1. Understanding the Design, Certification & Cost of Green Buildings Roxanne Button AIA, LEED AP Why Build Green?
2.
3.
4. Green is a big, all-encompassing term that gets applied to everything from shopping bags & dry-cleaning to cars & buildings. There is no standard definition of what “green” really means, but it refers to environmentally-friendly products and practices. Beware of “greenwashing”…. Green is everywhere… Buffalo’s Urban Valet is now using green reusable & recycled dry-cleaning bags
5. “ Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” - Our Common Future , World Commission on Environment & Development report, 1987, chaired by Gro Harlem Brundtland Sustainable Development
6. USGBC: Design and construction practices that meet specified standards, resolving much of the negative impact of buildings on their occupants and on the environment Site Planning Indoor Environmental Quality Water Management Material Use Energy & Atmosphere What is green building?
20. Cost of Green Design “ People who are green averse are happy to relate anecdotes of premiums in excess of 30% to make their buildings green. These numbers are simply not, however, borne out by the facts….” - Peter Morris, Davis Langdon Morrisania Homes, NYC – LEED for Homes - Silver “ Costing Green: A Comprehensive Cost Database and Budget Methodology”, Davis Langdon, 2004. “ Cost of Green Revisited”, Davis Langdon, 2007.
21.
22.
23.
24. Green & sustainable design is good design. Green & sustainable design is good for business, especially local companies. Green design is good for our communities. So, why build green? Niagara Falls Municipal Complex, LEED Certified. Photo: Ciminelli Development Company
26. Roxanne Button AIA, LEED AP U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter [email_address] Questions?
27. Tracie Hall Executive Director U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter t [email_address] 315.729.9067 Questions?
Notas do Editor
The reasons for building green vary widely, but its important to note that there are environmental, social, and economic reasons for doing it.
We use these terms interchangeably, even though they don’t mean exactly the same thing. But what they do mean is we have better buildings that are healthy, energy efficient, and cost-efficient.
Green is a very popular word – we see it all over the media, especially in advertising. We also hear the terms eco-friendly & environmentally-friendly a lot – the term “eco” is being used almost as much as “green”. It’s important to understand what green means in the context that it’s being used, and to look out for greenwashing – a lot of products and companies claim to be green, but are they really?
When we step back and look at the bigger picture, what we’re talking about is sustainability. We may use rating systems like LEED to verify what we’re doing, but what we’re striving for is environmental sustainability. Broader term that encompasses more than energy and materials. Best-known definition comes from the Brundtland Commission in 1987….
Green building is defined by the US Green Building Council in this way:
We choose to build green because buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment, the economy, our communities and our health. We spend an average of 90% of our time indoors, so we have to make sure that’s a healthy place to be. Research gathered by the USGBC indicates that buildings account for….
If we build greener buildings, we can have an impact.
What makes a building green? We have to design, renovate and construct with the environment in mind from the very beginning. Using healthier materials Taking advantage of the sun and wind Energy use and renewable sources Reducing water use and other resources Waste reduction and using recyclable materials
I can tell my clients that what I’ve designed for them is green, and if they trust my opinion, we’re good. What happens when we need to prove it? To get funding? Marketing to potential tenants? We may have to use a standard like one of these. Energy Star has certified over 1 million homes. LEED, which I’ll talk more about in a moment, is the most commonly used green rating system. The National Association of Home Builders has an excellent green rating program for residential construction. The Green Building Initiative has the Green Globes rating system. The Living Building Challenge goes beyond where all of these systems are and demands that you meet all of its requirements – net-zero energy, no toxic materials, etc. The Omega Center for Sustainability in the Hudson Valley is pursuing LBC certification.
To promote green building, the USGBC created its LEED rating system in 2000.
A project is awarded a certification level based upon how many points it achieves, from the lowest level of Certified to the highest of Platinum.
In the 10 years since it was released, LEED has continued to grow… LEED accreditation for professionals… In the Buffalo/Niagara region we have 16 certified buildings and more than 20 in the design or construction stages.
Newest LEED certified project
Here is the list of other LEED certified projects in this region.
More governments, institutions and corporations are beginning to require that their buildings meet some accepted green standard. Usually it’s LEED. The Federal Government has set a mandate for green building with an Executive Order signed last fall by the President that sets specific targets for energy, water and waste reduction for federal buildings. Specific government departments also have set standards, including GSA. New York State Executive Order 111 sets LEED Silver as the standard for all state projects. Erie County - The Green Buildings Act : applies to all County projects over 2500 square feet. The new administration building at the Botanical Gardens has been designed to meet that requirement. City of Buffalo has no specific standard for green building, but it is addressing environmental issues such as energy conservation, durability of products and materials, and dealing with environmental hazards on its properties.
I keep hearing figures of 10, 20, even 30% premiums for building green. We now have a body of research that backs it up – green building does not have to cost more. So why do so many people think green design costs a lot? It’s because we don’t think in the long term when it comes to buildings. Construction budgets are based on what it costs to build, not what it costs to maintain the building over its lifetime. Green and sustainable design are about the life of the building: we get better buildings for the long-term. Sustainability is an investment in the future. So we have to start thinking about costs in the same way. Davis Langdon is a cost management consulting firm that has conducted two studies into the construction costs of LEED and non-LEED projects.
What they found in their 2004 study was proven again in the 2007 report…..
The keys to keeping costs under control on a green building – in fact, on any building – are these… Again, this is about construction cost – there is a cost to certify a building, and that varies depending on a lot of factors. The construction cost of a green building depends on the same factors – the design team, location , type of building, size.
Green building continues to grow. In the 20 years that I’ve been involved with it, I’ve seen huge changes – especially within the past 5 years. We seem to have turned a corner and now sustainability is being seen not as a fad, but as a reality. Our region has been a little slower than other parts of the country to see this kind of growth in green building, but it’s changing. Last September, I gave a presentation on the LEED certified buildings in WNY and we had 10. In June, I revised that presentation to 16.
So, why should we build green? It make sense on many levels – environmental, economic, and social. Green buildings are good for our communities, for local business, and for our health. They are good for the planet, and they are not just the future – they are NOW.
It isn’t about certifications or standards or costs – in the end, it’s about building better. Thank you…..