Among the most often asked questions in the green building arena is whether the additional upfront cost associated with green construction or green retrofits will pay off. To date it has been a very difficult question to answer as there has been no comprehensive database which has demonstrated the savings associated with "greening" either new construction or a retrofit and instead the available data has been based on limited white papers and isolated studies. A recent article by the New York Times Showing The Benefits of "Green" Retrofits highlighted the efforts of Deutsche Bank to finance the creation of a public database of several hundred buildings in New York City which have implemented green retrofits. As Gary Hattem, President of the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation has stated:

"Retrofitting buildings is considered the low-hanging fruit in carbon reduction, but despite its simplicity, it is still not mainstream, the largest obstacle to making these practices go mainstream is data that will convince building owners to retrofit their properties and at the same time increase underwriters’ willingness to finance the projects.”

Hopefully the development of a database such as that being developed will show the community at large that green retrofits are worthwhile investments and more individuals and institutions will begin implementing such retrofits.

As many of you may know I am involved with an amazing company Build2Sustain. Today I want to take the opportunity to highlight several of the other members of the advisory board who are excellent resources and will be major players in defining the sustainability movement and the direction it takes heading forward. The first of these individuals is Chris Hill of Construction Law Musings. Chris is one of those rare individuals who is able to envision a project's potential benefits as well as the myriad of potential pitfalls and then convey them to a potential client or third party in manner which makes them easily understandable. It is individuals like Chris who are able to temper the contagious optimism of individuals seeking to construct green projects who will be crucial to the long term success of sustainable design and construction for if we fail to identify the risks and take measures to correct them at at early stage, sustainable buildings will under perform and be riddled with problems that will make them prohibitively expensive over the long run. Hand in hand with the role Chris plays is the equally important role of Gregory Arkin of Revit3D who brings his arsenal of technology to the forefront of the design of the buildings of tomorrow. Gregory has a knowledge of Building Information Management (BIM) which is unrivaled. BIM is a new way of designing and analyzing buildings which allows all the parties involved to make changes to a building's design and instantly see how a change in one area such as in the design of the HVAC system will impact other areas such as the electrical system. By allowing the members of a team to make changes and see how they will impact other areas BIM is reducing the costs of construction and permitting the construction of buildings which are more sustainable and which more closely perform to the expectations of the design team. Build2Sustain will leverage on the vast knowledge which these individuals bring to the table and will become a go to source for those involved in the industry.

This week it is my great pleasure to bring you an interview courtesy of Chris Birk and Chris Cheatham. The interview which is described below is truly a must listen.

After three years of wrangling, confusion over the nation's first landmark piece of Green Building legislation may be coming to a close.

Enacted in 2006, Washington D.C.'s Green Building Act ushered in a new era of environmentally conscious construction. The law, which takes full effect in 2012, features a host of mandatory energy efficiencies for new construction projects. But the act's language has sparked controversy within the surety industry, which is responsible for bonding construction jobs and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are protected.

The issue has been the idea of a "green" performance bond.

To learn more about the situation in Washington and what it might mean for green building nationwide, the Surety Bonds Education Center recently spoke with Chris Cheatham, a Washington, D.C., construction attorney and an expert in the green building issues facing the surety industry. His blog, Green Building Law Update, has become a hub for information and insight into the future of green building in the nation's capital and beyond.

Chris has closely followed the Green Building Act and the controversy surrounding the surety requirements. You can listen to the full interview here.