Project Team

How the project was initiated

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA) provided funding for the update of the New Jersey Green Building Manual in 2018, which included a strategic and comprehensive update to the original New Jersey Green Building Manual that was funded by the The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in 2009. A master advisory group of State Agencies including NJDEP, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), the Economic Development Authority (EDA) and the Governor’s Policy Office, oversaw its initial development. The Rutgers Center for Green Building (RCGB), who created the first version of the NJGBM, updated these green building guidelines with input from expert advisors and reviewers in the fields of sustainable landscaping, indoor air quality, mechanical and electrical engineering, energy-efficient design, renewable energy, and resiliency (acknowledgements below).

The Rutgers Center for Green Building

The Rutgers Center for Green Building (RCGB), located at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, forms a common umbrella for existing and proposed initiatives being carried out throughout the university and includes partners from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (formerly Cook College), the School of Engineering and other Rutgers units that are integral to developing and implementing innovative green building strategies.

RCGB has developed capabilities in applied green building research that entail modeling the life cycle cost and environmental impact of buildings, financial methodologies to better estimate green building value, post-occupancy study tools including survey research and building operating data analysis, and agent-based modeling to depict human behavior in buildings. RCGB has produced a series of reports documenting best design and operational practices in green building and green building policy recommendations. The Center furthermore produces green building training and education modules and participates and convenes a wide array of professional green building networks.

Acknowledgments

Expert Reviewers

• Gediminas “Gedi” Mainelis PhD, Professor, Rutgers University, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences (ENVSCI)
• Siddika Pasi PE, CEM,  Associate Director, Rutgers University, Center for Advanced Energy Systems (CAES)
• Jennifer Souder, ASLA, LEED AP, Green Building Consultant, Greener by Design, LLC