infoCycling: Summer 2006 Continued

Benefits of commercial green building

Californians are facing record-setting heat this summer, which has increased the demand for electricity. According to the California Independent System Operator (ISO), energy usage reached levels in July 2006 that were not expected until five years from now. Stage 3 energy emergency levels resulted in involuntary interruptions of service. During this major heat wave, Governor Schwarzenegger flexed California’s power by directing all State employees and State agencies to reduce electricity usage by 25 percent. How the State operates and maintains facilities has a direct impact on energy demands of today. The Governor’s Green Building Initiative (Executive Order S-20-04) calls for State buildings to be 20 percent more energy-efficient by 2015. The Executive Order is available on the Green California website. 

Green building encompasses more than just energy efficiency. Green building, sustainable building, and high-performance design are interchangeable terms for a process where buildings are designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. These buildings result in waste diversion, water conservation, improved indoor air quality, and site planning to minimize overall environmental impacts.

Sustainable building provides cost savings to all Californians through improved human health and increased productivity, lower cost building operations, and resource efficiency. California’s Green Building Initiative requires State-owned facilities to be designed, constructed, operated, and renovated according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) Silver certification standard (or higher).

LEED is a rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. The Governor’s Green Building Initiative encourages the private sector to achieve the same goals. California has the most registered LEED projects in the nation. This is partly due to the State’s commitment to green building. It also has to do with private businesses and local governments taking initiative.

At least 18 local jurisdictions have adopted ordinances or implemented a green building program. As this trend is increasing, this article highlights the City of San Francisco’s Commercial Green Building Program and the County of San Diego’s Green Building Incentive Program as examples of jurisdictions looking toward the future.

For more information on the State’s construction and demolition (C&D) waste stream and efforts underway to reduce this waste, see “Detailed characterization of construction and demolition waste” featured in this edition of infoCycling.

City of San Francisco—Commercial Green Building Program

What is the City of San Francisco’s Commercial Green Building Program?

The City of San Francisco’s Commercial Green Building Program supports the development of high-level green buildings that benefit the City of San Francisco’s environmental goals and increase the overall net value of buildings. The Commercial Green Building Program consists of:

• Green building incentives.
• Ongoing education.
• Technical support.
• Outreach events.

Green building design, construction, and operation helps to address significant environmental issues in San Francisco. Environmental benefits include:

• Extending the life of the city’s landfill through construction and demolition waste reduction and management.
• Reducing overall energy and water loads and subsequent demands. Minimizing the volume and rate of stormwater, resulting in fewer broken sewer pipes throughout the city.
• Creating environments that support a healthier community through high indoor environmental quality.

What does the Commercial Green Building Program offer?

Education and outreach

Ongoing educational opportunities are provided to introduce green building concepts and strategies that improve design and construction practices. Educational opportunities occur through forums including professional associations, ad-hoc sustainability committees, and technical organizations. Commercial green building tours are conducted at least once a month to celebrate the implementation of design and construction that add value to the city, the building owner, and the tenants.

Green design

Working closely with the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection Code Advisory Committee and the Green Building Subcommittee has resulted in changes to existing building codes to require higher levels of green design. This has allowed for expedited applications of green technologies, such as solar electricity. Green roof systems are currently being discussed and evaluated.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Current efforts are underway to implement a priority permitting program for buildings that meet or exceed the LEED Green Building Rating System Gold level. This program will move a high-level green building project through the first phase of the planning and permitting process in less than four weeks as compared to eight or more months. The goals of this initiative are:

1. To stimulate a sustainable building environment in San Francisco—less energy and water demands, use of local, salvaged, reused, and recycled-content building materials, better indoor air/environmental quality, less construction and demolition waste, increased durability, and improved satisfaction with buildings.
2. To create a market advantage for the project team—expedited occupancy, energy savings, operations, and maintenance cost reductions and healthier environments to improve worker productivity.

The San Francisco Commercial Green Building Program strives to be a conduit of green building information in order to increase the accessibility of green buildings in the city. With more than 768 LEED Accredited Professionals (representing 200 companies) in San Francisco, there is a lot of momentum in green building.

The city’s goal is to provide resources to make it easier for the project teams to build green. Building data and case studies are being pursued to obtain lessons learned in order to improve the buildings of the future.

What’s next?

In September 2006, the Commercial Green Building Program team will issue a 12-page Green Building Supplement in the San Francisco Business Times. This supplement will highlight companies that are developing green projects, green products, and companies that provide green services. For questions about advertising or to submit ideas for articles, please e-mail Melinda Hue or contact her at San Francisco Environment, (415) 355-3718.

If you would like more information about Commercial Green Building in San Francisco, e-mail Laura Ingall or contact her at San Francisco Environment, (415) 355-3753.

County of San Diego—Green Building Incentive Program for commercial buildings

What is the County of San Diego’s Green Building Incentive Program for commercial buildings?

The County of San Diego’s Green Building Incentive Program is a voluntary program to promote energy efficiency, use of resource-efficient construction materials, and water conservation in new and remodeled commercial buildings.

How do projects qualify?

In order to be eligible for this program, commercial projects must comply with one or more of the green building measures in the Natural resources conservation, Water conservation, and Energy efficiency categories on page 8.)

1. Natural resources conservation

• Recycled-content materials

1. At least 20 percent of the building materials must contain 20 percent or more postconsumer recycled content. Reused building materials meet this requirement, or
2. Major building materials such as roofing or those that serve a structural function must contain 50 percent or more postconsumer recycled content.

• Straw bale construction

• New buildings constructed of rice or wheat straw bales, which have historically been burned as a waste product, provide super-insulating benefits that are more energy-efficient than wood-frame buildings. Use of straw bales for exterior wall construction qualifies for the program incentives.

2. Water conservation

• Graywater systems

• Graywater has the ability to supply most irrigation needs for landscaping. It conserves potable water and benefits plants because it often contains plant nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorous. Since supplying water throughout California is 40 percent of the energy demand, reducing water consumption also helps to conserve energy. Wastewater from bathroom sinks, showers, and washing machines can be recycled and reused for subsurface drip irrigation to obtain a green building incentive.

3. Energy efficiency

• Exceeding energy code minimum standards

• Title 24 is the State energy code that prescribes minimum requirements for energy-efficient design and construction. Commercial projects that exceed Title 24 by 25 percent are eligible for incentives. Documentation of projects that exceed the minimum threshold is required as part of the submittal process.

Incentives

Two main incentives are offered to eligible participants of San Diego’s Green Building Incentive Program for commercial buildings. Projects are able to go through an expedited plan check process and save 7.5 percent in fees. Incentives include the following:

• Expedited process (saving 7-10 days).
• Reduced fees for plan check and building permit (7.5 percent savings).

San Diego County’s Construction and Demolition Recycling Guide

About 35 percent of the material that goes to the landfill in San Diego County is C&D debris, which could be salvaged, reused, or recycled for other beneficial uses. The county offers a guide on how to:

• Reduce C&D waste.
• Develop a waste management plan.
• Recycle or reuse materials.

This C&D Recycling Guide includes a full listing of recycling centers in the county.

For more information about San Diego County’s Green Building Incentive Program including residential incentives, e-mail Clay Westling or contact him at (858) 495-5082. Information is also available on the County of San Diego website.

Do you want more information on sustainable building practices?

The California Integrated Waste Management Board Green Building Design and Construction website offers a multitude of information and tools relating to sustainable building. “Green California” is the gateway for the latest information on how the State of California is working to reduce energy and resource consumption, while creating safer and healthier environments in which to work, live, and learn.

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Last updated: December 28, 2007