Faces of Green Opens at Jax Art Walk

After many months of photo shoots, interviews, preparation, and hard work, Breaking Ground Education Services's "Faces of Green" Photo Exhibit opened last night at First Friday Art Walk inside Chamblin's Uptown Bookstore!


With photography by Catherine Burkee, featuring numerous people from the green building community, "Faces of Green" portrayed the thoughts and feelings of business leaders, academics, policy makers, and others on why they have chosen to incorporate sustainability into their business and life.

Among those featured:

• John Delaney, President of University of North Florida


• Tom Goldsbury, City of Jacksonville Planning


• Mary Tappouni, President of Breaking Ground Contracting Company


• Sarah Boren, Executive Director of US Green Building Council North Florida


• Kevin Songer, VP of Metro Verde


• Marie Hurst, Principal of Greenspace Interior Design


• Susan Cleveland, Principal of Susan R. Cleveland Interiors


• Mark Gelfo, Principal of TLC Engineering for Architecture


• Steve Sadler and Michaela Miller, Owners of Villa Pariso


• Corie Baker, Architect with JSA


• Rob Overly, Architect with Rink Design


• Lynette Self, Owner of Rose of Sharon Florist


• Arnold Tritt, Managing Partner with Tritt Henderson


• Wayne and Beth Dunn, Principals with EW Dunn Developments
  
• Oh, and I was up there with my family and my dog and the reddest hair ever. It was glowing. :-)
  

From the flyer:

Green is not a fad.
Green is not a fleeting idea.
Green is here and
green is necessary.

This photographic exhibit is a collection of people in the building construction industry and in the community who believe in the basic principle that we all must do our part to protect, and, yes, even restore, our Earth.

Those represented in this exhibit have, in some way, made passionate efforts to be a part of the solution to mitigate the effects of human behavior on our environment. Some have reconfigured business strategy, some have adopted personal social responsibility ideals and some have been instrumental in changing policy that guide our everyday principles of building and design.

No matter who they are, or what they have done, they are the Faces of Green, AND THEY BELIEVE.

Breaking Ground Education Services plans to continue this exhibit throughout the state and hopes to continue educating the community on the benefits of green building on all levels: People, Profit and Planet.

Keep an eye out for future exhibits.

Ellen

Mayor's Environmental Advisory Committee

Did you know...

The City of Jacksonville's Mayor, John Peyton, regularly meets with members of various environmental groups to discuss the needs of the North Florida region in terms of land use, stewardship, smart growth, conservation, green building, and overall sustainability?

I was pleased to learn that this is the case after receiving an invitation from the Mayor's office to participate on behalf of the US Green Building Council's North Florida Chapter. As many of you know, I serve as the current Vice Chair of the chapter, was chair of the Public Advocacy Committee and briefly served as Regional Representative to the Florida/Carribean Council. Needless to say, my passion for green building was tied closely to legislation and municipal ordinances. After nearly two years of committed focus on assisting with the Sustainable Building Ordinance, I am pleased to say it passed and Jacksonville is now among many other cities embracing green building and offering incentives to those pursuing a third-party certification.

Go Jacksonville!

As you can imagine, I was thrilled to receive the invite to participate.

Among those organizations represented:

• US Green Building Council North Florida
• The Jacksonville Arboretum
• Greenscape
• St. Johns Riverkeeper
• North Florida Land Trust
• The Trust for Public Land
• The River Alliance
• Sustainable Jacksonville
• Sierra Club
• Timucuan Preserve
• The Public Trust
• Museum of Science and History

The format was a round table discussion with Mayor Peyton leading the conversation which addressed the master plan for the Riverwalk, the Stormwater Fee program, stimulus money, Reality Check, and the City's commitment to conservation measures on an administrative level. Derek Igou, COJ's Sustainability Officer, and Vince Siebold with the Environmental Quality Division, were also on hand to offer insight.

The bottom line is there's a lot of great things happening in the City yet we still have far to go.

As was stated at the meeting, with so little in the way of budget and available money, the best thing we can do right now is plan for a sustainable future. What should the plan look like for when the cash is flowing again? How do we plan for smart growth and low impact development before development ramps up again?

What do we need to do right NOW to ensure future development is executed responsibly?

The Mayor's Environmental Advisory Committee is meeting again in July to continue this conversation and keep up the momentum.

So, what do we need the City to know and what what we can provide for them so that they can execute our plan for environmental stewardship, smart growth and green building?

Let's start talking!

Ellen

Breaking News: Jacksonville's Sustainable Building Ordinance

It's passed!

The Ordinance was voted on this evening at the City Council meeting and I have it on good authority that it was approved!

*applause*

Thanks to all the hard working people that have dedicated so much time, expertise, passion, and knowledge to this cause.

We also commend the City of Jacksonville, their City Council, and the COJ leadership that had the vision to see how important sustainability is to Jacksonville.

Now, it's time to spread the word about how this ordinance can benefit developers and those considering LEED certification.

THIS is the carrot we've all been hoping for.... This is the incentive we've needed to assist our clients in making the right, green decision on their building projects.

Remember: fast-track permitting is a good thing. Time is money. Saving time means saving money. Help your clients save money by saving time and achieve the added benefit of saving the planet.

It's a good day in J-ville!

Jacksonville Sustainable Building Ordinance

After over a year of hard work by dedicated members of Jacksonville's Environmental Protection Board, the Environmental Quality Division of the COJ, the US Green Building Council of North Florida, and many, many more concerned citizens of our City....

The Sustainable Building Ordinance will be voted on tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14th, by the City Council!

Join us at 5pm for the City Council Meeting and support the City's sustainable efforts.

For more information, www.coj.net

2009 Small Business Person of the Year

From the Florida Times Union, April 6, 2009:

"For Mary Tappouni, going green is as good as gold.
Tappouni, president of Jacksonville-based company Breaking Ground Contracting, was named Florida's 2009 Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration for her work in the green movement.

Despite an economy that's declining in nearly every statistical category, Tappouni's focus on sustainable and environmentally responsible construction has allowed her company to excel.
While other contracting companies are laying off employees, Breaking Ground recently finished hiring.

Since Tappouni started the company in 1997, Breaking Ground has grown from one to nine full-time employees and increased revenues more than three-fold since 2004 - averaging 56 percent growth each year, said Wilfredo Gonzalez, SBA district director.
"We're proud of Tappouni's commitment to small business and environmentally friendly practices, especially during these tough economic times," Gonzalez said.

Tappouni believes her company's focus on sustainable, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified construction has allowed Breaking Ground to bypass the negative impact of the economy.

Her biggest challenge in the past few years has been preventing the company's growth from affecting service, she said.

"You have to be careful and smart," Tappouni said. "We understand what's going on out there, but we haven't let it alter our plans."

While not all of Breaking Ground's projects are focused on environmental sustainability, Tappouni said she's always giving clients suggestions on how "going green" can be incorporated - often saving them money over the long haul with systems including solar energy and water storage.

The company is constructing eight LEED projects, including Jacksonville's first platinum, LEED-certified residential home. She also works as a consultant to help clients earn LEED certification.
"It's really exciting to see people embracing green," she said. "We're very passionate about our vision and try to bring that little extra to each project. When you believe in the end result, it's easy to get there."

The firm also has a strong commitment to educating members of the industry in sustainable design. The company has trained more than 500 students this year.

And getting involved in the community is a must. Every employee at Breaking Ground either mentors or volunteers at a local nonprofit, Tappouni said.

"The pure passion for green she brings to the table makes her without a doubt the deserved winner of the award," said Steve Sadler, Breaking Ground residential customer. "It's not just a job for her. She lives it. Words can't describe how important she is to the green movement, both nationally and statewide."

Tappouni will be recognized and presented with the award during the 17th annual Small Business Week and Lender Awards celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 30 at the University of North Florida University Center.

josh.salman@jacksonville.com (904) 359-4351"

Congratulations, Mary! This continues to prove that environmental stewardship is the responsible way to "grow" a business.

GreenBuild Update

What a difference a year makes.

No lines. Well, no unreasonable or infuriating lines.

Check in was uneventful (therefore brilliant)!

There hasn't been any seating issues.... yet. (The breakout sessions begin this afternoon.)

The expo is huge and roomy.

And the opening plenary was inspirational.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Wow. Just wow. He is the type of person that reminds you that simplicity is genius. That we cannot get bogged down in the weeds of doing right. That tinkering with the process and logistics of social responsibility should not be the focus. That simply making the decision to change is enough. Yesterday, I may not have believed that. Today, I think I do.

And, like all people of greatness, he ended with one simple action - help. Help change the world. Just help. That's simple, right?

I swear, I really believe it is.

So that was our action item from the most reverend Archbishop. And I pass that along to you. Please help. Find your passion, whatever it is and help make the change.

OK, to change gears for a brief moment. I would be remiss if I painted the rosiest picture of Greenbuild so I will mention a few little details that have caused some frustration.

Dear USGBC Planning Committee: If you're going to start a whisper campaign of LEED 2009 changes and LEED v.3 and what's going to happen, and how it's going to change, and when it will all come together, can you PLEASE not schedule an 8-hour course for $500 called "LEED 2009 Technical Review"? One might think, at a session such as that, you would be releasing all the super-secret-squirrell information on what is happening with LEED 2009. Wouldn't you?

We did.

Let's just say that it wasn't. So, you have to imagine that the room was full of people a little disgruntled over the misperception.

Now, the good news from that bit is that they are doing a specialty update session to cover both LEED v.3 and GBCI's plan for the AP exam. Which is great. And, I'll be there.

But it would have been REALLLLLY nice to know this before we came to Boston (and saved the $500 on the LEED 2009 Technical Review).

So, on the whole, good. With little bits of 'eh'. I'm optimistic about the remainder of the week.

Stay tuned!

GreenBuild 2008

We're off to Boston, MA!

This week, Mary, Catherine, and I will be in Boston for the USGBC Greenbuild International Conference and Expo to gather up as much green building information as we can possibly stuff into three minds.

As always, Sustainabuild will keep you up to date on what's going on, what good info there is, what innovations, updates, announcements there are, and we will make sure to pass it along to you, our faithful readers.

We expect to learn more about the LEED v.3 (or LEED 2009) updates. We plan on learning the fate of the LEED AP exam. We will be scouring the expo floor for innovations in materials and technology to enhance our green building efforts. We will hear about USGBC's Strategic Plan for the next 5 years and where the organization's focus will be.

Keep an eye out throughout the week for updates!