Chicago, Illinois (PRWEB) May 29, 2013
No matter where people live or where people work, people are impacted by buildings. Buildings exist all around. Whether it is the office building that people work in, the commercial building that people shop at, or the residential building that people live, buildings exist all around.
One lesser known fact is that buildings not only impact the environment, they also impact people’s health. Think about it. On any given day, how many hours are is the average person inside of a building? The average person is inside of a building for approximately 12 to as a many as 18 or more hours a day. That is a significant amount of time to be inside and likely most people do not even know if the building is healthy or not. Specifically, Chicago metro area has one the highest asthma rates in the country. Granted, there are other causes of asthma than buildings, but buildings are a significant contributor. A recent statistic from the Chicago Conservation Corp indicated that if just 1 in 10 homes used Energy Star appliances, the benefit would be the same as planting 1.7 million trees. Clearly, energy consumption matters.
As the awareness of the impact of buildings on people’s health and the health of the planet grow, the importance of understanding the impact of building design, construction and operation increases. In the past decade, it has regularly been cited that buildings account for 72% of all electric use in the United States. Furthermore, early research results point to the positive improvements that result in employee health, workplace satisfaction and even creativity from working in a high-performance or green building. Obviously there is still a lot more research to be undertaken to fully comprehend the impact, but early indications are healthier is better.
On Wednesday, May 29, 2013, Jason LaFleur, LEED AP, and Michael Hobbs, SRA, RAA, LEED GA, are speaking at the Sustainable Builders Working Group hosted by the Chicago Community Loan Funds Building for Sustainability program. The Sustainable Builders Working Group is meeting at 4pm, 29 E Madison Street, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60602.
Enterprising investors, developer, builders and home owners are actively creating green & high-performance buildings, designing green & high-performance buildings, living in green & high-performance buildings and working to create the possibility that all new buildings will be high-performance. As these enterprising individuals design a new future unlike the past, they are creating whole new industries of products, processes and perspectives on building construction.
Understanding the impact and benefit of green and high performance buildings is a point of beginning. Come learn how practitioners and appraisers address, assess and evaluate green & high-performance buildings and energy efficient improvements. “As adoption of green and high-performance buildings increases, there will be a large demand for those skilled in this specialty, said Michael Hobbs.
The mission of the Chicago Community Loan Fund is to provide flexible, affordable and responsible financing and technical assistance for community stabilization and development efforts that benefit low- to moderate-income neighborhoods, families and individuals throughout Chicago. CCLF was founded in 1991 by a group of visionary social-investment advocates and continues to provide a forum for community partners, developers, architects and urban planning professionals to address the needs of the community.
Jason LaFleur is the Chair of the Residential Green Building Committee for the USGBC Illinois Chapter, the Regional Director for the Alliance for Environmental Sustainability, as well as the Director of Curriculum and President of Eco Achievers. Jason graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has been working in education and curriculum development for over a decade in Chicago. His passion is to see the market transformation for green and high-performance buildings by achieving sustainability through program and organizational development. Jason regularly works with clients on determining and developing their plans and proposals for LEED-compliant projects.
Michael Hobbs, SRA, RAA, LEED GA, is the President of PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy, located in Chicago, Illinois. He is a professional speaker and state-certified real estate appraiser in Illinois who regularly provides expert testimony as an expert witness in local, state and federal courts. Michael received the SRA designation from the Appraisal Institute and he holds the RAA designation from the National Association of Realtors. Additionally, he has achieved LEED GA, an accreditation of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). He is a regularly published author and speaker on the topics of real estate, appraisal and valuation, and entrepreneurship. Currently, he serves on the board of The Entrepreneur Organization (EO) Chicago Chapter, a global network of more than 9,000 business owners and entrepreneurs in 40 countries. Presently, Michael is one of only 3 designated real estate appraisers operating in the Chicagoland market who is also LEED accredited in the United States.
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