Green Building Services

GBS Principal Ralph DiNola was recently recognized for his work as an advocate for energy efficiency in commercial buildings. Ralph was honored with a BetterBricks Award from Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA). The definition for the Advocate category is: Those who advocate that energy efficiency is the foundation of sustainability in commercial buildings. These champions work both within their professions and throughout the commercial building market to encourage and support the design and operation of high performance buildings.

Here is the transcript of Ralph’s remarks at the BetterBricks Awards ceremony:

“The Portland Opera has a bumper sticker that reads: “Nights of Passion, no regrets in the morning.”  In a way I think about my work at GBS like that, but it is more like: “Days of passion, no regrets in the evening.”  When I look back at the past decade, I am overwhelmed by a sense of achievement by the building industry.  Yet, we clearly have so much more work to do to achieve sustainability in the built environment, the holy grail of our industry.

Several principles may guide our work as advocates for high performance green buildings:

Participate with Passion.  The most compelling and engaging form of advocacy comes from a place of passion; passion for your work backed up by evidence to support your assertions.

Engage with Empathy.  Sometimes we are so excited about our work that we may fail to see another person’s point of view.  As author and sustainability advocate Paul Hawken once said, “When was the last time somebody changed your mind?”  Help people build their own understanding.

Share your Successes AND your Failures.  Be outspoken and vulnerable.   We all have a lot to learn, we all have a lot to share; tell your stories in a way that is authentic for you and your audience.

Most of all, Have Fun.  If you are having regrets in the evening, you need to find another job. “

- Ralph DiNola, LEED AP BD+C, O+M, LEED Faculty
Principal, Green Building Services

Ralph DiNola (center) and his fellow 2012 BetterBricks Award Winners

For more information on NEEA or the BetterBricks Awards, please visit http://neea.org

Many of GBS’ retail clients who have LEED certified stores in the U.S. have substantial presence abroad and are carrying their sustainable building practices overseas. The USGBC launched Alternative Compliance Paths in 2011, providing a way achieve LEED certification on international projects, but there are also dozens of additional international sustainable building tools available. The key is to determine which tools best apply to your portfolio of stores, a process which involves a number of factors.

In terms of venturing outside of the three major rating systems (LEED, Green Star, and BREEAM) it becomes an issue as to how the retailer would like to market the project in terms of green building.  Is a single rating system used internationally to have a consistent baseline for comparison or meet the interests of the shareholders?  Or, does the retailer want to connect with their sustainability-minded consumer, who understands the impact of a six star Green Star store project in China? The answers to these questions vary for each retailer, as different audiences have different perceptions of green building.

To understand the consumer’s point of view and move forward with a non-LEED rating system in another country, country-specific research would be beneficial as well as defining the retailer’s global green building goals.   We worked with one of our China-based clients, a quick-serve restaurant, and found that green building was not of interest to their consumer, but it was important to the company’s shareholders.

Another item to consider when choosing green building rating system is the prototype.  If each region has its own prototype store design then it might be beneficial to choose a national or regional rating system and apply the green building standards to the prototype and store.  However, of the store design is a global prototype then it would be easiest to choose a global green building rating system.

International LEED Projects:

LEED is spreading across the globe and many international organizations are using LEED Rating Systems on their projects regardless of the local green building rating system so they have common metrics.

At Greenbuild in November, USGBC released the Alternative Compliance Paths (ACPs) for projects outside the US.  Information on the LEED International Program can be found on their website (http://www.usgbc.org/International).  However, the ACPs will only be available for LEED for New Construction, Core & Shell, and Existing Buildings: O&M, not LEED for Retail NC or CI. GBS is working with a few other retailers to push USGBC to allow the ACPs to be implemented on Retail CI projects.

Many national green building rating systems have been developed using LEED as the base structure including those in Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, and Russia.

Green Star (Australia):

The largest contender to LEED is the Green Star Rating System. It is a similar point-based system with nine categories. There are currently 135 Green Star buildings, with 494 more projects in the pipeline.  Green Star was modeled on BREEAM and the following countries have since modeled their national system using Green Star: South Africa and New Zealand

To obtain Green Star Rating, a building must achieve a minimum score across the nine categories.  A percentage score is calculated across the categories and Green Star environmental weighting factors are then applied. The environmental weighting factors vary across states and territories to reflect environmental concerns across Australia.

While the tools are freely available for self-assessment, a project must be verified by the Green Building Council of Australia to qualify for the Green Star label.  Certification fees can range between US $3,800- US $19,400.

The “Custom” rating system applies to retailers but not fully developed.  Therefore, it would require additional effort working with Green Star to develop the right approach.

BREEAM (United Kingdom):

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is another point-based system with seven categories.  Over 200,000 buildings around the world have been certified with the UK-based BREEAM assessment ratings.  There are local Schemes that adapt the rating system to the specific country.  Currently, UK, Netherlands, and Spain have country-specific Schemes.

While the tools are freely available for self-assessment, a project must be verified by a Building Research Establishment (BRE) assessor. Certification fees can range between US $4,000- US $19,000.  The certification process entails two assessment rounds, which take 6-18 months.

BREEAM does have a Retail specific rating system which would be helpful when building green in Europe.

More detailed information on international rating systems can be found in International Comparison of

Sustainable Rating Tools , a comprehensive paper published by CoStar that reviews many of the green building rating systems around the globe.

What’s Trending in 2012?

As our team at Green Building Services looks back at 2011, reflecting on our most successful projects, the continued growth of major organizations investing in sustainable building and the increased demand for sustainability training, tell us that big things are on the horizon on 2012. As sustainable building becomes more mainstream, codes and rating systems are ramping up their stringencies and many in the building industry are eager to abide. Based on industry chatter and analysis of the past year, here’s our forecast of 10 green building trends that will be picking up steam in 2012.

10. International Green Building

USGBC’s official launch of the Alternative Compliance Paths at Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto is opening the doors to a push in international green building in the coming year. Retail construction is exploding in China, India and South America and we’re seeing more demand to adopt sustainable building practices. LEED is becoming more recognized as a global green building standard. Major corporations are building sustainable locations across international borders and will be in the market for green building standards that traverse geographies.

9. Impact of LEED 2012

The newest version of the most widespread green building rating system is phasing in next year with new credit categories, more specific technical requirements and a reach covering more market segments. This upcoming transition to LEED 2012 marks evolving design and construction, and operations and maintenance practices. As in the transition to LEED 2009, LEED 2012 will demonstrate the rating system’s flexibility to adapt to the increasing prevalence of green building and evolve, anticipating the direction of the industry. Mandates across the country will continue to use LEED as the standard for minimum sustainable building standards.

8. Existing Building Renovations

In the spirit of true sustainability, existing buildings will take center stage. The push for building audits, ENERGY STAR benchmarking and continuous commissioning on existing structures as well as building envelope commissioning will be on the rise in the coming year. Because it is arguably more sustainable and cost effective than new construction, we’ve seen increased demand for sustainable consulting for renovations as well as operations and maintenance services. LEED 2012’s new Integrative Process category is also placing heightened importance on repetitive procedures. Durability will be a trend in the coming year as more innovations are developed to keep buildings and systems in efficient working condition for longer.

7. Higher Green Standards

The evolution of greener energy codes is making way for higher efficiency in 2012. ISO 50001 is emerging as an internationally recognized standard for energy management system requirements and is projected to influence 60% of the world’s energy use. As energy codes continue to evolve sustainably, companies are adopting green building elements across their portfolio to stay ahead. For example, organizations like Bentall Kennedy and Wells Fargo are implementing strategies across their portfolios to meet and exceed new and future standards.

6. Rewarding Sustainability

With the uptick of sustainable building mandates and consumer demand for sustainability, funding and incentives for sustainable structures will become more readily available. Because saving the environment might not be quite enough incentive for many developers, state and local governments across the country are establishing new grants and tax incentives for green building. Municipalities including Los Angeles and San Francisco offer expedited permitting for LEED projects. Incentives are becoming more valuable and available as sustainable building becomes more crucial to governments and consumers.

5. Multiple Building Sustainable Certification

Multiple Building certification efforts have been on the rise since the introduction of the Application Guide for Multiple Buildings and Campus Buildings Projects (AGMBC) in 2005. With the 2010 update, the USGBC offers more guidance to projects pursuing Multiple Building Certification. LEED Volume pilot program of 2006 and official release of 2010 has also generated a significant uptick in portfolio-wide adoption of green building in the U.S. Retail growth in China and India is also a contributing factor to the rise in multi-building certification. Since 95% of all buildings in the U.S. are smaller than 50,000 sf, more emphasis will placed on quantity efficiency, certifying groups of small buildings. As more building owners explore ways to make sustainability a viable option, volume and multi-building certification will present a cost-efficient approach to achieve green building goals. The world’s first sustainable downtown regeneration project is underway in Doha, Qatar. Using the AGMBC, the over 100-building development provides a case of multiple building sustainability, as the entire project is projected to achieve at least LEED Gold.

4. Building Materials Disclosure

Just like ingredients on a food label, people want to know what’s in their buildings. As materials disclosure moves into the spotlight and USGBC ponders credits to change how manufacturers disclose and formulate, building professionals will need to be more aware of greenwashing, just as consumers do. As this trend develops, organizations will become increasingly concerned about greenwashing red flags and demand product ingredient disclosure or third-party certified products, including wood, cleaning products, furniture, equipment, drywall and insulation. The Healthy Buildings Network’s Pharos Project is driving Environmental Product Declaration with an online tool that provides transparent information on the environmental impact of materials and products. Similarly, the International Living Future Institute has released their Declare program that provides a voluntary platform for manufacturers to communicate transparent product information.

3. Organizational Transformation and Capacity Building Through Sustainability Training

Many companies are supporting more organization-wide training to help reach their sustainability goals, bring their goals full circle and get their green initiatives off the ground faster and more efficiently. Companies are taking a more active role in getting the most out of sustainable renovations by investing in training for building systems controls and occupant behavior. We’ve been working with organizations like Nike, Oregon Health & Science University, University of California to plan training initiatives for the coming year.

2. Surge in Green IT

As technology continues to grow rapid-fire each year, green IT is becoming more crucial. In the past few months plans for sustainably-built data centers have been rapidly emerging. Energy-supping data centers are staying cool and green by setting up shop in the Arctic and the temperate Pacific Northwest to reduce energy costs and get their energy from more sustainable sources. Even at the purchasing level, consumers are increasingly taking more action evaluating ENERGY STAR, the Zero Waste Alliance’s EPEAT and other energy efficiency ratings on equipment they purchase.

1. Sustainable Districts and Wastewater Management

As the sustainability movement stays on track to become the norm, rather than the exception, greater efforts are in the works to develop greener urban districts and more sustainable, low-tech urban design. Portland’s Ecodistrict Summit in October provided a forum for the building community on emerging innovation in neighborhood-scale sustainability.  Wastewater management innovation will also be stepping up in 2012. The culmination of several years of research, an extensive report was recently released by the Cascadia Green Building Council that focuses on the decentralizing of water systems, among other issues. “Clean Water, Healthy Sound” makes the case for municipalities to take the plunge into innovating their water systems for future environmental benefit.

Another exciting future indicator, the first ever Green Sports Summit in August provided an optimistic view of what’s to come for the greening of public assembly spaces. Representatives from over 25 professional teams and venues came together at this year’s summit to share how they’re saving millions of dollars and reducing their environmental impact through sustainable building. The buzz is spreading and the sports industry is on its way to making green building the norm.

Everyone at GBS wishes you a fruitful and sustainable 2012.

GBS principal and 2011 LEED Fellow Alan Scott takes in Toronto architecture during the 2011 Greenbuild conference.

GREEN BUILDING GOES INTERNATIONAL

Although Toronto is only a few steps north of the border, the fact that Greenbuild was held for the first time outside the U.S. was symbolic of the international explosion of the LEED Framework that has occurred over the past few years. The conference drew participants from over 100 nations and conversations both at the podium and in the halls were global in nature. I personally met people from every continent, save Antarctica.

For me, one of the highlights was the opening keynote at the International Summit, where Dr. Nils Kok from Maastricht University presented research he is doing at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley on the economic performance of green buildings through the recent economic downturn. Even, perhaps especially, in hard times, green buildings around the world are commanding higher rents and delivering better returns to their investors.

The World Green Building Council was prominently featured throughout the conference and USGBC CEO Rick Fredrizzi was elected the new Chair of the World GBC. Green Building Councils from several countries, including the Peru GBC , were recognized as established members of the World GBC. There are now green building councils in over 50 nations.

While the old adage, think global, act local still holds true, it is clear that we also need to act globally to tackle environmental, social and economic challenges, whether that be global climate change or helping our neighbors with efforts like the USGBC’s Project Haiti.

Check out our full album of photos from Greenbuild 2011.

Cheers,

Alan

- Alan has attended seven Greenbuilds including the very first Expo in Austin (2002).  At Greenbuild NEXT, Alan was inducted into the inaugural class of LEED Fellows. Alan Scott lives in Portland and may or may not be The Green Lantern.

One of our core green team members, Peter Walker-Keleher (far left), moved with his family to Doha, Qatar to provide sustainability consulting for a large-scale development project.

GBS senior sustainability consultant, Peter Walker-Keleher recently transplanted himself and his family to Doha, Qatar to manage and align the implementation of LEED strategies for the Msheireb Heart of Doha development. As an international consultant, Peter maintains a close relationship with our Portland team and will be periodically sharing his stories about living and working in, virtually, a whole new world.

Before my family and I moved to Doha, a friend, who had spent some time at the U.S. Air Force Base in Qatar, called this place, “the surface of the sun.” Fortunately, we arrived after the hottest months of July and August. By September 2^nd, the day we arrived, the city had cooled down to a balmy, humid, 110 degrees. I feel a bit unoriginal commenting on the heat for my first post, but I cannot avoid it. The heat (much like the rain in Portland) shapes life in Doha.

I knew nothing about Qatar 6 months ago and I am learning new things every day about the economy and culture. Due to the large natural gas reserves, Qatar is the wealthiest country in the world per-capita. This also lends to its highest energy use per capita, which is nearly double that of the United States. It is the only country in the world to have no fresh surface water. Interestingly, non-Qataris out-number Qataris 4 to 1. As an American sustainability consultant, it is quite an interesting context to be working in.

One anecdote that paints a picture of my initial relationship with Qatar’s heat occurred on one of my first nights in Doha. After shopping for groceries in the mall, I took my two children to the car to rest. In line with my commitment to sustainability, I desperately hoped to avoid turning on the air conditioner. I lived through summer in Fort Worth, Texas without it, why would I need it now? In no time the heat took over and I relented (for the comfort of my children, of course). I turned the car’s air conditioning on and pondered the craziness of burning gas that was heating up the garage so I could keep cool inside (many people would leave their cars running with AC on while they went shopping).

I learned that before 1947, there was only one air-conditioner in all of Qatar. Observing the culture of energy-use in Qatar and reflecting on personal experience has contributed to motivation behind my work here. In order to be a highly-efficient sustainability consultant, I need to learn more about the strategies of life before air-conditioning and apply this to modern practices. I’m looking forward to continuing my work and journey here. Stay tuned for more updates in the future!

"Before" - well-intentioned recyclers have added plastic wrap and other items to the bin.

I know I have been guilty of putting a plastic food containers in the plastic recycling container and hoping it’s the right thing.  The new recycling labels from the Sustainable Packing Coalition will help me, and many of our clients, recycle correctly and save money for the recycling facilities and make Elaine and Crystal’s dumpster diving adventures less adventurous. – Webly Bowles, LEED AP BD+C, Senior Consultant

Here is the "After" - sorted to remove anything not currently recyclable.

Here’s the link:   http://www.how2recycle.info/  

The Recycling Label

Aloha!

A GBS trip to Hawaii usually means more than sunshine, beach fronts and mai tais. The State of Hawaii (SOH) has been ramping up their sustainability efforts and we’re helping them down the right path. Last week we had the pleasure of doing some dirty work with the staff and intern team of Honolulu’s State Office Tower with a waste stream audit for the building. We’re breaking down the process step-by-step to show how a little elbow grease, some protective gloves and teamwork can give an enlightening look into a building’s overall materials flow and waste management efforts.

We used a toolkit of easy-to-find supplies that you may already have on hand, these items are recommended but you might find some additional items to be helpful as well. While on the island we picked up a few things at the local Home Depot to assist in our efforts.

Inventory of Items

• Wet wipes
• 5 gallon or larger buckets or containers to sort rubbish
• Shoe protectors
• Dust masks
• Clothing protection
• Tarps to lay rubbish on
• Utility knife to cut garbage bags
• Trash bags to re-load rubbish in after sort
• Table to dump rubbish on to avoid bending over
• Scale to weigh rubbish
• Clip board along with report template to record results
• Samples of your favorite waste audit reports

The Big Day

We were greeted by 11 staff and interns that were eagerly waiting to begin the waste audit. We determined roles and responsibilities and then headed down to the waste sort area. One group was responsible for sorting and the other group was responsible for weighing. As it turned out everyone but the recorder of weights got involved in sorting rubbish, it was one big trash party!

The team got right to work sorting through the waste.  Non-recyclable trash was separated from recyclable items and each category of waste was weighed. The team discovered a lot of mixed paper that currently the SOH does not have a resource to recycle, but is currently looking into. Another big contributor to the waste stream appeared to be food waste, single use plates and cups which are for the most part not recyclable.

The SOH intern team took on the task of compiling a full report of the waste stream audit and making recommendations based on the results.

The chart below illustrates the results of the audit. The building is already doing an impressive job of recycling 58% of the waste stream, but there are plenty more recycling improvement opportunities. The team is using these results to make recommendations to the State and increase overall recycling rates.

Below we’ve included the step-by-step instructions for a successful waste audit and some recommendations on diverting more of your waste stream from the landfill.

Can’t get enough? Elaine is facilitating a free webinar October 19 on green materials and waste management for green buildings. Sign-up and more information here.

Happy auditing!
Elaine & Crystal

The Waste Audit Process

1. Review instructions
2. Dress with safety gear
3. Arrange supplies for easy access during audit
4. Mark buckets with appropriate labels-Sorting Team
   • Corrugated Cardboard
   • Mixed Paper
   • Tin and Aluminum Cans
   • Plastic Bottles and Tubs
   • Glass Bottles and Jars
   • Compostable Food and Fibers
   • Single Use Cups and Plates
   • Non-Recyclables
   • Restroom Waste
   • Office Reuse Items
5. Place scale away from actual sort
6. Begin to sort waste
7. Weigh results
8. Record results
9. Rebag garbage dispose in dumpster
10. Clean up area
11. Write report

Recommendations

• Food waste in the office accounts for a majority of the wet fraction in the waste flows. Wet waste also prevents reuse of garbage liners. So, by source-separating food waste (or anything wet) the office can save on garbage liner costs.
• Find local resources to compost food waste
• Provide internal infrastructure for easy recycling
• Double side all paper products –coordinate with IT department
• Think twice before printing
• Find local resources to take mixed paper waste
• Non-recyclable plastics and other materials (lignin or cellulosic materials) can potentially be harnessed to be made into RDF or RPF.
  • RDF or RPF are viable energy solutions for applications such as cement-making. A RDF or RPF-producing facility can accept several inputs including organic wastes. For example, RDF or RPF can substitute the importation of fossil fuels for basic infrastructural maintenance.

Greenbuild is 11 days away and we can hardly contain our excitement!

With some help from green trade show experts over at Boothster, GBS will be exhibiting at booth #5347S.

Principals Ralph DiNola and Elaine Aye will be speaking at the conference. Alan Scott will be recognized as an inaugural member of the LEED Fellow Program, GBCI’s new and most prestigious professional designation.

We’ll be live tweeting from the event, so be sure to follow @GBSconsulting on Twitter and look out for trending #Greenbuild.

Try a sampling of GBS’ sustainability training with our complimentary webinar series that focuses on maximizing green building operations and maintenance. Sign up for one or sign up for them all. Consider hosting them in your office conference room for more people to participate.

Participation in each 60-minute course will allow you to earn a 1-hour Continuing Education Credit with AIA, BOMI and USGBC for LEED Credential Maintenance. Click on the title of the webinar to learn more and register today.

• Wed., September 21, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PDT
  Creating a Tenant Engagement Program in Your Green Operations Plan 

• Wed., October 19, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PDT
  Green Materials and Solid Waste Management

• Wed., October 5, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PDT
  Lighting the Way to Energy Efficiency

• Wed, November 2, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PDT
  The Last Frontier: Engaging Stakeholders in the Board Room, Boiler Room and Break Room