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Recognizing that the 4.5 million
existing buildings in the U.S. can achieve a 20- to 30-percent reduction
in energy use, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Green Building Council
(USGBC) jointly announced a partnership between Energy Star®
and LEED™ to help ease the nation’s energy crunch. LEED,
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the USGBC’s
sustainable building rating system for certifying green design and
construction in new buildings, which has already been adopted by
a large number of private and public concerns for new construction
projects. During the past year, the USGBC has been developing green
building standards for existing-building upgrades and operations.
According to the Madison, WI-based Leonardo Academy, using data
from the DOE Energy Information Agency, annual electrical demand
in all existing buildings could be potentially reduced by nearly
45 gigawatts and save some $21 billion a year in energy costs if
all commercial buildings were made more efficient. That amounts
to eliminating the need to build 85 500-MW power plants. It also
translates into reducing CO2 emissions by more than 275 million
tons annually. That does not include efficiencies that can be realized
in homes and other residential buildings. LEED for existing buildings
incorporates many specifications set by the Energy Star program
sponsored by the EPA and the DOE. Energy Star recognizes buildings
that are in the top 25 percent of the market for energy performance.
“When it comes to measuring performance of energy use in buildings,
Energy Star sets the bar,” said Steven Winter, chairman of
the USGBC’s board of directors and president of Steven Winter
Associates, Inc. “LEED draws upon national and regional standards
for site development, water use, energy use, materials and indoor
environmental quality. Based on EPA and DOE success in helping buildings
improve their energy performance, it only made sense to build the
widely-used Energy Star specifications into our rating system. Not
only do building owners and occupants benefit from reduced energy
bills, but they get all the advantages of a superior office environment
and public recognition for their leadership.”
“About 71 percent of non-residential, existing buildings are
20 years or older,” said Jean Lupinacci, director of the commercial
and industrial branch of Energy Star. “We know there is a wealth
of energy savings and thereby reduced emissions that can be realized
from existing buildings. Partners in the EPA’s Energy Star
program average 30 to 40 percent return on investment to retrofit
older buildings with high-efficiency lighting, for example. LEED
for existing buildings is an important tool for helping to upgrade
and operate buildings at their highest levels of environmental performance.
At the EPA, we’re pleased to participate in the development
of this version of the USGBC’s rating system because both LEED
and Energy Star are voluntary programs that are transforming the
building industry.”
LEED for existing buildings is a set of sustainable standards based
on whole-building performance for operating and/or retrofitting
commercial and institutional facilities. Included are standards
for making green improvements to building core, shell and roof systems;
central mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems; and building
operations practices by both occupants and owners. The comprehensive
green building rating system addresses cleaning and maintenance
practices, indoor air quality, energy and water performance and
ongoing monitoring, measurement and management of all building systems.
Also, LEED for existing buildings will help enhance building and
occupant recycling programs and supporting facilities.
Development of LEED for existing buildings follows a similar path
set by the USGBC when it developed LEED for new construction. The
first draft of the standards has been prepared and is being reviewed
by an advisory group of experts, including the EPA and DOE. It will
be piloted in about 50 building projects. A second draft with input
from the pilots and experts will then go to the USGBC membership
for balloting by consensus. Official launch date of a fully-approved
version is anticipated for 2003. LEED for existing buildings is
part of the family of LEED rating systems in development by the
USGBC, which includes LEED for commercial interiors and LEED for
residential construction. The USGBC also offers LEED training, resource
tools and professional accreditation. An updated version of LEED
for new construction, LEED 3.0, is currently being developed and
is due for release in 2003.
Announcement of LEED for existing buildings was made at the 12th
Annual Energy Efficiency Forum at the National Press Club, sponsored
by the U.S. Energy Association and Johnson Controls, Inc. With some
800 business and organizational members, the USGBC is a nonprofit,
consensus-based coalition representing the entire building industry.
For more information on LEED and the USGBC, visit www.usgbc.org.
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POTENTIAL
SAVINGS
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The
following charts detail the potential savings that can be
achieved through improvements to existing buildings.
- Commercial Building Stock in the
U.S. (1995)
Floor space: 58,772 million square feet
Annual Energy Use (Trillion Btu)
Electricity: 2,608
Natural gas: 1,946
Fuel oil: 235
District heat: 533
Annual Expenditures (million $)
Electricity: $56,621
Natural gas: $9,018
Fuel oil: $1,175
District heat: $3,103
Source: U.S. DOE/EIA Annual Energy Review 1997
- Potential Energy Savings
(potential 30% reduction average in annual energy use—trillion
Btu)
Electricity: 782
Natural gas: 584
Fuel oil: 71
District heat: 160
TOTAL: 1,597l
- Potential Energy Cost Savings
(potential reduction in annual expenditures—million
$)
Electricity: $16,986
Natural gas: $2,705
Fuel oil: $353
District heat: $931
TOTAL: $20,975l
- Potential Reduction in Emissions
(short tons)
CO2: 274,489,000
NOx: 978,000
SO2: 1,711,000
Particulates: 31,000
Mercury: 8
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FTC
HELPS DESIGNERS SELECT PRODUCTS
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- Products
bearing irresponsible environmental claims, a practice known
as “greenwashing,” can jeopardize designers’
efforts and, ultimately, their reputations when trying to
make environmentally responsible specifications and recommendations—until
now.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has established the “Guides
for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims” to bring
clear, concise definitions and specific certification standards
to environmental claims. Guidelines examine:
- basis of claim;
- environmentally friendly claims;
- recycled content;
- recyclability;
- degradable/biodegradable/photodegradable elements; and
- clarity of claims, qualifiers and disclaimers.
To ensure reliability, the FTC requires a reasonable basis
for substantiating environmental claims, which will often
require analysis, research and studies provided by a credible
third-party evaluator. “As an architect with a firm
that is experiencing a rapid increase in interest from clients
and our own designers about sustainable design and products,
it’s a constant challenge to get accurate information
on environmentally preferable building materials and furnishings,”
notes Jim Gleeson, AIA, director of sustainable design for
Little & Associates Architects, one of the country’s
largest architecture and design firms. “Any tool such
as the FTC Guides that helps to hold manufacturers accountable
for their environmental claims is extremely useful.
It simplifies the process of specifying products and provides
to us and our clients a greater degree of confidence about
our product selections.”
Now interior designers can specify and recommend products
offering environmental benefits by demanding that all environmental
claims meet FTC’s guides and receive certification
from a credible, independent third-party evaluator.
This puts the responsibility back onto the manufacturer.
C&A Floorcoverings, a manufacturer and supplier of commercial
floor coverings, is one of a few companies making an aggressive
effort to change the conscience of the industry. In June,
it received certification from Scientific Certification
Systems (SCS), an internationally
recognized third-party testing and certification organization,
of its recycled content and recyclability assertions. SCS
follows FTC guides
in evaluating marketing claims. C&A’s ER3“
modular tile products now carry a label certifying their
recycled content. In addition, SCS certified the following
C&A environmental claims:
- Powerbond ER3“ modular tile products contain between
31- to 50-percent overall recycled content, and a minimum
of 23-percent recycled carpet (minimum seven-percent post-consumer
carpet, with the balance from post-industrial content).
Exact percentages
vary by style.
- ER3“ carpet backing is made from 100-percent recycled
plastic and contains a minimum of 74-percent recycled carpet,
of which a minimum is 22-percent post-consumer.
- C&A has a carpet collection/recovery system and a
currently operational, commercial-scale recycling process
to recycle
vinyl-backed carpet. Carpet recycled in the process is used
to produce ER3 backing. Powerbond carpet, when recovered,
is 100-percent recyclable in this process.
Additional information on the “FTC
Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims”
can be found at www.ftc.gov or in an executive summary on
C&A’s Web site located at www.power bond.com. For
more information on the SCS Environmental Claims Certification
Program, visit www.scs1.com or call 800-ECO-FACTS.
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