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Buildings by 25% by 2050 (May 17, 2011)
Senator Carper Introduces Bill Designed to Improve Energy Efficiency in Federal Buildings (May 16, 2011)
EPA Announces Competition to Improve Building Energy Efficiency (May 6, 2011)
New York City Enacts Three More Laws to Green Its Building Code (April 28, 2011)
Federal Agencies Announce Program to Offer Loans for Home Energy Efficiency Improvements (April 28, 2011)
Green Building Law Update Service Recognized as One of Top 50 Environmental Blogs by LexisNexis (April 27, 2011)
Department of Agriculture Announces Strategy to Promote Wood as Green Building Material (April 18, 2011)
New York City Announces Green Lease Project (April 12, 2011)
EPA Releases List of Cities With Most Energy Star-Certified Buildings (April 5, 2011)
Building Energy Audits and Benchmarking--A Growing Trend (March 22, 2011)
EPA Launches Sustainable Communities Building Blocks Program (March 21, 2011)
Federal District Court in Washington State Upholds State Energy Code (March 14, 2011)
Department of Energy Publishes Rule Concerning Enforcement of Product Efficiency Standards (March 7, 2011)
ASTM Releases Standard for Measuring Energy Performance of Commercial Buildings in Real Estate Transactions (Feb. 18, 2011)
San Francisco Passes Law Requiring Building Energy Audits and Benchmarking (Feb. 14, 2011)
Senator Boxer Introduces Bill to Improve Building Energy Efficiency (Feb. 9, 2011)
President Obama Launches Better Buildings Initiative (Feb. 3, 2011)
USGBC Introduces LEED for Retail and LEED for Volume (Jan. 25, 2011)
California Green Building Standards Code Goes Into Effect (Jan. 20, 2011)
Green Leases Become Mandatory for Federal Agencies (Jan. 14, 2011)
EPA Announces First WaterSense Labeled Homes (Jan. 10, 2011)
Tax Relief Bill Includes Extension of Section 1603 Grant Program (Dec. 28, 2010)
World Health Organization Issues Guidance on Chemicals of Concern Regarding Indoor Air (Dec. 17, 2010)
Law Enacted Requiring GSA to Train Federal Workers in Building Energy Efficiency (Dec. 17, 2010)
USGBC Releases Draft Version of LEED 2012 for Public Comment (Dec. 2, 2010)
New York State’s Interim Climate Action Plan Sets Out Policies to Reduce GHG Emissions from Buildings (Nov. 23, 2010)
EPA Inspector General Releases Report Criticizing Energy Star Program (Nov. 19, 2010)
IRS Touts Two Home Energy Tax Credits (Nov. 15, 2010)
Obama Administration Announces Programs to Improve Residential Building Energy Efficiency (Nov. 10, 2010)
Int'l Energy Agency Releases Report Concerning Benefits of Energy Performance Certification for Buildings (Nov. 9, 2010)
Federal Trade Commission Fines Online Retailers for Violating Appliance Labeling Rule (Nov. 3, 2010)
General Services Administration Raises Green Building Standard for Federal Buildings (Nov. 2, 2010)
Building in New York Qualifies as "Living Building" (Oct. 26, 2010)
Reductions in Building Emissions Account for Largest Decline in New York City's GHG Emissions in 2009 (Oct. 22, 2010)
Manitoba Adopts New Residential Building and Plumbing Codes (Oct. 21, 2010)
Department of Energy Proposes Rule to Make Federal Buildings Entirely Free of Fossil Fuels by 2030 (Oct. 18, 2010)
Publication Highlights Projects That Have Incorporated Reused Materials (Oct. 18, 2010)
New York City Enacts Four Laws to Improve Water Efficiency in Buildings (Oct. 15, 2010)
New York City Enacts Five More Laws to Green Its Building Code (Oct. 13, 2010)
Class Action Filed Against USGBC in Southern District of New York (Oct. 12, 2010)
Federal Preemption Issues for GB Ordinances Remain Unresolved After Recent AHRI Ruling (Oct. 12, 2010)
The Federal Trade Commission Releases Proposed Revisions to Its Green Guides (Oct. 8, 2010)
U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bill to Fund Residential Energy Efficiency Improvements (Oct. 8, 2010)
Department of Energy Proposes to Expand Its Ability to Enforce Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards (Oct. 8, 2010)
New York Enacts State Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Project (Sept. 13, 2010)
Report Criticizes LEED Certified Buildings for Not Adequately Protecting Human Health from Env. Hazards (Sept. 1, 2010)
DOE Proposed Public Disclosure of Fuel Cycle Energy and GHG Benefits of Appliance Standards (Aug. 27, 2010)
Building Industry Association Files Lawsuit in Washington State to Block State Energy Code (Aug. 25, 2010)
Controversy Concerning Revoking LEED Certifications (Aug. 20, 2010)
EPA Releases Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments (July 23, 2010)
Federal PACE Program Threatened by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (July 6, 2010)
Hello and Welcome to the Green Building Law Blog (June 29, 2010)
Links to Articles and Studies of Interest
Atop TV Sets, A Power Drain that Runs Nonstop, New York Times June 25, 2011
Global Energy: The Latest Infatuations American Scientist, May/June 2011
When Energy Efficiency Sullies the Environment, New York Times, March 7, 2011
NY's "Greenest" Avoids LEED Certification, The Real Deal, Feb. 10, 2011
The Efficiency Dilemma, New Yorker, Dec. 20, 2010
Model Green Building Ordinance Proposed for Adoption by New York Municipalities, NYSBA/MLRC Municipal Lawyer, Fall 2010
Can We Build in a Brighter Shade of Green?, New York Times, Sept. 25, 2010
Giving GSA Retrofits More Bang for the Buck, Rocky Mountain Institute, Sept. 14, 2010
Critics Say LEED Program Doesn't Fulfill Promises, NPR, Sept. 8, 2010
Interest in Green Building Has Finally Reached a Critical Mass, Says Eames, Modern Russia, Sept. 7, 2010