Friday, February 24, 2012

LEED 2012 Development

The hallmark of LEED and its ability to affect market transformation is its continuous improvement cycle that enables the rating system to increase in scope and stringency as market readiness increases and new technologies become widely available. With LEED 2009, the primary changes were foundational changes, such as rating system content alignment, credit point value allocation, the development of LEED Online v3, and changes to the professional credentials and certification process. These foundational changes continue to be refined in the context of LEED 2009, but will not be fundamentally changed again with the next update of LEED.

For LEED 2012, USGBC will focus on increasing the technical rigor of the rating system, expanding the market sectors able to use LEED, and striving for simplicity in terms of usability. LEED 2012 builds on LEED 2009 in a thoughtful way. It optimizes the foundations in LEED 2009, and will continue to improve the clarity, usability, functionality and interconnectedness of the rating systems through future version development.

(Excerpt from USGBC, read more)




















Lamboo Inc. is committed to maintaining its status as an innovative leader in the development of environmentally responsible technologies for the architectural industry. Lamboo products are not only higher performing but are also eligible for LEED credits on qualifying products. Please refer to USGBC website for more information on qualifying projects.

For questions regarding Lamboo or our products please visit our
website at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us

"MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD" - Lamboo Incorporated



Friday, February 17, 2012

IC2 Technologies & Lamboo Inc.


Specializing in the manufacturing of high energy-efficient timber-integrated hybrid outer shells, IC2 is an industry leader in the construction of passive houses and carbon-neutral buildings. Their expertise in conducting building energy simulations combined with an integrated design approach enables IC2 to facilitate the development of innovative, ambitious solutions and accelerate the realization of housing projects that are 60 to 90 percent more energy efficient.



With the integration of Lamboo® Renewall™ materials IC2 is committed to being the leading innovator in the construction of carbon-neutral buildings.The superior performance and sustainability of our laminated bamboo materials makes it a perfect fit for IC2 projects  to reduce their carbon footprint while providing long lasting, durable systems.

Renewall™ products can attain up to 5 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Credits under the following:
  • MR Credit 6 - Rapidly renewable materials
  • IEQ Credit 4.4 - Low-emitting materials
  • ID Credit 1 - Innovation in Design
    (Environmentally Preferable Material)
  • ID Credit 2 - Innovation in Design
    (Life Cycle Assessment / Environmental Impact)
  • FSC Certification - Available Upon Request

To learn more about Lamboo, IC2 Technologies, or our products please visit our
website at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us.

"MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD" - Lamboo Incorporated

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Greening of Building Sector on Track to Deliver Trillions in Savings by 2030


(Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse in Eugene, Ore. received LEED gold

certification from the U.S. Green Building Council/Credit: functoruser, flickr)

Architecture 2030, a building sector research and advocacy group, issued a report last week asserting that the greening of the U.S. building sector is on track to deliver far more energy savings than government officials predicted only a handful of years ago, with important implications for the country's energy and climate picture. 

The report looked at data released without fanfare almost a year ago by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the analysis arm of the Department of Energy, which publishes projections for U.S. energy supply and demand each spring. Architecture 2030 compared EIA's 2005 and 2011 projections and found something that surprised them. The EIA had quietly, but dramatically, lowered long-term projections for energy use and carbon emissions from America's homes, office buildings and other commercial properties.

Energy consumption from buildings will increase by 14 percent from 2005 to 2030, the EIA said, down from the 44 percent spike it predicted seven years ago. Architecture 2030 says it amounts to eliminating the electricity output from 490 500-megawatt coal-fired plants over the same 25-year period.

The new projections mean Americans will save an additional $3.7 trillion on energy bills through 2030.

Greenhouse gas emissions from buildings are slated to increase by less than 5 percent, compared to an estimated 53 percent rise in 2005, the data also revealed. Currently, buildings account for 40 percent of both U.S. electricity consumption and heat-trapping gas emissions.

Edward Mazria, founder and CEO of Architecture 2030, which advocates for a carbon- neutral building sector, said his group's analysis of the data is the first to publicize the green building movement's contributions to national energy use so far and into the future. "This is a huge national snapshot of where we've been and where we're heading," he told InsideClimate News.

Mazria says the main driver of the new projections is the hike in building energy standards. "It's policies, it's building codes, it's better building design and more efficient technologies. We're building to a better standard," he said. The group wants the report to provide policymakers and builders a reason to continue on this path.

But EIA says there is more to it than that. Agency analysts told InsideClimate News that Architecture 2030's report downplays factors that have nothing to do with making buildings greener like the huge slowdown in construction from the recession that means fewer buildings have been, and will get, built.

For the most part, though, EIA officials agree with the bottom line of Mazria's report that green improvements are saving energy. "Over the years, our projections for buildings' energy consumption have decreased, and a lot of that is due to increases in efficiency," Erin Boedecker, the lead building analyst at EIA, said.

The Rise of the Green Building

Since 2005, the federal government and most states have adopted various building codes and efficiency tax incentives that have helped spur a green-building boom.
Most notably, a mandate under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act requires all federal buildings to reduce energy use by 30 percent in 2015 compared to 2003 levels. In 2010, California passed the nation's first mandatory statewide green building code, which took effect last year. Meanwhile, more than half of all states have adopted the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code, a standard created by the International Code Council, a U.S.-based nonprofit, which requires buildings to meet efficiency standards for heating units and air conditioners, water heaters and lighting.

Laitner of ACEEE cited figures from a 2009 publication by economists Robert Ayer and Benjamin Warr, which found that nearly 90 percent of the energy Americans consume is wasted due to inefficiencies. A standard 100-watt light bulb, for instance, might only convert eight percent of the electricity it uses to create light, while the rest is used to give off unnecessary heat, he said.

Many of the country's leaders are operating under the false assumption that we must boost energy supplies to grow the economy, Laitner said, and fail to consider how using less energy would have a similar result. Energy efficiency "is an invisible resource. It doesn't come to mind when we think about what we have to do to power our economy," he said.

Pyke of the U.S. Green Building Council agreed. "Changes to the built environment can and must bring down overall energy demand in the U.S.," he said.

(Excerpt of article from InsideClimateNews.org)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Lamboo & Splinakis Ship Designs

Lamboo Inc. has partnered with Splinakis Ship Design within the nautical industry for mega-yacht projects focusing on quality and sustainability. Pictured below is Andrea Splinakis with Lamboo President Luke Schuette and Peter Illig General Manager of the Switizerland office. Splinakis is the owner of Splinakis Ship Design that is based out of Italy with operations in Nigeria and Korea serving clients across the globe.


Splinakis Ship Design in cooperation with partners is offering Lamboo's nautical grade laminated bamboo components within projects to take full advantage of its superior characteristics. Lamboo®  Elite™  material is great for the environment while featuring proprietary adhesives that resist moisture, bacteria/fungal growth, and being flame retardant as well.

(Image from J. Sung Design

The treacherous conditions of the sea make performance and durability critical factors in ship design and implementation to ensure safety for those who sail it. Splinakis Ship Design is committed to using the very best technology and design practices to meet these strenuous requirements and utilizing Lamboo is one way they are doing it.


To learn more about Lamboo, our operations, or products please visit our
website at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us.

"MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD" - Lamboo Incorporated

Friday, February 3, 2012

Sustainability of Bamboo


A number of bamboo product manufacturers have chosen to use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification as a demonstration of sustainability. However, FSC was designed for timber forests and not bamboo grass farms. Accordingly, Lamboo has chosen to go above and beyond FSC, and utilizes the global expertise of The Forest Trust to maintain a transparent system to ensure we obtain our bamboo from sustainably managed sources. Further, we use this system to verify that our manufacturing and distribution structures achieve the highest levels of sustainability.


Bamboo as a resource is the most sustainable plant used in the manufacturing of structural and architectural systems. Bamboo in comparison to timber takes 4 years to fully mature, where as timber on average takes 25 to 50 years to mature. Lamboo has 3 times the structural capacity of timber, achieving longer spans which allows for use of less material. Bamboo can be harvested without replanting, due to its root structure and grass like features, which also helps eliminate soil erosion. Unlike other crops, bamboo requires little or no pesticides to grow, because of a natural bio-agent that is bound to the plant at the molecular level.

To learn more about Lamboo, our operations, or products please visit our 
website at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us.

"MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD" - Lamboo Incorporated

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

In addition to our commitment to innovation in sustainable design practices Lamboo is focused on operations that surpass ethical standards in the industry.  Lamboo, Inc. meets BBB accreditation standards, and strives to maintain good faith both with stakeholders and consumers. Lamboo holds a A+ rating with this agency.


To learn more about Lamboo, our practices, or products please visit our 
website at www.lamboo.us or contact us at info@lamboo.us.

"MAKING INNOVATIVE THINKING A STANDARD" - Lamboo Incorporated