Green building in the United States
Encyclopedia
This article provides examples of Green Building
programs in the United States
. These programs span the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and all have the goal of increasing energy efficiency and the sustainability of the built environment.
organizations and programs in green building.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit trade organization that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built and operated. The USGBC is best known for the development of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) rating system and Greenbuild, a green building conference that promotes the green building industry. As of September 2008, USGBC has more than 17,000 member organizations from every sector of the building industry and works to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. To achieve this it has developed a variety of programs and services, and works closely with key industry and research organizations and federal, state and local government agencies. USGBC also offers a host of educational opportunities, including workshops and Web-based seminars to educate the public and industry professionals on different elements of the green building industry, from the basics to more technical information. Through its Green Building Certification Institute
, USGBC offers industry professionals the chance to develop expertise in the field of green building and to receive accreditation as green building professionals.
The National Association of Home Builders
, a trade association representing home builders, remodelers and suppliers to the industry, has created a voluntary residential green building program known as NAHBGreen
. The program includes an online scoring tool, national certification, industry education, and training for local verifiers. The online scoring tool is free to builders and to homeowners.
The Green Building Initiative is a non-profit network of building industry leaders working to mainstream building approaches that are environmentally progressive, but also practical and affordable for builders to implement. The GBI has developed a web-based rating tool called Green Globes, which has been upgraded in accordance with ANSI
procedures.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency
's Energy Star
program rates commercial buildings for energy efficiency and provides Energy Star qualifications for new homes that meet its standards for energy efficient building design.
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools
is a non-profit green rating program specifically for K-12 schools. CHPS addresses energy efficiency
and additional design considerations fostering healthy and environmentally responsible school buildings. On June 4, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act," which would commit over $20 billion of funding over the next five years to high performance schools. CHPS is recognized as one of the standards that projects would need to meet in order to qualify for the H.R. 3021 legislation funding. H.R. 3021 was referred to the Senate on August 1, 2008.
" that green building attracts amongst academics. According to Ann Rappaport, a lecturer at Tufts School of Engineering
who writes about climate change and universities, "[t]he value of campus greening [in the United States] goes well beyond resources saved; greening generates interest and invites members of the academic community to think differently about societal values, goods consumed, and the infrastructure for shelter and mobility, raising questions about how human needs can be met in new ways."
has made available not less than $4.5 billion for measures necessary to convert General Services Administration
(GSA
) facilities to High-Performance Green Buildings, as defined in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
(Public Law 110-140).
that exhibits "green" or "sustainable" features. The phenomenon has become increasingly common in the United States with the adoption of state and local policies that favor or require green building practices for publicly owned or funded buildings. One challenge to green affordable housing is to see to the life cycle cost
of the building by balancing the higher upfront cost with the lower future energy costs, as it already may be a challenge to raise capital to finance affordable housing .
Although there is no single definition for what constitutes a Green Building
, some elements recur in describing the concept. A Green Building can thus be defined as a high-performance building designed, built, operated and disposed of in a resource-efficient manner with the aim to minimize the overall (negative) impact on the built environment, human health and the natural environment. Some examples of green building features are choice of site and orientation, efficient use of materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation.
Affordable Housing
in the US is defined as dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Affordability is commonly defined as not spending more than 30 percent of household income on housing .
Although many aspects contribute to making a building more green or sustainable energy use
is undeniably an essential factor. For example, the EU Green Building program focuses only on energy use in terms of energy efficiency
and renewable energy
.
.
Energy expenditures for low income households have risen over the past decades, and the energy burden (energy expenditures as share of household income) has increased since 1997. Mean residential energy expenditures increased
by 27 percent from 2001 to 2005, to $1,522, and by almost 20 percent to $1,822 by fiscal year 2009. The mean group residential energy burden (the ratio between mean energy expenditures and mean income for a given set of households) for households with incomes at or below 150 percent of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
' (HHS) poverty guidelines rose from 10.7 percent in 1997 to 13.5 percent in 2009 .
Utilities are included in housing expenditures in calculations of housing affordability. However, higher energy costs mean that rents will be higher and/or that more assistance is needed to cover the difference between actual and "affordable" energy expenditures, assistance that already is insufficient to cover this gap.
The potential problem with sustainability standards is that projects will be more costly and projects will become cost prohibitive. While units that are built will be higher efficiency, the number of available units could decrease because of costs. A 2009 study prepared by Davis Langdon examines the effect of green standards on the costs of affordable housing projects in Seattle and Portland. This study compared “standard housing projects” (i.e. projects with no explicit sustainability goals) and projects attempting to achieve Built Green or LEED certification. The study includes both public and private affordable housing projects. At the time of the study, both cities had high sustainability standards for public projects, and Washington has only increased that standard since then. Construction cost analysis (in terms of cost per square foot) showed no significant difference between standard projects and green-rated projects. The study is limited by a small sample size, because of which they couldn’t compare public and privately funded projects. Presumably, with more states and localities implementing such standards, the opportunity for further study will increase.
Energy-efficient appliances are another method for households to decrease energy use. Low-income households have trouble realizing this gain energy efficiency. Energy-efficient appliances require a large up-front investment, and savings will not be realized for many years. Local grantees have the option to use Weatherization funds to support appliance purchases. However, unlike weatherization programs, the gains in household budgets are often not worth the investment. A 2010 study examined the households' purchasing habits in regard to high-efficiency appliances. Using household-level data, this study determines that homeowners are significantly more likely to own energy efficient large appliances, such as refrigerators or washing machines. However, the results show that the cost of this problem is negligible compared to overall energy consumption. This finding is important considering the increasing efficiency standards for household appliances. A higher standard may put simple appliances out of the price range of low income households, while not offering much energy relief for households that do own them .
is the first statewide green building code in the country and seeks to establish minimum green building standards for the majority of residential and commercial new construction projects across California.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
approved a green building ordinance
in early August 2008 that imposes strict requirements on newly constructed residential and commercial buildings within the city, as well as building renovations.
For homes, the ordinance requires ratings from the GreenPoints rating system, developed by developed by a non-profit organization called Build It Green. Starting next year, new "small" residential buildings (those with four dwellings or fewer) must achieve 25 GreenPoints (equal to the "Elements" rating), but do not need to be rated. For 2010 and 2011, the homes must be GreenPoint Rated and building applications must demonstrate that a minimum of 50 GreenPoints (equal to the "Whole House" rating) will be achieved. And starting in 2012, building applications for new homes must demonstrate that at least 75 GreenPoints will be achieved. The same rules apply for mid-size residential buildings, except that the requirement for 75 GreenPoints starts earlier, in 2011.
For commercial buildings and high-rise residential buildings, the ordinance adds in requirements from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
) rating system. Starting in November (if the California Energy Commission has approved the legislation), new permit applications for high-rise residential buildings must include documentation to achieve LEED certification (or 50 GreenPoints), and starting in 2010, they must include documentation to achieve LEED Silver certification (or 75 GreenPoints). A number of specific LEED standards must also be met for landscaping, water use reduction, and construction debris management. Mid-size commercial buildings don't need to meet LEED certification requirements but must meet LEED standards for building commissioning, landscaping, water use, and construction debris management starting in 2009, and must meet enhanced commissioning standards and tighter water use requirements starting in 2010. Beginning in 2012, the buildings must also meet LEED standards for the use of on-site renewable energy or the purchase of renewable energy credits.
The toughest requirements apply to large commercial buildings. Starting in November, new permit applications for high-rise residential building must submit documentation to achieve LEED certification, and that requirement ratchets up to LEED Silver in 2009 and LEED Gold in 2012. There are also requirements to meet additional LEED standards, nearly equal to those for mid-size commercial buildings. Finally, for new large commercial interiors and major alterations to existing buildings, new permit applications must include documentation to achieve the same LEED rating requirements as for new large commercial buildings, and must also meet the LEED standards for materials that emit low levels of indoor pollutants. All new buildings must earn additional rating points if an older building was
demolished to make room for it, and they must earn even higher points if the demolished building was historical. Building projects can also earn extra points by retaining historical features of the previous building.
Earning LEED credits within this framework is becoming cost neutral for most hotel developers, especially in the Napa Valley where the industry has caught up to speed. Since at least March 2008, green property builders have been giving them "real figures on what it costs to build a green property" after developer tax incentives.
became one of the first small towns in the United States to enact green building legislation. This presents a significant shift in construction and architecture as LEED regulations have formerly been focused on commercial construction. If US homeowner interest grows in "green" residential construction, the companies involved in the production and manufacturing of LEED building materials will become likely candidates for tomorrow's round of private equity
and IPO investing.
waste
.
Green building
Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...
programs in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. These programs span the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and all have the goal of increasing energy efficiency and the sustainability of the built environment.
Sustainable Design Organizations and Green Building Programs
In the United States, governments and private organizations have established several sustainable designSustainable design
Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental...
organizations and programs in green building.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit trade organization that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built and operated. The USGBC is best known for the development of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
(LEED) rating system and Greenbuild, a green building conference that promotes the green building industry. As of September 2008, USGBC has more than 17,000 member organizations from every sector of the building industry and works to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. To achieve this it has developed a variety of programs and services, and works closely with key industry and research organizations and federal, state and local government agencies. USGBC also offers a host of educational opportunities, including workshops and Web-based seminars to educate the public and industry professionals on different elements of the green building industry, from the basics to more technical information. Through its Green Building Certification Institute
Green Building Certification Institute
The Green Building Certification Institute was established in January 2008 with the support of the U.S. Green Building Council to manage the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Building Certification and the Professional Accreditation Processes.While the U.S...
, USGBC offers industry professionals the chance to develop expertise in the field of green building and to receive accreditation as green building professionals.
The National Association of Home Builders
National Association of Home Builders
The National Association of Home Builders is one of the largest trade associations in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, DC, NAHB's mission is "to enhance the climate for housing and the building industry...
, a trade association representing home builders, remodelers and suppliers to the industry, has created a voluntary residential green building program known as NAHBGreen
NAHBGreen
NAHBGreen is another name for the National Green Building Program of the National Association of Home Builders, an organization based in the United States.-Introduction:...
. The program includes an online scoring tool, national certification, industry education, and training for local verifiers. The online scoring tool is free to builders and to homeowners.
The Green Building Initiative is a non-profit network of building industry leaders working to mainstream building approaches that are environmentally progressive, but also practical and affordable for builders to implement. The GBI has developed a web-based rating tool called Green Globes, which has been upgraded in accordance with ANSI
Ansi
Ansi is a village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia....
procedures.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
's Energy Star
Energy Star
Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products originated in the United States of America. It was first created as a United States government program during the early 1990s, but Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and the European Union have also adopted...
program rates commercial buildings for energy efficiency and provides Energy Star qualifications for new homes that meet its standards for energy efficient building design.
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools
Collaborative for High Performance Schools
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools is the United States' first green building rating program especially designed for K-12 schools. CHPS provides information and resources to schools in order to facilitate the construction and operation of high performance institutions...
is a non-profit green rating program specifically for K-12 schools. CHPS addresses energy efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
and additional design considerations fostering healthy and environmentally responsible school buildings. On June 4, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act," which would commit over $20 billion of funding over the next five years to high performance schools. CHPS is recognized as one of the standards that projects would need to meet in order to qualify for the H.R. 3021 legislation funding. H.R. 3021 was referred to the Senate on August 1, 2008.
Campus greening
Transformative work on American college campuses in the 2000s has done much to change the implicit evaluation of "progressSocial progress
Social progress is the idea that societies can or do improve in terms of their social, political, and economic structures. This may happen as a result of direct human action, as in social enterprise or through social activism, or as a natural part of sociocultural evolution...
" that green building attracts amongst academics. According to Ann Rappaport, a lecturer at Tufts School of Engineering
Tufts University School of Engineering
The School of Engineering is one of the eight schools and colleges that comprise Tufts University . The school offers undergraduate and professional degrees in several fields of engineering and computer science...
who writes about climate change and universities, "[t]he value of campus greening [in the United States] goes well beyond resources saved; greening generates interest and invites members of the academic community to think differently about societal values, goods consumed, and the infrastructure for shelter and mobility, raising questions about how human needs can be met in new ways."
Federal High-Performance Green Buildings
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
has made available not less than $4.5 billion for measures necessary to convert General Services Administration
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
(GSA
GSA
-Commerce:* Citroën GS / GSA, a French automobile car* Global mobile Suppliers Association, an industry association for 3G mobile technology* General Sales Agent, an airline sales representative* Google Search Appliance, a device for document indexing...
) facilities to High-Performance Green Buildings, as defined in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States...
(Public Law 110-140).
Green Affordable Housing
Green Affordable Housing is a term that refers to affordable housingAffordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
that exhibits "green" or "sustainable" features. The phenomenon has become increasingly common in the United States with the adoption of state and local policies that favor or require green building practices for publicly owned or funded buildings. One challenge to green affordable housing is to see to the life cycle cost
Whole-life cost
Whole-life cost, or Life-cycle cost , refers to the total cost of ownership over the life of an asset . Also commonly referred to as "cradle to grave" or "womb to tomb" costs. Costs considered include the financial cost which is relatively simple to calculate and also the environmental and...
of the building by balancing the higher upfront cost with the lower future energy costs, as it already may be a challenge to raise capital to finance affordable housing .
Definition
Green Affordable Housing can be defined as affordable housing that exhibits "green" or "sustainable" features.Although there is no single definition for what constitutes a Green Building
Green building
Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...
, some elements recur in describing the concept. A Green Building can thus be defined as a high-performance building designed, built, operated and disposed of in a resource-efficient manner with the aim to minimize the overall (negative) impact on the built environment, human health and the natural environment. Some examples of green building features are choice of site and orientation, efficient use of materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation.
Affordable Housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
in the US is defined as dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Affordability is commonly defined as not spending more than 30 percent of household income on housing .
Although many aspects contribute to making a building more green or sustainable energy use
Domestic Energy Consumption
Domestic energy consumption is the amount of energy that is spent on the different appliances used within housing. The amount of energy used per household varies widely depending on the standard of living of the country, climate, and the age and type of residence...
is undeniably an essential factor. For example, the EU Green Building program focuses only on energy use in terms of energy efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
and renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
.
Utility expenditures for low-income households
Over the past decade home energy costs have risen in American homes in general. For low-income households this cost increase is even more pressing, for which home energy expenditures can be as high as a fifth of household income and more than a quarter of total housing costs. For that reason, improving energy efficiency has been pointed out as one of the challenges for American housing by the Joint Center for Housing StudiesHarvard-MIT Joint Center for Urban Studies
The Harvard-MIT Joint Center for Urban Studies was formed in 1959 to address "intellectual and policy issues confronting a nation experiencing widespread demographic, economic and social change...
.
Energy expenditures for low income households have risen over the past decades, and the energy burden (energy expenditures as share of household income) has increased since 1997. Mean residential energy expenditures increased
by 27 percent from 2001 to 2005, to $1,522, and by almost 20 percent to $1,822 by fiscal year 2009. The mean group residential energy burden (the ratio between mean energy expenditures and mean income for a given set of households) for households with incomes at or below 150 percent of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America"...
' (HHS) poverty guidelines rose from 10.7 percent in 1997 to 13.5 percent in 2009 .
Utilities are included in housing expenditures in calculations of housing affordability. However, higher energy costs mean that rents will be higher and/or that more assistance is needed to cover the difference between actual and "affordable" energy expenditures, assistance that already is insufficient to cover this gap.
Standards for New Housing
To ensure the energy efficiency of affordable housing, state and local governments have implemented sustainability standards. Washington was the first state to enact green building legislation, with its Evergreen Sustainability Development Standard. This standard requires that all buildings that receive public funding meet “79 criteria that safeguard health and safety, increase durability, promote sustainable living, preserve the environment, and increase energy and water efficiency.” This applies to all publicly subsidized affordable housing, but not private projects .The potential problem with sustainability standards is that projects will be more costly and projects will become cost prohibitive. While units that are built will be higher efficiency, the number of available units could decrease because of costs. A 2009 study prepared by Davis Langdon examines the effect of green standards on the costs of affordable housing projects in Seattle and Portland. This study compared “standard housing projects” (i.e. projects with no explicit sustainability goals) and projects attempting to achieve Built Green or LEED certification. The study includes both public and private affordable housing projects. At the time of the study, both cities had high sustainability standards for public projects, and Washington has only increased that standard since then. Construction cost analysis (in terms of cost per square foot) showed no significant difference between standard projects and green-rated projects. The study is limited by a small sample size, because of which they couldn’t compare public and privately funded projects. Presumably, with more states and localities implementing such standards, the opportunity for further study will increase.
Updating Existing Housing Stock
Many jurisdictions offer options for updating the energy efficiency of existing housing stock. The US Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) offers the chance for low-income families to improve their housing in order to reduce energy consumption and costs. WAP uses funds from the federal Department of Energy. Federal funds are distributed by state offices and services are provided by local agencies. WAP has suffered because of increased competition for federal funds. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) designated funds for WAP. The program as a whole was criticized for its failure to distribute these funds effectively.Energy-efficient appliances are another method for households to decrease energy use. Low-income households have trouble realizing this gain energy efficiency. Energy-efficient appliances require a large up-front investment, and savings will not be realized for many years. Local grantees have the option to use Weatherization funds to support appliance purchases. However, unlike weatherization programs, the gains in household budgets are often not worth the investment. A 2010 study examined the households' purchasing habits in regard to high-efficiency appliances. Using household-level data, this study determines that homeowners are significantly more likely to own energy efficient large appliances, such as refrigerators or washing machines. However, the results show that the cost of this problem is negligible compared to overall energy consumption. This finding is important considering the increasing efficiency standards for household appliances. A higher standard may put simple appliances out of the price range of low income households, while not offering much energy relief for households that do own them .
California
The 2010 California Green Building Standards Code(Calgreen)2010 California Green Building Standards Code
The 2010 California Green Building Standards Code is the first statewide “green” building code in the US.In US urban land area quadrupled from 1945 to 2002, increasing at about twice the rate of population growth over this period...
is the first statewide green building code in the country and seeks to establish minimum green building standards for the majority of residential and commercial new construction projects across California.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
approved a green building ordinance
Local ordinance
A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...
in early August 2008 that imposes strict requirements on newly constructed residential and commercial buildings within the city, as well as building renovations.
For homes, the ordinance requires ratings from the GreenPoints rating system, developed by developed by a non-profit organization called Build It Green. Starting next year, new "small" residential buildings (those with four dwellings or fewer) must achieve 25 GreenPoints (equal to the "Elements" rating), but do not need to be rated. For 2010 and 2011, the homes must be GreenPoint Rated and building applications must demonstrate that a minimum of 50 GreenPoints (equal to the "Whole House" rating) will be achieved. And starting in 2012, building applications for new homes must demonstrate that at least 75 GreenPoints will be achieved. The same rules apply for mid-size residential buildings, except that the requirement for 75 GreenPoints starts earlier, in 2011.
For commercial buildings and high-rise residential buildings, the ordinance adds in requirements from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
) rating system. Starting in November (if the California Energy Commission has approved the legislation), new permit applications for high-rise residential buildings must include documentation to achieve LEED certification (or 50 GreenPoints), and starting in 2010, they must include documentation to achieve LEED Silver certification (or 75 GreenPoints). A number of specific LEED standards must also be met for landscaping, water use reduction, and construction debris management. Mid-size commercial buildings don't need to meet LEED certification requirements but must meet LEED standards for building commissioning, landscaping, water use, and construction debris management starting in 2009, and must meet enhanced commissioning standards and tighter water use requirements starting in 2010. Beginning in 2012, the buildings must also meet LEED standards for the use of on-site renewable energy or the purchase of renewable energy credits.
The toughest requirements apply to large commercial buildings. Starting in November, new permit applications for high-rise residential building must submit documentation to achieve LEED certification, and that requirement ratchets up to LEED Silver in 2009 and LEED Gold in 2012. There are also requirements to meet additional LEED standards, nearly equal to those for mid-size commercial buildings. Finally, for new large commercial interiors and major alterations to existing buildings, new permit applications must include documentation to achieve the same LEED rating requirements as for new large commercial buildings, and must also meet the LEED standards for materials that emit low levels of indoor pollutants. All new buildings must earn additional rating points if an older building was
demolished to make room for it, and they must earn even higher points if the demolished building was historical. Building projects can also earn extra points by retaining historical features of the previous building.
Earning LEED credits within this framework is becoming cost neutral for most hotel developers, especially in the Napa Valley where the industry has caught up to speed. Since at least March 2008, green property builders have been giving them "real figures on what it costs to build a green property" after developer tax incentives.
Virginia
Charlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
became one of the first small towns in the United States to enact green building legislation. This presents a significant shift in construction and architecture as LEED regulations have formerly been focused on commercial construction. If US homeowner interest grows in "green" residential construction, the companies involved in the production and manufacturing of LEED building materials will become likely candidates for tomorrow's round of private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
and IPO investing.
Washington
In 2005, Washington State became the first state in the United States to enact green building legislation. According to the law, all major public agency facilities with a floor area exceeding 5,000 square feet (465 m²), including state funded school buildings, are required to meet or exceed LEED standards in construction or renovation. The projected benefits from this law are 20% annual savings in energy and water costs, 38% reduction in waste water production and 22% reduction in constructionConstruction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
waste
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
.
See also
- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- High-Performance Green Buildings
- United States Green Building CouncilUnited States Green Building CouncilThe U.S. Green Building Council , co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a non-profit trade organization that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built, and operated...
- 2010 California Green Building Standards Code (Calgreen)
External links
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Building Website
- U.S. Green Building Council
- U.S. Dept of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website DOE details "Builders Challenge" energy efficiency program
- American Institute of Architects - Top Ten Green Projects