"What's Up e-Doc?"

Three years ago, I began volunteering with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit organization that seeks to transform the way buildings and communities are planned, designed, built, and operated to enable an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment. Green building is a collection of design, construction, and operation practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative environmental impact of development on the environment and occupants

It is no exaggeration to say that green building practices can have a drastic affect on our environment for many years to come. Consider this: According to the USGBC, in the United States alone, buildings account for:

o 72% of electricity consumption; o 39% of energy use; o 38% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions; o 40% of raw materials use; o 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually); and, o 14% of potable water consumption.

With this in mind, I took an extensive course in green building technology in order to pass the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design test and achieve the USGBC's LEED Professional Accreditation (LEED AP). This certification enables LEED AP professionals to provide third-party verification that a building or community was designed and build using strategies aimed at improving performance in the areas that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Since becoming a LEED AP professional, I've encountered many misconceptions and misinformation about green building.

What is a Green Building?

A green building, also known as a sustainable building, is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Adopting green building strategies enables consumers and builders to maximize both economic and environmental performance.

How Do You Build Green?

There are almost limitless ways to incorporate green building procedures, and green construction methods can be integrated into buildings at any stage, from design and construction, to renovation and deconstruction. When building a new structure, use the building site to take advantage of the sun's natural energy. South-facing windows offer passive solar heating in the winter, and provide natural light year round. Using minimal glass in east-west facing windows helps eliminate glare and cut down on unwanted solar heating. Use double- or triple-paned windows with a low-e coating to maximize insulation.

Figure 1 Chicago City Hall Green Roof

In an existing structure remodel, choose sustainable construction materials and products. Look for reused and recycled content, zero or low VOC emissions and toxicity, products made from sustainably harvested materials, and products with recyclability, durability, and longevity.

Reuse and recycle construction and demolition materials. For example, using inert demolition materials as a base for a parking lot keeps these materials out of landfills and reduces construction costs.

Protect and retain existing landscaping and natural features. Select plants that have low water and pesticide needs, and use compost and mulches to save water and time.

Install high-efficiency lighting systems with advanced lighting controls such as motion sensors and dimmable lighting controls, and provide task lighting to reduce general overhead light levels.

A high-efficiency, in-duct filtration HVAC system can provide a dramatic impact on indoor air quality.

Why Build Green? There are so many ideas, directives, and opinions about going green and acting environmentally that it is easy to feel overwhelmed. While the end result of green building is a better, cleaner world for your children and grandchildren, there are more tangible and immediate benefits, too. To Save Money. Let's face it-as much as we all may want to protect the environment, we're also concerned about our bottom line. The good news is that, with features such as proper lighting, high-efficiency HVAC systems, and good windows, green buildings can provide an energy savings of up to 80%

Figure 2 Hawaii Gateway Energy Center is a net zero energy building that actually exports energy. The building's cooling system uses sea water to reduce energy consumption

In fact, more efficient lighting alone can provide an average investment return of 50-80%, and the payback period can be in less than two years. Water-efficient fixtures and appliances and native landscaping can dramatically lower water bills and minimize the energy needs for hot water.

To Provide a More Productive Workplace for Your Employees. A less quantifiable benefit of green building is improved employee satisfaction and productivity. A variety of studies show that buildings with good overall environmental quality can reduce the rate of respiratory disease, allergies, and asthma, and can enhance worker performance. In fact, one study found that the potential financial benefits of improving indoor environments exceed costs by a factor of 8 and 14 (Fisk and Rosenfeld, 1998). When you think of the tremendous expense you have invested in your employees, increasing worker productivity by a very small percentage, reducing absenteeism by a day or two per year, or encouraging your employees to work even a few additional minutes per day can offer big dividends.

To Provide Regional Employment. The world is dependent on a trade system that runs mainly on fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gasses and contribute to global warming. The further a product is shipped, the less green it is. Using locally-manufactured products and materials contributes to a vibrant regional economy and cuts down on shipping needs.

To Be More Responsible for the Environment's Health. There are two ways to look at the creation of an object. One is to think of a stone dropping into a pool of water. A splash is made, and ripples radiate in all directions. Your building is the splash, and its ripples are the energy it took to make it. You can never account for that energy again; it has already spread throughout the environment. The guiding principle behind the sustainable environment is to make as few ripples as possible. While it may be a commonly accepted fact that tearing down an old building is cheaper than working around the complexities associated with existing structures and utilities, the fact is that tearing down an existing building disregards the ripples it took to make it in the first place. Using an existing building is the greenest choice. Reusing all or part of an old structure keeps materials out of the landfill and saves the energy needed to build a new one.

The other way to look at sustainability is that nothing ever really disappears. You can never really throw anything away. All refuse either transforms when you burn it or add it to another substance, or remains as it is forever-even if it is in a landfill.

You can learn more about the USGBC and read profiles on the more than 24 green buildings in the region by going to the local chapter's website at www.usgbc-cincinnati.org.

Chuck Lohre, LEED AP, is a 30-year veteran of industrial marketing, and is President and owner of Lohre & Associates, Inc. Marketing Communications firm in Cincinnati, OH. A recent addition to his marketing, branding, and communication services is an extensive course in green building technology to pass the Leadership in energy and Environmental Design test to achieve the USGBC's LEED Professional Accredation (LEED AP). You can learn more about marketing and the course at www.lohre.com, or call (513) 961-1174.

 

Phone Teams | Other Services | History | Testimonials | Our Clients | Home