Chinese New Year 2018

Chinese New Year 2018

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Chinese New Year 2018

Year of the Yellow Earth Dog

Welcome the year of the Yellow Earth Dog. The Rooster of last year announced the dawn of a new day. The term I hear frequently is “disruption” as the rooster’s crow disrupts the morning peace. While the energy of the Rooster was displayed last year, so will the energy of the Dog be emphasized in 2018. This means that while the characteristics of friendliness, loyalty and service will be increased, so will the traits of attacking, biting, quarreling and fighting. The Earth of this dog year suggests good outcomes for things related to real estate, agriculture, the environment and the like. Let’s hope so. In 2018, treat others with respect and empathy. Pay attention to finances and health. To see the predictions for your Chinese zodiac sign in the Year of the Dog, click here.

2018 commences the tenth anniversary of Doo Consulting!

Chinese New Year 2018Doo Consulting was founded in the fall of 2007 to provide sustainability-consulting services to projects, companies and communities. We have contributed to innumerable projects administrating LEED, Green Globes and Living Building Challenge certifications. Our work with companies began with Potomac Valley Brick but now expands in our offering of Corporate Social Responsibility assessments for small businesses (see below). We recently completed the Sustainability Plan for the Town of Bowie and continue to seek opportunities of neighborhood and community collaborations for greater sustainability.

 

 

Chinese New Year 2018

 

Doo Consulting has opened an office in Denver!

Spencer Bollacker who was a LEED project manager in Baltimore will be heading up the Denver office. We look forward to growing our business in the West. Watch our news feed for updates on our progress there. Doo Consulting is a certified Asian owned business in Colorado.

We are now offering Corporate Social Responsibility services for small businesses.

Chinese New Year 2018Led by Rebecca Gullott, early clients include the Furbish Company and Mouth Party Caramels. Focusing on small and start-up businesses, Doo Consulting assists in identifying a company’s environmental and social impact priorities, benchmarking those measures and outlining a plan to achieve corporate goals in those areas. Doo Consulting is collaborating with the Colorado Institute for Social Impact (CI4SI).

 

 

 

Camden Yard Stadium Complex has been submitted for certification under the LEED EBOM rating system.

Chinese New Year 2018Doo Consulting, working with Paladino and Company, has submitted the Stadium Complex including the Stadium and the Warehouse. The project utilized the Master Site approach to streamline the documentation and review process. The project is currently under review.

 

 

 

 

Lisa Julian Miller joins Doo Consulting as marketing director.

Having worked together in the past, Peter and Lisa are pleased to be working together again at Doo Consulting. Lisa has provided marketing and business development services for architects and engineers for more than 30 years. She has been an active member of the Society of Marketing Professionals since 1984 and is a Certified Professional Services Marketer. She is a past president of the Maryland Chapter of the Society and has been a frequent presenter at Society events including for the Maryland and Seattle chapters as well as at the National Convention. Lisa will be coordinating marketing efforts for the Baltimore and Denver offices.

The Doo Consulting staff has achieved new accreditations in 2017.

Lorraine is Fitwel accredited in addition to her previous WELL Building accreditation. LEED v4 accreditations were achieved in LEED Homes, LEED BD+C and LEED ID+C by Mudhar, Rebecca and Peter respectively. Additionally, Megan became a LEED Green Associate and Peter an NGBS Verifier for residential construction.  In addition to new accreditations, Doo Consulting is doing code reviews for the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) throughout Maryland and DC. Doo Consulting is now a member of the International Code Council.

 

What’s Next?

If you’re new to our family, read our past Chinese New Year blogs to see what we’ve been excited about. Each year we have identified innovative products or trends that we see being able to affect greater sustainability. For 2018, we see a number of trends having arrived or coming to a tipping point. Here are five.

1. Net Zero Building

Chinese New Year 2018Net zero building has been just over the horizon for a couple of years. We are seeing an increase in the number of requests to explore the possibilities of net zero among our clients. One is reading about an increasing number of NZE projects from affordable housing to schools. A number of schools in the Baltimore/Washington region are net zero or net zero ready including the Discovery School in Arlington, Virginia, Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County, and Graceland and Holabird Schools in Baltimore, Maryland. As the Discovery School link reveals, many more NZE schools are in the works around the nation. Other types of buildings are lining up as well.

2. Healthy Buildings

Chinese New Year 2018Occupant health and well-being are the new pursuits in sustainable architecture. We are learning more about the beneficial effects of improved air quality and healthy building materials. See our previous blog about the Harvard/Syracuse study. Active Design makes it more convenient and pleasant to take the stairs rather than the elevator, provides optional work station designs to accommodate standing desks and other active and ergonomic choices, and encourages building occupants to move around throughout the day. WELL and Fitwel certifications are gaining traction in the marketplace indicating that interest in this benefit of sustainable design is rising.

 

3. Rating System Crosswalks and Alignments

Chinese New Year 2018The past couple of years have seen a proliferation of rating systems. Today, on the Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI) website, there are eight rating systems for everything from parking garages to parks. The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) displays seven certifications from products to cities. In addition to these fifteen rating systems, there is BREEAM, Green Globes, Green Communities, National Green Building Standards, Passive House, Fitwel and the new building codes. We believe 2018 will be the year of rating system integration. Exactly what this will look like is yet to be determined. The WELL Building Institute provides a peek into one possibility with its WELL Crosswalk. Check it out.

4. Resiliency

Chinese New Year 2018With the anticipated effects of climate change including more frequent and intense weather events, cities are preparing for everything from fires, drought, floods, storms and the associated functional and economic disruptions. The past year experienced hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, the California drought and fires, and floods in the Midwest. Estimates are that the cost of these natural disasters in 2017 total 306 billion dollars. Barely into 2018, California experienced the Montecito mudslide. Forecasters predict more of the same. Adaptation and resiliency planning is just good preparation. The AIA held its first Resilience Summit in 2015. Architects, landscape architects and planners can mitigate disaster impacts and contribute to greater resilience through thoughtful design.

5. Corporate Social Responsibility

Chinese New Year 2018Virtually all-major corporations have integrated corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their operations and culture. But the American economy is driven equally by the many small businesses who have generated 64% of all new jobs since 1995 and paid 44% of the total US private payroll. For many of the reasons mentioned in the other trends mentioned in this blog, small businesses are increasingly interested in their environmental and social impacts. Small business CSR is on the rise. Doo Consulting sees this trend as one that will drive environmental sustainability, resiliency, wellness and other efforts affecting our industry. As a result, we have developed a new package of services to help small businesses get on the path to responsible growth.

 

 

None of the trends mentioned above are new, however we see each of these as having reached a tipping point in their development that their adoption will be mainstreamed in 2018. If predictions are correct, the Year of the Yellow Earth Dog bodes well.

For more than a decade, Doo Consulting has retained a leadership role in the green building and business arena locally and nationally. For more information or to inquire about a project, contact us here.

Happy Chinese New Year 2015 - Year of the Green Wooden Sheep

Happy Chinese New Year 2015 – Year of the Green Wooden Sheep

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Welcome to the Year of the Green Wooden Sheep. As we say farewell to the Year of the Wooden Horse (2014), with its promise of travel and movement, we hope your ride over the past twelve months took you where you wanted to go.

We welcome 2015, the Year of the Green Wooden Sheep, that corresponds to renewal, growth and balance. The Sheep brings promises of a calm, but not sedate atmosphere in which to prosper. Combined with the evergreen and renewal characteristics of wood, the Sheep’s creativity will be unleashed. This is the year for contemplating and appreciating what has already been accomplished, to think about bringing goodness to others. A steady path, generosity, and keeping the peace are this year’s mantra. The renewal characteristics of wood enable each organization’s creativity unleashed.

Year of the Green Wooden Sheep

Doo’s News

Doo Consulting has always taken pride in its individuality, and has enjoyed opportunities to share and collaborate.   In the year of the sheep, remain good to others. Remain steady, generous, and peaceful.

There are five elements in the Chinese zodiac: wood, fire, earth, metal, water which are associated with their own “life force” or “chi”. This energy blends with a corresponding animal to determine that year’s fortune. In 2015, the corresponding element is wood. Wood by its very nature, is the element associated with all living things, the spring or life renewal process. Wood relates to trees, which relate to the color green. We hope this means good fortune for green businesses!

Our own ride in 2014 was eventful. We consolidated the LEED consulting services of TerraLogos EcoArchitecture, pc with Doo Consulting creating a broader and stronger practice in this service area. We partnered with some awesome teammates to successfully win the Baltimore City Schools Program Sustainability Consulting contract, MGM National Harbor Casino & Hotel, LEED certification of the Oriole Park at Camden Yard Complex and a 730 bed STEM Residence Hall at University of Connecticut.  One of the most fascinating and enjoyable experiences of the year was the extremely successful facilitation of a multi-day Living Building Challenge project charrette for the Lemur Conservation Foundation in Myakka City, Florida. This is our second hands-on experience with a LBC project. We are also assisting in the DC Affordable Living Design Competition where we will serve on a team charrette panel and the jury! We look forward to 2015, Year of the Wooden Sheep.

Lemur Conservation FoundationLemurs

Hot Picks

This year Doo Consulting brings you links to interesting apps that can help ease and advance sustainability goals for your clients and yourselves. WeSpire and One Small Act help track and measure the cumulative impact of collective energy and water savings and other lifestyle actions such as walking or bicycling to work, carrying your own water bottle and other small acts (hence the name). The Green Button is a tool that can be used by homeowners and commercial building managers alike to manage energy use. H–app-y Year of the Sheep!  Read on and enjoy

WeSpire and One Small Act are web based engagement programs that can help individuals and organizations realize sustainability or social responsibility targets and measure their impact. Engagement is one of the greatest challenges when attempting to initiate change individually or within an organization. Tracking and measuring impact is another. WeSpire and One Small Act attack these challenges by engaging people in networks with others, establishing teams and tapping into people’s inherent desire to improve and compete. Think that your individual efforts don’t make a difference? Think again.

WESpirewespire-roi-calc

The Green Button – Your energy data is just a click away!

The Green Button Initiative is a government sponsored, industry-led effort that provides utility customers with easy and secure access to their energy usage information in a consumer-friendly and computer-friendly format. In late 2012 and early 2013, the Green Button had been adopted by utilities and electric suppliers who made energy data available to individuals and commercial building owners with a simple click of a literal “Green Button” on electric utilities’ websites. With their own data in hand, consumers can take advantage of a growing array of online services to help them manage energy use and save on their bills.

To date, a total over 50 utilities and electricity suppliers have signed on to the initiative. In total, these commitments ensure that over 60 million homes and businesses will be able to securely access their own energy information in a standard format. The following utilities have already committed to Green Button: American Electric Power, Austin Energy, Baltimore Gas & Electric, CenterPoint Energy, Chattanooga EPB, Commonwealth Edison, Glendale Water and Power, National Grid, NSTAR, Oncor, Pacific Power, Pepco Holdings, PG&E, PECO, Portland General Electric, PPL Electric Utilities, Reliant, Rocky Mountain Power, SDG&E, Southern California Edison, TXU Energy, and Virginia Dominion Power.

GreenButtonGreen_Download_265

Apps, apps, apps! At last check, there were more than 60 Green Button apps available, offering a range of capabilities and services.   We have provided a link to the site so you can test drive any of the apps yourself. We’ve provided a few apps here for fun. To see a full list of applications, visit the open innovation challenge site HERE.

WattzOn – Comprehensive Energy Management Platform to save money & Energy

This name seems to be a play on IBM’s Watson and Watts – related to the term energy. The app is a comprehensive energy management platform designed to help people save money by saving energy. The app analyzes usage by room, equipment and time of day. Can also analyze information at the community level for larger scale projects.

wattzon_logo

WattzOn Screen

Energy Tipper – Makes Energy Data Beautiful

Loved this one. Its goal is to make energy data beautiful – and accessible. The app is virtually all images with few words, yet it also uses the Green Button to pull in data, analyze it and generate warnings, recommendations and tips.   The images are amusing, but they do work with the phrases or guidance. The website is under construction but check out their YouTube video.

energy tipper

Simple Energy.

Combines a Social media platform (Facebook) with an incentive game and energy tips along with the data. The foundation for this program is based on scientific research that indicates that different people respond differently to things, and differently to different things. This program relies on consumer engagement, so it offers a variety of experiences to attract more individuals. The activities have frequent interactions, and include incentives to serve as motivators. The more interaction there is with the customer, the more the experience improves, and the greater the engagement becomes.   Take a look!

SimpleEnergy

In addition to providing LEED project administration services, Doo Consulting, LLC assists businesses meet their broader sustainability goals.  Let us know if we can help you!

Happy Chinese New Year - Doo Consulting Blog

Happy Chinese New Year 2014 – Year of the Wooden Horse

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January 31, 2014 welcomes the Chinese New Year of the Wooden Horse.

2014 is the Year of the Wooden Horse. Horse is a symbol of traveling, as well a sign of speedy success because it can give individuals a ride to their destination.

 

Screen Shot 2014-03-05 at 11.33.33 PMThe Chinese have five alchemical elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Horse is associated with fire; in fact horse is the strongest fire animal among the twelve zodiac signs. Wood helps fire burn and last longer. Therefore, businesses involving wood, fire and earth will generally do well this year.

Keeping up in 2014

Each year, Doo Consulting identifies a few ideas or products that we feel have the potential to make a big difference in human collaboration or resource conservation. This year, we not only introduce some new “hot picks,” we provide updates on the progress of our selections from previous years.  We are very pleased to write that several of our selections are making the difference we had hoped they would!

Virtual ChoirScreen Shot 2014-03-05 at 11.27.38 PM

At Doo Consulting, we continue to be interested in virtual collaborations. The world is better when we work together. Technology is allowing us to collaborate virtually to create in ways that were not possible previously. What I have found most successfully demonstrated on the internet is music (see playingforchange). However, I believe that even greater collaborations are possible for the creation of higher performing and more restorative communities. The creation of communities has always been collaborative and many of you are already engaged in this process. But virtual work allows us to collaborate with subject matter experts globally.  Let us know how the virtual workplace is expanding and enhancing your design collaborations. In the meantime, enjoy the virtual choir of Eric Whitacre and  Lux Aurumque.

New Products

The  “JUST” Label:  Showing your Equity Leg

Screen Shot 2014-03-05 at 11.43.26 PMThe three legs of the sustainability stool  are Ecology/Economy/Equity but “Equity” seldom gets the attention of the other two legs. “JUST” labels attempt to  change this and use the power of transparency and market forces for greater social change.  The “JUST” program elevates the discussion about social justice issues and has the potential to change policies and practices in thousands of organizations around the world.

Earth Tub

Screen Shot 2014-03-05 at 11.48.23 PMIn nature, there is no such thing as waste.  Everything has a use, is used up or consumed.  Earth Tub is a tool to help owners reduce their waste streams and create valuable mulch or soil in the process.  Want to go zero-waste? We can provide assistance in evaluating the economic benefit of large scale composting.

3D Printing

Screen Shot 2014-03-05 at 11.56.41 PMWhile not a product per se, these 3D printers are revolutionizing design, manufacturing and even medical procedures! Head to our Pinterest page to see what is going on in this new world and let us know what you’re doing with a 3D printer!

 

Updates on Past Recommendations

 Here are a few updates on products we have presented in the past.

Nest Thermostat

This company has sold over one million of these intelligent thermostats in the last two years. The company recently unveiled its new Smoke/CO2 Monitor.  In 2013, the company was purchased by Google for $3.2 billion!

Savenia Labs

Creator of the Savenia Energy Label for small appliances, this company has gone on to expand its energy reporting to include most energy consuming products in the home including appliances and light bulbs. They can now provide a Savenia Home Energy Rating based on comparative residential energy use data. This is useful for real estate brokers trying to value the energy efficiency features of residential properties.

Declare Label (for materials and products)

Based on the requirements in the latest updates to the LEED® (V4) and Green Globes Rating systems, Environmental Product Declarations are one compliance path to achieving Material and Indoor Environmental Quality points.  Pay attention as this label gains traction and encourage  manufacturers of your favorite products to get their products listed.

FoodPool

Doo Consulting participated in FoodPool West Towson for the 2013 growing season.  The concept of a FoodPool is to gather the excess harvest of home gardens (too many squash?) and deliver these fresh vegetables to food pantries for distribution to other families. In 2013, FoodPool West Towson contributed over 100 pounds of fresh produce to the Assistance Center of Towson Churches (ACTC) and looks forward to expanding its contribution in 2014! Want to know more? Visit FoodPool’s Facebook Page.

Please contact us at info@bviwebsites.com for additional information on any of these topics!

Wishing You a Happy Chinese New Year - Doo Consulting Blog

Wishing you a Lucky, Prosperous and Happy Chinese new Year

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February 10, 2013 starts the Chinese New Year – the Year of the Snake.  Snake years are predicted to be a time for reassessing our personal situation regarding finances, career and relationships.

It’s also a mysterious year that suggests it pays to be cautious when making commitments.

Doo Consulting has committed itself to sharing resources to help make your life, greener, save you money, time and effort.

 

 

Nest – the gorgeous, elegant, smart way to save money on your heating bills.

The Snake is unable to control its temperature, but we have Nest, which is able to control yours. Nest learns your schedule and temperature preferences to save up to 20% on your heating and air-conditioning bills.  If you’re not intimidated by owning devices that may be more intelligent that you, this is just what the doctor ordered. Installation takes less than 30 minutes. As you start making temperature adjustments, it starts learning. Adjustments can also be made from your iPhone or Google based cell phone.

http://www.nest.com/

Declare – a “nutrition label” for building products.

 

Operated by the International Living Future Institute, Declare is a new “nutrition label” or ingredient label for building materials.  Declare provides answers to three main questions:

Where does this product come from?

What is it made of?

Where does it go at the end of its life?

Declare takes aim straight at “green washing” and promises a decisive marketing advantage as more consumers, contractors and service providers learn of its existence.  Declare arrives just in time for LEEDv4 that will require this kind of data for its material declaration credit. Encourage the manufacturers of your favorite products  to up-load their information to this website.

http://www.declareproducts.com/product-database

Tate Phase change floor panels – natural safe passive energy savings through flooring.

As the sun heats the panels during the day, energy is stored and released at night.

Tate’s EcoCore Phase Change Panel uses phase change materials to reduce indoor air temperature fluctuations and save energy. During the peak solar load of the day, the phase change material embedded within the welded steel panel is designed to melt and absorb energy — energy that would otherwise be reflected back into the room as heat or transferred to the air stream.

http://www.tateinc.com/products/ecocore.aspx

Happy New Year!

The team at Doo Consulting looks forward to helping you optimize your sustainability in 2013.

Chinese New Year - Doo Consulting Blog

Wishing You A Lucky, Prosperous And Happy Chinese New Year!

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January 23, 2012 starts the Chinese New Year – the year of the Water Dragon. The water dragon, in Chinese mythology, brings a willingness to take risks, easier access to money, and the need for good counsel.

At Doo Consulting, we’d like to share with you a few resources that are likely to make 2012 an even greener year than 2011:

FoodPool.org – What To Do With Your Leftover Green(s)

The Water Dragon’s abundance may come from unexpected places in 2012.

Enter FoodPool.org, an intriguing choice for the gardener.

FoodPool.org is a non-profit effort to share excess greens – and produce of every kind – with those in need in our communities. It’s a “matching” service that brings together the overwhelmed gardener with the hungry family. At their website, you can sign up to start a Food Pool in your community, participate in an active group, or spread the word to needy families in your town or city.

 

At Doo Consulting, we raise a variety of vegetables and fruits in a 16′ x 60′ plot by our Towson office. Many of our neighbors do the same. When the zucchini is in, we can’t give it away! Even with canning, a big freezer, a produce-rich diet, and sharing with neighbors, we still can hardly keep up. What to do?

FoodPool came to our attention last year and we hope to coordinate a group on Piccadilly Road in 2012! You can get involved in your area, too.

For more information, please visit: www.FoodPool.org.

Savenia Labs – Green Savings Energy Star Misses

You may be surprised to know what your toaster oven or coffee pot costs you over its lifetime. Whether you bought the least or most expensive  appliance on the shelf at the local hardware store, there’s just no way to know how much energy is needed to operate it. Until now.

A peer of ours at the Bethesda Green Business Incubator in Bethesda, Maryland, is changing all that. The Year of The Dragon is a good time for pioneers. We predict that, in 2012, you’ll hear more in the news about Savenia Labs.

Savenia Labs is a new independent testing laboratory that provides lab-tested energy and environmental impact ratings on popular appliances. Savenia Labs is bringing crucial cost-of-operation information to the energy-conscious customer.

We believe the tracking of Savenia Labs certified small appliances within a project could contribute to LEED credits.

For more information, go to Savenia Labs’ website: www.SaveniaLabs.com

Enterprise Green Communities Carbon Offset Fund – The Green Building Carbon Fund

The Enterprise Green Communities Offset Fund offers an opportunity for organizations, individuals, and events to offset their carbon emissions by helping create carbon-reducing homes for low-income families.

Through the Fund, Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit, raises and deploys contributions to enable community-based groups to create homes for low-income people, homes that generate lower carbon emissions by being more energy efficient and using renewable energy. All contributions to the Fund are also tax deductible.

Last year, for the Brickstainable building industry competition, Doo Consulting selected the Enterprise Community Partners Carbon Offset Fund to offset the emissions from its awards program.  While some carbon offset programs plant trees in distant lands, Enterprise helps local families in need, right here in the US. Expect to hear more about Enterprise Green Communities Carbon Offset Fund in 2012.

Consider using Enterprise Green Communities Carbon Offset Fund to green your next project or event. Find out more at their website: http://www.enterprisecommunity.com/offset-fund.

To Your Abundant 2012!

The team at Doo Consulting looks forward to helping your green building and sustainability projects to harness the exuberant spirit of the Water Dragon in 2012.