Green Programs: Buildings, Homes, Roads, Neighborhoods and More

Green Programs: Buildings, Homes, Roads, Neighborhoods and More Construction professionals are familiar with commercial green building projects and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. But what some contractors may not know is that "green" is growing to encompass other critical infrastructure projects - including highway and local road construction, site selection, utility installation, and community planning on the whole. There is more to LEED beyond offices, and there are green programs and resources beyond LEED. This article provides a snapshot of the key green programs that may eventually influence all aspects of construction.  Commercial and Residential Buildings Green building programs tend to focus on increasing the energy and water efficiency of a building and reducing waste in order to conserve resources and reduce pollution. To this end, the materials used in the building also are important.  In addition, green building programs strive to reduce any indoor pollutants that may be present in buildings to improve occupant satisfaction and health. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), established in 1993, has developed a series of LEED green building rating systems that guide commercial green building projects, existing buildings, speculative building projects, commercial interiors and homes. USGBC also has guidance for school and healthcare projects. USGBC has recently updated the LEED rating systems.  http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222  A new program is in pilot now for neighborhoods (see section below). The Green Building Initiative introduced Green Globes for commercial buildings into the U.S. from Canada. Green Globes is a web-based self-assessment and rating tool for green building new construction and existing buildings. Third party certifications are available. The standard is formally named ANSI/GBI 01-2010: Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings. www.thegbi.org The USGBC worked with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) on ASHRAE 189.1-2009 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings, Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, which is meant to be incorporated into code and "sets the foundation for green buildings." http://www.ashrae.org/publications/page/927 The International Code Council (ICC), American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ASTM are developing an International Green Construction Code (IGCC), which provides a model code for green commercial buildings. The USGBC, along with ASHRAE and IES, also is playing a role in the development of the IGCC, which accepts ASHRAE Standard 189.1 as a compliance option. http://www.iccsafe.org/cs/IGCC/Pages/default.aspx The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created the ENERGY STAR program to certify energy efficient buildings and homes. The ENERGY STAR label also is available for products. www.energystar.gov  DOE also developed the Commercial Building Initiative to provide guidance for the improved energy efficiency of buildings and to recognize high achievers. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial_initiative/ The Cascadia Region Green Building Council developed the International Living Building Standard and Challenge to go beyond LEED. To achieve certification, buildings are graded on actual performance. http://ilbi.org/lbc/version-2-0 The National Association of Home Builders partnered with ICC to develop the ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard for single and multifamily homes, residential remodeling projects and site development projects. www.nahbgreen.org The popular EarthCraft House program in the Southeast will soon be expanding to small commercial projects sized 15,000 square feet or less with a new program EarthCraft Light Commercial (expected in fall 2010). EarthCraft is a joint project by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and Southface. http://www.earthcrafthouse.com/ ASTM International has developed a comprehensive series of sustainability standards. The standards run the gamut of green building issues, from construction and performance to products and green roofs. www.astm.org (search under "Sustainability") The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) has adopted the Climate Neutral Building Standard to certify climate neutral and energy efficient buildings. MTS also is known for its SMaRT Consensus Sustainable Product Standards. http://mts.sustainableproducts.com/Climate_Neutral_Buildings.html The International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment has developed the SB Method to assess the sustainability of a building and green programs.  The SB Method is not a building certification, rather a tool for building owners to track and communicate its sustainability goals. The iiSBE also developed the SBTool that countries or local communities can use to develop green building programs. The SB Method also helps inform the choices of what green criteria would be included the programs developed using SBTool. http://www.iisbe.org/sbmethod In addition to the international, nationwide and/or regional programs mentioned above, several states and cities offer guidance (http://www.cicacenter.org/gbrl.html) and green building programs. A few examples include the Austin Energy Green Building Commercial Green Building Program and Rating Tool www.austinenergy.com (click on "Austin Energy Green Building"), the State of Pennsylvania Governor's Green Government Council Guidelines for Creating High-Performance Green Buildings www.gggc.state.pa.us (click on "Green Buildings") and the State of Minnesota's Sustainable Building Guidelines www.msbg.umn.edu/index.html. Highways and Roads Green highway and road programs tend to focus on the materials and equipment used in construction, the siting of the project and other land-use concerns, incorporating bicycle and pedestrian access, reducing traffic emissions, reducing the overall environmental impacts of the project and controlling stormwater runoff. Most of the efforts on green highways and roads have been state-wide or regional; however, a national program is reportedly in the works.  Information is not publically available, though the development team is evaluating these state programs and likely will include some of their key concepts in any nationwide program. The University of Washington and CH2MHill teamed up to develop the Greenroads sustainability performance metric and certification.  Similar to LEED for buildings, Greenroads incorporates a series of credits specific to road projects that are assigned point values. Projects must achieve certain credits and then opt to achieve other credits to pursue different ratings: certified, silver, gold, and evergreen. www.greenroads.us The Illinois Department of Transportation with a number of other stakeholders has established the Illinois Livable and Sustainable Transportation Rating System and Guide (I-LAST)-a voluntary program that helps projects to include sustainable practices. I-LAST includes a point system for evaluating the sustainability of individual projects; however, projects are not comparable using the point system as not all points would apply to each project. http://www.dot.state.il.us/green/documents/I-LASTGuidebook.pdf The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is using the Green LITES (Leadership in Transportation Environmental Sustainability) certification program. NYSDOT uses Green LITES to evaluate and grade project designs and operations based on the incorporation of sustainable practices. https://www.nysdot.gov/programs/greenlites Although it is not a program or certification, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Center for Environmental Excellence provides a wealth of resources related to environmental issues and green highways and roads. http://environment.transportation.org/environmental_issues/sustainability/  FHWA also has comprehensive environmental information on its website. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment.htm AGC has been working with EPA and FHWA, amongst others, on a Green Highways Partnership that focuses on watersheds, recycling, and conservation management.  Related to this effort is an upcoming Green Roads Summit that AGC is co-sponsoring at the 2011 CONEXPO-CON/AGG. http://www.conexpoconagg.com/Education/General/GreenRoadsSummit/ Communities, Utilities and Sites Beyond smart growth initiatives, several communities and organizations are looking to reduce the environmental impacts of our neighborhoods and essential infrastructure. These programs tend to focus on low impact development (LID), transit, mixed-use development, waste management, water efficient landscaping, as well as many other features. Some of the organizations taking the lead in this initiative are AIA http://www.aia.org/about/initiatives/AIAS075360, Congress for the New Urbanism http://www.cnu.org/, New Urbanism http://www.newurbanism.org/, Urban Land Institute http://www.uli.org/ and the U.S. Conference of Mayors http://www.usmayors.org/default.asp. As mentioned above, the USGBC also has released LEED for Neighborhood Development as a pilot program.  According to USGBC, the "LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design." http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=148  The USGBC also has numerous guidance tools and resources for federal, state and local governments that seek to promote green buildings and build green communities. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the United States Botanical Garden developed the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) guidelines and rating system.  The USGBC also was a stakeholder in this process. This program applies to open spaces (parks, easements, buffer zones and transportation rights-of-way) as well as sites with buildings (e.g., airports, military complexes, campuses, plazas, etc.).  The pilot stage for SITES began in June 2010 and will last for two years. www.sustainablesites.org The American Public Works Association (APWA) has initiated a Center for Sustainability and developed the Framework for Sustainable Communities-a guide that helps incorporate sustainability concerns into decision-making. http://www.apwa.net/sustainability/centerforsustainability.aspx  The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has developed the Sustainable Water Utilities program and resources such as The Green Utility: A Practical Guide to Sustainability and the Sustainable Water Resources CD-ROM. http://www.awwa.org/Resources/SustainableUtilities.cfm?itemNumber=54091&navItemNumber=54564  AWWA also has a clearinghouse, WaterWiser, of guidance and resources on water conservation and audits. http://www.awwa.org/Resources/Waterwiser.cfm?navItemNumber=1561