March 15 - Tour Great American Tower, Queen City Square Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati Members only, 1:30 p.m. Reservations required. Call (513) 421-4469 to reserve and to confirm meeting location for this hard-hat tour of the city’s soon-to-be tallest skyscraper. Precertified LEED.
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March 22 Start - LEED AP+/Green Assoc. Exam Class
LEED AP+/Green Assoc. Exam Class for Green Associate, New Construction, Core & Shell and Schools is 6 weeks and 12 classes. Each class is at a different LEED project, 5:30 to 8:30 pm Mondays and Thursdays. Former class members, still studying for the test, may audit the class at no charge. This is the first class and will be held at Green Cincinnati’ s new office at 126A West 14th Street, Cin., OH 45202. The first hour tour, 5;30 to 6:30 pm, is open to the public at no charge. Learn more.
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March 25 - LEED Tour of GreenSource Cincinnati, 19 East 8th Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202, 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Created by Monroe Mechanical, is a resource center for the green building community. With over 50 technology partners displaying green products “in action”, GreenSource Cincinnati is completely unique and stands poised to achieve its Vision, which is: “To inspire the Midwest building community with energy efficient, sustainable technologies.” This is the second class of Green Cincinnati’s LEED Exam course.
From their newsletter: Cincinnati is going Green! GreenSource Cincinnati, a resource center for green technology located in downtown Cincinnati is on a mission to educate! Free Educational Seminars taking place at GreenSource Cincinnati! We are offering lunch and learns nearly every Tuesday and Wednesday in the month of March from 11:30-1pm.
March 2nd: ICF: Insulated Concrete Form
March 3rd: LiveRoof: Green Roof Systems
March 10th: SUN: Energy Efficient Windows
March 17th: Valor: Energy Efficient Fireplaces
March 24th: LENNOX: Solar Assisted Heat Pump
Visit their site to register! Or call them at: 1-866-8GO-GREEN
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April 21 Start - Alternative Energy Sources course at Cincinnati State
Held nine Wednesdays 6 to to 10:20 pm. Members learn how to evaluate and decide on all aspects of renewable or alternative energy production. The second class is a tour and passive solar analysis of the Frank Lloyd Wright Boulter House in nearby Clifton. Contact Ralph Wells or us to register CET-7985- Section 20, sign up by the end of March. Learn more.
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Wanted - Green Building Partners
Would you like to make a building in Over-The-Rhine into a residential and office space that has a low impact on the environment? Team help with gentle design, water use, energy use, and materials would be appreciated. Please contact Green Cincinnati Education Advocacy.
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Green Cincinnati Education Advocacy, a wing of Lohre & Assoc., Inc., 126A West 14th Street, 2nd Floor, Cincinnati, OH 45202-7535. Phone 877-608-1736, 513-961-1174, Mobile 513-260-9025, Fax 513-961-1192, Email.

Chuck Lohre, President of Lohre & Associates, a Cincinnati-based marketing and communications consultancy serving engineers, architects and the building and materials trades, recently received LEED AP status from the U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org), the organization responsible for LEED certification. Lohre & Associates, celebrating its 70th anniversary, is the only marketing communications firm in the region whose principal has achieved LEED AP status.

LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building practices, principles and the LEED Rating System. More than 43,000 people have earned the credential since the Professional Accreditation program was launched in 2001. Both the LEED Rating System and LEED AP credentials are recognized worldwide.

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, focuses on five areas including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection as well and indoor environmental quality.

Lohre studied for the LEED AP examination earlier this year for the benefit of the company’s entire client base and especially the building materials and products industries his firm represents. Says Lohre, “Even though building products are not eligible for LEED certification, there’s a tremendous opportunity for manufacturers to get their green message across to architects and developers.” With a relatively small investment of time, Lohre explains, “Manufacturers can provide the necessary information about the recycled content, location of manufacture, VOC content and other details builders are looking for when specifying products for their green projects.” In turn, Lohre & Associates has the specific knowledge to produce the documentation those specifiers are seeking when applying for LEED status for their projects. Lohre is also available to consult with architects and firms needing an accredited LEED AP.

LEED certified buildings are, by USGBC requirements for several of the design areas, at least 15-20 percent more efficient than typical code buildings besides the improved environment for work and play that may increase productivity up to 20 percent.

Of Ohio’s 36 LEED-certified buildings, 12 are located in the greater Cincinnati area with another 30 already in the works. In 2007, a Cincinnati ordinance created significant financial incentive through (transferable) tax abatements for commercial and residential developers to build to LEED standards. Properties can receive up to 85 percent of the project’s value abated for 15 years. Additionally, the state of Ohio has mandated that schools must be LEED certified to receive funding from the Ohio School Facilities Commission.

About the U.S. Green Building Council: is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation.

About Lohre & Associates: is a full-service marketing communications agency specializing in mechanical, chemical and electrical engineering as well as green architecture through strategic branding, Internet marketing, graphic & 3D design and continuing educational unit events. Green Cincinnati Education Advocacy was registered as a new brand on May 21, 2009.

Note to editors: Chuck Lohre is available to comment on local building projects and trends as well as sustainable products and the LEED Rating System. He currently serves as Cincinnati Regional Chapter of the USGBC 2009/10 Board Member and Chair of the local USGBC Chapter Communications PR/Media Committee as well as past Board member of the local chapter of the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), an architectural, engineering and contractor marketing communications professional association.)

Get it Forest Stewartship Council, FSC, approved. That means you’ll print it on paper that uses recycled content and any new wood will be from approved forests that are sustainable. Just ask the printer you use if they are FSC approved. There are several in Cincinnati and if they aren’t they probably are in the pipeline. If you decide to go this route the FSC logo can be printed on your literature. There is even a paper with the logo watermarked in it. Lohre is using it for our letterhead. Chuck Lohre is a LEED AP (Accredited Professional with the US Green Building Council) and there isn’t a better source for, “What is Green?” Look one up in your neighborhood http://www.gbci.org/LEED/AP/ViewAll.aspx?CMSPageID=59 .