SERF - Society of Environmentally Responsible Facilities

SERF - Society of Environmentally Responsible Facilities updated their phone number.

Michigan State University to use SERF Foundation property

SERF Foundation’s (SERF) relationship with MSU School of Planning Design and Construction (SPDC) continues to mature. In October 2016, the two institutions reached an agreement for SPDC to use Foundation property located at 1300 East Lake Lansing Road, East Lansing, Michigan for teaching, research, and demonstration as a landscape architecture laboratory.

This is the property on which SERF, SPDC, Haworth and other industry partners intend to build a model green office building, the Wave.

SERF Foundation has an established relationship with MSU’s School of Planning, Design and Construction (SPDC) and works directly with professors who are renowned experts in the field of environmental sustainability of the entire built environment and high-performance buildings including SPDC Director, Dr. Scott Witter, and Dr. Matt Syal, Professor at MSU.

Through this latest endeavor, SERF foundation continues on its mission to providing education in the area of environmental sustainability. This is in addition to other activities including sponsoring seminars and workshops, written publications, providing internships and scholarships to students and providing input and support for research by Michigan State University.

GaiaMa is a new single story house located in Biscayne Park, Florida. The 1500 square feet home is built with ICF walls and Insuldeck structural roof resulting in a hyper-insulted structure that also exceeds Florida Building Code hurricane wind pressure requirements. A central cupola with operable windows provides ample natural light to the main living areas and allows for effective natural ventilation. The strong focus on energy efficiency by design in combination with the installation of a PV system resulted in a HERS rating of -4 for this LEED Platinum certified home.
Further energy conserving measures include a high albedo exterior, LED lighting throughout, high efficiency fixtures, including a hyper insulted refrigerator and energy star impact doors and windows.
Water conservation measures include low flow fixtures and an extensive water collection system utilizing a 4000 gallon underground rain harvesting system. The collected water is utilized for a fully edible landscape design; a natural pool completes the site layout.
Other sustainable features include finished concrete floors with recessed shower and bedroom floors leveled during installation to minimize construction waste. Wood alternative bamboo flooring was installed in the bedrooms and reclaimed wood counters and furniture are used in the kitchen and living areas which also features a living wall with live moss.
The 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom home was designed with future adaptability of use by simply erecting one wall – converting the current office/den into 3rd bedroom. The design was also influenced by Vastu principles and has been treated to reduce electromagnetic currents.

http://www.houzz.com/projects/1236792/gaiama-biscayne-park?utm_source=GaiaMa+new+LEED+Platinum+home+Slideshow+on+S.E.A.+%26+Houzz&utm_campaign=GaiaMa+SEA&utm_medium=email

GaiaMa - Biscayne Park GaiaMa is a new single story house located in Biscayne Park, Florida. The 1500 square feet home is built with ICF walls and Insuldeck structural roof resulting in a hyper-insulted structure that also

Congrats to Massage Green Spa for moving into a beautiful SERF Certified facility!

We are very proud to announce the SERF Certification of Kashi's headquarters in Solana Beach, CA! Their food is not only great for your body-- it's good for the environment too.

Check out our recap of the latest Industry Seminar Series event at the School of Planning, Design and Construction at Michigan State University, featuring the Gillespie Group's Pat Gillespie.
http://conta.cc/1E7lA5V

Another Great Installment of Industry Seminar Series!

What an interesting time to be in lighting! Take a look into mega trends changing the industry. SERF certainly approves!
http://www.gelighting.com/LightingWeb/na/industrial-internet/blog/index.jsp

GE Lighting Nov. 25, 2014 Megatrends That Will Change the World of Lighting Author: Jeff Bisberg What an interesting time to be in lighting. Without a doubt, we are moving towards the center of five megatrends that are fundamentally changing our world. These trends include an exponential decrease in: the cost o…

Mayberry Homes' Robert & Karen Schroeder engaged audience at third SPDC Industry Seminar Series.

School of Planning, Design & Construction The MSU School of Planning, Design and Construction (SPDC) held its third Industry Seminar Series on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014, in East Lansing. Featured speakers Robert and Karen Schroeder, co-owners and president and vice president, respectively, of Mayberry Homes, engaged students, faculty and the…

Happy Thanksgiving!

With LED efficiency soaring in 2014 and being more cost efficient, regular light bulbs are slowly dimming out of households. Here is graphic on how much money an average light bulb can cost you. By switching to an LED light you can be saving more than 40 dollars a month.

The Energy Impact on One Household during the winter months. To find out more ways to cut heating cost visit our website: http://www.serfgreen.org/

Congratulations to Jack Maguire who has just been published in the Royal Chemistry Society's "Green Chemistry" journal! (he's listed as J.B. Maguire).

Electrocatalytic Upgrading of Model Lignin Monomers with Earth Abundant Metal Electrodes - Green... Guaiacol (2-methoxyphenol) and related lignin model monomers undergo electrocatalytic hydrogenolysis/hydrogenation (ECH) to cyclohexanol with Raney-Nickel electrodes in aqueous solution. Aryl ether (C-O) bond cleavage is followed by reduction of the aromatic ring at ambient pressure and 75 °C. Relat…

We had a wonderful turnout at the conference in Oregon. We are also glad to announce that overall interest in alternative green building rating systems have surged. Not only is SERF involved in this category of alternative building rating systems but we are also proven to be more reliable and affordable.

Great to see many companies involved in Energy Stars National Building Competition. So many companies are willing to go green and cut costs substantially. Let us know if you have a business in your area thats competiting in the National competition. https://batchgeo.com/map/battleofthebuildings

EPA's National Building Competition Competitors This map shows the location of the more than 5,500 participants in EPA's 2014 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition: Team Challenge. Click each marker to see the competing property's information. Note: The top nine most common building types are color-coded, and “Others” refers to all remaining…

We are proud to announce that in less than a week away, SERF, in conjunction with the recently SERF Certified Roosevelt University, will be presenting at the 2014 AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) Conference in Portland, Oregon.

AASHE Annual Conference: 2014 Portland | AASHE 2014 Conference & Expo Meet the featured keynote speaker, Greenpeace USA Executive Director and creator of "Story of Stuff" as she discusses the positive environmental and social impacts sustainability has.

Energy Star is having a nationwide competition on which companies can be the most environmental. Some of these companies range from Fortune 500 companies to local. Admissions are over but If you want to get in on the fun, getting SERF certified and cutting energy costs is still in sight.

Great News! In a little over a month we will be having an event at Michigan State University with the MayBerry Homes, President and Vice President as our guest speakers. More details will follow later in the month.

Here are few of the many reasons as to why businesses are going green. Going green can also benefit IT Companies.

Not only can greener offices help motivate employees they can also decrease stress and sickness. To learn more about getting SERF certified visit our website: http://www.serfgreen.org/

63% of CEO's struggle to quantify the business value of sustainability. SERF can help change that.

Here are just a few of the many statistics on why sustainability is important to a firms business strategy.

Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in Auburn Hills was named as one of the most impressive law school buildings in the world
http://goo.gl/HJgKaZ

Thomas M. Cooley Law School – Auburn Hills Campus — SERF 2630 Featherstone Rd, Auburn Hills, Michigan Thomas M. Cooley Law School http://www.cooley.edu

Here's a nice picture of the SERF Certified Acton Institute building to finish off your Friday. It's beautiful example of adaptive reuse, having been used as a department store. medical offices, and a center for the arts & technology since 1928. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Great piece on Roosevelt University's SERF Certified Wabash Tower in the latest issue of Green Building & Design!

All Together Now | Green Building and Design July/August 2014Wabash Tower’s verticality is as much a product of necessity as sustainability. More than 420,000 square feet of programming was desired, yet the university’s mid-block site was a mere 17,000 square feet in size.All Together NowRoosevelt University’s Wabash Tower in Chicago redefines…

Meet the latest addition to the rapidly-growing SERF family! http://conta.cc/1jJ6a4M

Brand New SERF Certified Building!

Who says sustainability can't be delicious? Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins move into their 2nd SERF Certified building in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They caught the wave... will you? http://conta.cc/SKtRNg

We're very proud to announce that SERF will be a featured speaker with Roosevelt University at the 2014 Aashe Conference in Portland, Oregon! We will be discussing Roosevelt's path to achieving their impressive level of environmental stewardship and the educational aspect of the SERF Certification process.

SERF and Roosevelt University to be featured speakers at AASHE Conference — SERF We are proud to announce that SERF, in conjunction with the recently SERF Certified Roosevelt University, will be presenting at the 2014 AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) Conference in Portland, Oregon. The conference takes place from October 26th through…

A big congratulations to our friends at Gillespie Group upon the designation of their SERF-Certified Marshall Street Armory as a Michigan Historical Site! After serving as a home to the Michigan National Guard's 119th field artillery for 83 years, this facility now provides office space for several non-profit organizations. This honor certainly had good timing, given the upcoming holiday. Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Read more about how this facility demonstrates our mission of Practical Environmental Stewardship™ at serfgreen.org/facilities/marshall-street-armory

Marshall Street Armory — SERF This military armory and training facility is being adapted for a new life as a collaborative non-profit HQ which will also house its redeveloper, the Gillespie Group.

Building from scratch vs. Re-using existing facilities.
This new White Paper gives prospective developers enough information to make the decision on their own!

http://conta.cc/1rZ1be6

Did your school make the list?

Stan highlights some Universities that are making Sustainability a top priority across the country.

This a guest blog for our friends over at Destination Dining 360. Check out their site after you read Stan's blog!

DESTINATION DINING 360 on WordPress.com It is more than just about good food

Here's our feature in Chicago's The American Institute of Architects Magazine!

Congrats to Roosevelt U on their certification!

http://www.serfgreen.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/AIA-CHICAGOARCHITECT.pdf

Looks like Grand Traverse Pie Co. just got their slice of SERFdom! SERF Certifies Portage, MI Grand Traverse Pie Location
http://conta.cc/1kPzHnO

http://conta.cc/1kPzHnO

How is the famous LEED certification starting to lose its appeal to legislators and property owners?

Allow Joe to explain in his blog below:

Pushback on LEED grows — SERF From Ohio (link) to South Carolina (link), people from building owners to state legislators are rethinking their commitment to the USGBC’s LEED certification. Reasons range from political to economic, but amid an ever growing commitment to sustainability, there is strong demand for alternative gree...

Look who just got Certified!
Congrats Roosevelt University!

More info? http://conta.cc/1dQJD2k

Learn about LEED's monopoly on green certification markets and how municipalities are rectifying it - in Colin's final entry of his blog series.

Bravo, Colin!

A Trend Towards Competition and a Victory – Perhaps Even for LEED — SERF In this blog series, Colin W. Maguire, JD, SP, recounts his drafting of the legal articleThe Imposing Specter of Municipal Liability for the Exclusive Promotion of Green Building Certification Systems, 1 University of Baltimore Journal of Land & Development 157 (2012).