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Entries in Green Building (16)

Wednesday
Apr282010

A Night of Jazz and Green Building

What could be better than a night of live jazz tunes, food, drink, and chatting with people working in and excited about the green building sector? 

We agree...not much!  Join us for a night out at Murphy & Gonzalez in NYC, featuring blue7 on Thursday, May 6 between 7-9 pm.  There's no cover, no minimum--just a fun, relaxed atmosphere to meet like-minded individuals passionate about green building.

Spread the word...all are welcome.  And give us a shoutout if you plan on coming so we know to look for you! 

Monday
Apr122010

LEED EBOM as an Agent for Great Change 

This month, we are pleased to have Sheri Lucas share her perspective and experience with LEED EBOM.  

Sheri has been charged with introducing sustainable design, construction, operations and maintenance practices into Wells Fargo’s retail banking stores since 2005. With over 12 years experience in retail real estate strategy, this LEED AP loves the win-win game of increasing efficiency while reducing environmental impact. Sheri has a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies from Boston University and is currently studying for the GMAT while juggling her love of hiking, baking, and photography. She can also be found on Twitter and the Wells Fargo Environmental Forum.

EBOM, EBOM, EBOM. I utter this acronym with every other sentence. It seems LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance has become the love of my life. 

Yes, I really do love EBOM. Not because I’m a masochist. No, because EBOM is so much more than prereq’s and points and templates and calculations and performance periods. EBOM is a much-needed agent for greatly changing the way we do business, from floor to ceiling, from input to output. Nearly everything that happens in and around the four walls of every business is covered by EBOM.  

I’m stating the obvious when I point out that EBOM is designed for our existing building stock. And that stock is beyond enormous. According to the EPA, in 2002 there were nearly 4.9 million office buildings in the US alone. Anyone familiar with LEED knows the built environment has significant impact on the natural environment, its occupants, and the communities that surround every building.  

This is what makes EBOM so vital. We can wax poetic about the brand new NC Platinum high rise all we want, but most of our buildings already exist. Most are not optimally performing. They ingest precious resources like it’s going out of style.  

Oh, that’s right, it is going out of style!  

I’m also sorry to say that most of those pre-existing buildings aren’t very pleasant to be in, whether it’s due to bad lighting or lousy air quality.  

So there you have it. EBOM is the most important of all the rating systems. My hope is that more building owners jump on this bandwagon and stat. We have a lot of work to do. 

But there’s more – something I didn’t realize when I first elected to roll EBOM out across a couple thousand buildings. EBOM not only focuses on the physical system and structure, it focuses on our on-going, day-to-day habits, procedures, and events. And even while we’re still compiling our prerequisite submittals, we’re already triggering great changes across our footprint.  

We’re working with our contract management team to secure a recycling component to our waste management contracts. We’re working with our purchasing teams to ensure our supplies are environmentally friendly in a meaningful way. We’re designing an integrative green cleaning policy. We’re measuring our greenhouse gas emissions and aiming for our benchmarks. I could go on and on. 

But what do I mean by “meaningful” environmental-friendliness? Well, the ever-important certification path associated with all the rating systems necessitates a rigorous approach. That third-party nod confirms we’re walking the talk. This is immensely important, especially in consideration of all the hard work that goes into eliciting great change. We want everyone to know we understand the difference between green and greenwash. Meanwhile, there is currently lack of strong national green business certification in the marketplace. There is no widespread independent system for verifying sustainable practices within the four walls. 

Stephanie Rico, from our Environmental Affairs group, recently commented to me, “We have great localized green business programs like San Francisco Green Business, but recognition from one local body isn’t going to resonate in another town across the country. Having a nationally recognized system for verification would be my dream come true.” Well, Stephanie, I have some good news. To my (pleasant) surprise, much of EBOM covers actual business practices. I often find myself telling people it not only addresses the building itself, but everything that goes on inside, as well. And certification of those efforts is indeed on a national scale. 

In seeking to reduce our impact, we looked to EBOM as a way to reduce our buildings’ energy use. What we hadn’t recognized was how effective it would be at greening our daily practices. We’re already seeing great changes. And I’m excited to witness the ongoing expansion of those changes as we continue on this path.

Saturday
Apr102010

Week in Review

The big news this week is that our April podcast episode is now live!  We had a great conversation with Mike Hines, co-founder of Homepath Products about his company and his thoughts on adaptability in green building.  We also integrated some listener suggestions into this episode, so let us know what you think about the new approach!

Good reads in case you missed them: Advisory Board member Elaine Hsieh wrote a great blog post this week about A Green Building Consultant's Dilemma.  I think it resonates with a lot of readers because it's a fantastic look into the duality of this industry right now.  Also, my post last Friday about Linking Historic Preservation with Green Building has been drawing steady interest.  Add your thoughts to the conversation....we love seeing active comment boxes.

Enjoy your weekend!


Wednesday
Apr072010

A Green Building Consultant's Dilemma

Advisory Board member, Elaine Hsieh shares with us her thoughts this week.  You can find out more about Elaine on the B2S team page.

As a green building consultant, I often find myself torn between day-to-day consulting realities and my vision for true sustainability. 

We all know that mainstream methods of building, especially in the US, are unsustainable for the environment, and many builders who call themselves "green" are just following checklists toward an end goal of getting some sort of green label or certification. These lists are mostly just collections of prescriptive, accessible steps aimed at performing better than minimal standards. As a consultant, it is my job to help these owners, developers, design teams, and other building professionals understand the value of pursuing green building certification goals that include rigor and transparency and third-party verification to ensure credibility. I help teams make more sustainable decisions and perform as well as they can to achieve their certification goals, and I do my best to support an integrated project delivery process, manage expectations, educate, and assist the team toward their greening efforts. 

In some cases, people are motivated to pursue certifications out of their enlightened interest in sustainability. Even though education and cost-benefit discussions are usually part of these efforts, they can lead to innovative results and rewarding work as a consultant. In many cases, however, project teams are motivated to chase green building certifications because there is either a local ordinance requirement or because the owner is trying to compete in a market where these labels are in demand. As a consultant, the outcomes of these situations are usually far less satisfying; they often wind up feeling like mindless point-chasing, with needless cost additions, uncooperative construction teams that didn't account for "extra paperwork," and a lot of people who shake their heads at how annoying "green" building is. The unfortunate reality is that most people don't care to listen to consultants like me unless the owner (i.e., the one with the purse strings) cares. 

Regardless of their motivation for certification, I'm happy that people are doing something to modify past behaviors and look for greener, more sustainable solutions. But are these minimalist, box-checking approaches to green building enough? Most green building certifications help teams get acknowledged and rewarded for taking small steps toward reducing their environmental impact, but will these baby steps make a difference when 99% of the world's buildings still need to be addressed? 

Some have suggested that tighter local regulation is a way to move beyond voluntary green building certification recognition. While this sounds good in theory, in practice it's mostly unrealistic. Consider how few building departments in the US know how to actually enforce their local green building ordinances credibly. It's impossible to issue a building permit after a project gets built and certified, which makes it impossible for an inspector to ensure the building is actually going to meet the required certification standards. This is not to say that green building regulation is not good, but the experience enforcement authorities have with green building rating systems is generally low and some of these "green" policies are just plain hard to enforce. These are some of the reasons why many well-intentioned green building regulations often lead to buildings with perceived "green label equivalence" that contribute to greenwashing and confusion in the marketplace.  

Another possible step beyond basic green building certification lies in tighter federal building codes. If these codes become stricter and incorporate more sustainability elements (e.g., adopt ASHRAE/USGBC/IESNA Standard 189.1P), then this may force awareness, education, and change. Unfortunately, not all parts of the US are created equal in terms of building codes, so this transition to a federal green building code may take a while. 

All of these approaches are a bit superficial, though. They lack a true philosophical foundation. It would be great to find a deeper, less prescriptive approach to sustainability. 

One green building certification system that is trying to do some "pulling" in the building industry is the Living Building Challenge. The system's author, Jason McLennan, indicated that its purpose is to "act as a lighthouse" for project development teams striving to achieve true sustainability. More specifically, the system is only made up of prerequisites (i.e., imperatives) like net zero energy, net zero water, no "red list" materials, and other equally challenging systems-based targets. In the Living Building Challenge, "all aspects are guided by identifying an ideal and positioning that ideal as an indicator of success, so decisions are steered by restorative principles instead of code-minimum solutions." Here is a system that is based on constant reminders of the objectives we are working to achieve. In my world, I think it's one of the few green building systems that is aligned with what most "deep green" professionals can generally get behind. Although the risk of setting goals too high may stop most people from even trying, a system that is guided by ideals is not intended for everyone. 

And that's the conundrum. Keep the sustainability bar low (i.e., check-box green building), and you'll get more adoption, but slower overall progress. Set the sustainability bar higher, and you'll get better results where they're implemented, but less adoption. 

If we can't strike the right balance between green ideals and practices that people can actually adopt, how long will it take for us to reach the vision we share for a sustainable future? 

 

Friday
Apr022010

Linking Historic Preservation With Green Building

When I think of sustainability, part of what I think of are quality structures that will be used for generations.  Historic buildings to me are a good example of that kind of durability, though in the past there was debate here at Build2Sustain over whether the Coliseum should be considered sustainable. So, isn't there a natural alignment between historic preservation and sustainable renovation?  Sure, the historic aspects and the regulations around renovating a historic building can present challenges, but surely there must be a way to preserve the features of a building that makes them special historically while updating the technology and materials to make it a high performing building.  John M. Tess of the Heritage Consulting Group writes an interesting piece about this very topic, highlighting successful projects that were able to attain both historic preservation and green building credits (and reap the rewards of tax benefits in the process).  One of the projects highlighted is the Oregon National Guard Armory Annex pictured left.  In the end, by using the resources and abilities we have now to help these buildings perform better, we ensure their survival for many generations to come--and isn't that the very point of historic preservation? 

Saturday
Mar202010

Week in Review

Had a busy week and feel like you missed some of the content we put out?  No problem!  Here is a succinct recap for you:

As always, we've been putting out blog posts regularly this week.  Our two most popular were:

1) Ashrae 189.1 Is The Most Important Story in Green Building Today 

2) Jill Bellenger's guest blog, Green Building Sense: Do As the Locals Do

Honorable mention goes to my guest post yesterday, The Trouble in Going At It Alone, which held its own.

In other news, our podcast seems to steadily be reaching more listeners.  If you or someone you know hasn't discovered it yet, it's never too late to join.  You can catch up with us on our Podcast Page or you can search for Build2Sustain in iTunes.  If you have been listening, thank you!  And please let us know what you think.  Drop us a comment on the Podcast Page or better yet, rate or review us on iTunes.

Happy Weekend!

 

 

Monday
Mar152010

Green Building Sense: Do as the Locals Do

This month, we've invited Jill Bellenger to share some of her thoughts on the green building industry.  Jill Bellenger, ASLA, CPH is a founding principal at 3 Design Consulting LLC.  She is a Landscape Designer and Certified Professional Horticulturist, with a focus on the principles of the Sustainable Sites Initiative and LEED for Neighborhood Development.  She is an experienced Green Business advocate, with core expertise including conservation landscaping, LEED, graphic design, professional development programming and green building practices.

Living sustainably goes beyond what’s inside our homes, offices, and schools.  It also takes into account the connectivity of these uses, and how appropriate their locations are in relation to each other.  But not all green buildings are created equal.  It’s becoming more common to see buildings and even neighborhoods go through rigorous green certification processes, and depending on where you’re located, their design can be measured in a number of ways.

Primarily LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is paving the way for more sustainable residential, commercial, and mixed-use buildings and neighborhoods.  It’s one of the many recognized rating systems available (this one from the non-profit US Green Building Council) to make sense of all the potential ‘greenwashing’ that has, unfortunately, become a part of the whole Green movement. 

I say ‘many’ rating systems because as it turns out, LEED has really sparked the interest of quite a few municipalities.  Over the past decade, cities like Austin, Seattle, Portland, and San Jose have their own locally-based guidelines.  Some are complete with Green Building Task Forces or sustainability departments geared toward streamlining the program for its users.  Many of these are in response to the Federal Stimulus Bill, where cities need to use a given amount of funding for environmental programs.

Not to mention EPA’s Energy Star, which has a rating system of its own in an effort to decrease building energy usage by at least 15%.  While some homeowners may only be familiar with the Energy Star label for energy efficient appliances, the program can also be used building-wide in an effort to market it as on the cusp of sustainable design.

What happens when you are faced with so many of these rating systems is that building or renovating a project to the utmost green standards can really have varied results from design to construction.  For example, LEED has several credits that specify a building adhere to either an architectural standard such as ASHRAE or instead to a local standard, whichever is stringent. 

Having a variety of rating systems for green building is a step in the right direction, bringing light to some glaring concerns in the way buildings have been built over the past few decades.  But it’s also a little as if every city created its own version of ADA codes for accessibility, and designers could pick and choose which code to follow.  What you’d find is a genuine attempt to increase accessibility but no consistency on how to reach it. 

No matter which rating system you’re involved in, it’s best to become educated about what is available, the kinds of tax and other local incentives out there in your area, and the stake your area is claiming in regards to green building.  Until there is a nationally required rating system, LEED, Energy Star, and the many other options are slowly becoming mandatory benchmarks for sustainable design. While the future of green building is uncertain, it is extremely reassuring that there’s still a continual increase in the resources and organizations dedicated to improving the way we design. 

 

Monday
Mar152010

ASHRAE 189.1 Is the Most Important Story in Green Building Today

That headline is not linkbaiting either. ASHRAE 189.1 represents the first green building standard written in enforceable code language here in the US. As we highlighted in our podcast over the last two weeks, programs like the Living Building Challenge and LEED will always be there to advance the higher causes of green building and challenge pros to think about how to design and construct our buildings more sustainbly, but the introduction of this kind of code represents a primary shift in the way buildings will be constructed in the US.

If you work in the design/build industry here in the US you are familiar with ASHRAE Standard 90.1, this standard establishes the baseline for energy usage and effieciency here in the US. This standard has become code almost universally across the US...the following paragraph from ASRAE explains the intent of Standard 189.1  (and here's the whole document).

The standard is not a design guide or a rating system, though it is hoped that organizations...will integrate this standard into their rating programs...Standard 189.1 is primarily based on mandatory requirements (with some elements allowing a choice between a prescriptive or performance options for compliance) that establish baseline criteria for a high-performance green building. Also, because Standard 189.1 is a code-intended standard, it references documents that are in normative language, meaning those documents are not just for informative purposes but are required for compliance with the standard.

It's a green building code. How much more effiecient is it that the current building code (ASHRAE 90.1)? Again from ASHRAE:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has made a preliminary estimate based on the second public review draft of Standard 189.1. Applying the minimum set of prescriptive recommendations in Standard 189.1 led to site energy savings ranging from 10 percent to 34 percent over Standard 90.1-2007, including plug and process loads and all other energy consumption for the building. The weighted average across all building types was 18 percent. Since the second public review, additional energy savings measures were incorporated into the standard, so the published standard is expected to yield even greater energy savings.

 

The question now is how rapidly will state and local governments adopt the green building code and make it the law of their respective land? How municipal governments answer that question will rapidly set the baseline for green building in the United States. Have any thoughts? Experience or expertise with the standard? We'd love to hear them in the comments.