Southface Institute: Blog

Launch to Celebrate Living Building at Georgia Tech

Green Building

By Ken Edelstein, Editor, Kendeda Living Building Chronicle Don’t call it groundbreaking. The September 12 launch for the Living Building at Georgia Tech is about restoring the Earth more than “breaking” it. Right now, the site is a parking lot at the corner of Ferst Drive and State Street in the northwest quadrant of the Tech campus in Atlanta. This fall, Skanska USA, the contractor for the Living Building, will begin the process of converting that expanse of asphalt into …

Tags: Living Building Challenge

Southface LMS and Energy Code Hotline

Education

Georgia was selected to participate in a Residential Energy Code Field Study by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This project will determine how to best help homes capture energy savings by increasing energy code compliance through series of statewide education and outreach efforts to the building industry. Our program partners are currently providing free education and technical assistance to help Georgia residents achieve the highest amount energy benefits associated with the current energy code. Georgia Energy Code trainings and …

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My EarthCraft Dream Realized

Green Building

By Tom Mills, guest contributor  If we have met at a Southface event within the last five years, I likely mentioned my dream of an EarthCraft home. This July, the dream was finally realized in a new home constructed in downtown Lilburn, Ga. The home is on track for EarthCraft Platinum, with SK Collaborative serving as the rater. The house might seem familiar to many in the sustainability circle: The plan is the much-loved Sugarberry Cottage, which was built by …

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Meet the 2017 Visionary Dinner Chefs

Events

This year’s Visionary Dinner will be especially memorable as our new President, Andrea Pinabell, puts her unique touch on the event. As the successor to our co-founder, Andrea brings a fresh and creative perspective to the celebration, including new networking opportunities and a new mix of entertainment, information and celebration. Visionary Dinner is anticipated each year by the Atlanta community for the convergence of hundreds of business leaders, policy makers, design, development and construction professionals and sustainability innovators. As always, …

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Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Announces Cox Enterprises and The Ray C. Anderson Foundation as Presenting Sponsors of the Climate Change Conference

Blog

Chattahoochee Riverkeeper announces the 2017 Climate Change Conference with presenting sponsors Cox Enterprises and The Ray C. Anderson Foundation. The conference is set to take place on September 27-28, hosted by the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center.

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Telling A Different Story: Sustainability As A Means To Increase Mission-Driven Capacity And Strengthen Communities

Green Building

How does a building energy audit feed hungry people? Serve at-risk youth? Grow an arts program? Believe it or not, this isn’t a nonsequitur – it’s a demonstrated fact. Nonprofits are excellent targets for energy and water efficiency upgrades in their facilities as they are under pressure to reduce expenses and often occupy inefficient buildings that needlessly waste resources. Through Grants to Green and the Nonprofit Energy and Water Efficiency (NEWE) Initiative, nonprofits are able to free resources of revenue …

Tags: Gooduse

Compostwheels

Regenerative Design

Composting contributes to a greener environment, and saves you the trouble of heavy trash bags and funky smells in your home. Thankfully, you don’t have to live on a farm or in a rural area to compost your food scraps. Compostwheels, a residential and commercial compost pickup service based in Atlanta, Ga, has made composting at home effortless, even if you live in an apartment. Founded in 2012 by David Paull, the service seeks to reduce food waste and deliver …

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Big Prospects for Small Spaces

Green Building

If you watch HGTV, you might think the entire country is considering a move to a tiny house. From Tiny House, Big Living to Tiny House Builders to Tiny Luxury, you can’t turn on the channel without seeing a tiny house show. But are tiny homes the abode of the future, or are they a passing fad? And what about here in Georgia? Have tiny houses taken hold? The answer is, not yet – but they may be on the …

Tags: Tiny House

Get to know Amelia Godfrey, Senior Project Manager

About Us

I have seen some of the worst housing in this country, and I have seen some of the best housing in this country. That has opened my eyes to the fact that people’s access to basic housing, education, food, etc., are wildly unequal. My job plays a factor in social equality.

Tags: Staff