Energy cost solutions group

Author: Energy Cost

Posted on

4 ways to enhance your ESG strategy by using LEED

LEED Fellow Alicia Silva Villanueva shares how the rating system can help with ESG strategy.

Investors have realized that adding ESG criteria to their investment strategy is a must-have; however, it is never fully clear what the right path is. Adopting ESG criteria for your portfolio will potentially attract clients, but having a full, comprehensive sustainability strategy will certainly benefit all stakeholders in more impactful ways. In my experience greening real estate portfolios, these are four proven ways to enhance your ESG strategy by using LEED:

1. Let LEED serve as your road map for decarbonization.

Plenty of companies are pledging to reach net zero, but they can become overwhelmed by the challenge in practice. LEED serves as an amazing guide to achieving decarbonization, because it indicates what steps need to be taken with a systemic approach. One of the major misconceptions about decarbonization is that it only concerns energy, while some crucial aspects such as embodied carbon, transportation and waste are easily forgotten. LEED addresses the ESG question holistically, serving as a road map that will fulfill environmental and social criteria while also engaging in the adaptation and mitigation of climate risks. Embarking on the challenge is hard, but trusting in a well-laid plan like LEED will help us move toward accomplishing our science-based targets and net zero pledges.

2. Leverage the power of portfolio-level LEED.

Real estate portfolios need to overhaul their business models to adapt this new transitional economy. LEED volume programs assist in this transition by creating prototypes that dictate how new developments need to move forward, raise their standards and establish a new normal. Every portfolio is different, but we have found through our work that encouraging all the supply chain contractors and subcontractors to meet specific ESG criteria truly does help in making all strategies more efficient and effective. There is great comfort in seeing significant advancements happen with every project, without having to reinvent the wheel every single time.

3. Use LEED for existing buildings.

Having peace of mind when assessing how our assets are performing is invaluable, and there is no better way to start than with an audit. Surprise! That is the first step to achieving certification under LEED for Operations and Maintenance (LEED O+M). When covering audits in energy, water and waste, we really get to know where we stand in terms of how our assets are performing and where will investment serve better. Audits mark the difference because by identifying the key areas of improvement beforehand, real estate investors and tenants can anticipate where the savings generated by LEED O+M will be.

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/4-ways-enhance-your-esg-strategy-using-leed

Posted on

Teaching today’s change agents

Educators across the U.S. are integrating sustainability principles into their curricula.

Given the right resources, the green economy is poised to deliver change on nearly every industry front. There’s a growing market for clean energy technologies, net zero construction, low-carbon materials and software for modeling climate-smart development, to name a few of the areas where sustainability is taking shape.

“Sustainability” can be defined as a holistic approach to integrating environmental, social and economic benefits into human-generated goods and services. It is an adaptable, malleable concept readily applied to any field. It is a term that more and more industries are adopting in their communications; it signals intentionality around environmental and social stewardship. It is also a sign that the green economy is growing—and that economy needs a larger labor force.

It is incumbent upon educational institutions to equip their students with the kind of knowledge and skills needed to push sustainability not only forward, but in all directions, to reach every socioeconomic sector. Developing methods for teaching lessons—across all academic subjects—around sustainability that will impart both theoretical information and practical skills is the challenge.

Some high school educators have found solutions in USGBC’s LEED Green Associate Exam Prep-Take-Teach for Teachers, an online course begun in 2022. Its objective is to prepare educators to sit for the exam and teach them green building principles that they can then incorporate into their classes.

Finding a framework

Karen Carney, an instructor of environmental science and sustainable and renewable technologies at Battlefield High School in Haymarket, Virginia, found the prep course helpful. Her school is in an affluent suburb half an hour west of Washington, D.C. It has 2,500 students and is the only school in the county to offer a sustainability course.

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/teaching-today-s-change-agents

Posted on

The building decarbonization big idea: BlocPower in Ithaca

The City of Ithaca, New York, has signed a contract with a consortium led by BlocPower with the intent to decarbonize 1,600 buildings to start, with the goal of reaching 6,000 buildings by 2030. This one-of-a kind, public-private partnership has unique features that could become a model for other local governments. Take a closer look at how this program came about and how it will work:

Drivers

Ithaca has a long and deep commitment to sustainability. The city joined ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability in 2001 and subsequently joined the U.S. Mayors Climate Action Commitment and Climate Smart Communities pledge. Moreover, the city developed plans and implemented actions, such as a building energy code surpassing the state code.

Then, in 2019, the city council adopted the Green New Deal. Motivated in part by the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1.5 degree report, the council set forth the goal of achieving a carbon-neutral city by 2030 and committed to do so through specific actions, including green building policies for new buildings and for existing buildings.

Green building policy

More important, the city is following through on this commitment. In 2021, the city adopted the Green Building Policy for new construction and renovations as part of its energy code. The rules require that all new buildings be constructed to produce 40% fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than those built to New York State code, and ratcheting to 80% reduction in 2023 and ultimately to net zero, all-electric buildings in 2026 (with exceptions). The rules provide builders the options of a prescriptive path or a whole building path, which requires use of a listed green building system with the specified energy points. LEED is one such pathway, with 17 energy points.

 

 

Posted on

More than 23 Million Square Feet of LEED Certified Net Zero Space

Milestone reflects growing demand for net zero buildings

June 14, 2022 (Washington, D.C.) – Today, the U.S. Green Building Council announced nearly 100 net zero certifications earned under the LEED Zero program, representing more than 23 million square feet of space. One-fourth of LEED Zero projects earned multiple certifications, demonstrating achievement of net zero goals in several categories.

A complement to LEED certification, LEED Zero provides a clear, data-driven path to recognizing net-zero goals and signals market leadership in the built environment. In 2018, the first year LEED Zero was released, certifications were earned in every category, with one project earning certification in all four categories.

“Operating our buildings at net zero, combined with a solid green building strategy, is a cost-effective solution to tackling the climate crisis,” said Peter Templeton, USGBC’s interim president & CEO. “Reducing the carbon emissions of buildings is a critical part of the solving the climate puzzle. We will continue to work together with building owners and partners from all sectors to ensure that we meet net zero goals.”

LEED Zero energy certification is awarded to net zero energy buildings and communities that generate as much energy as they use over the course of the year. LEED Zero Carbon recognizes net zero carbon emissions from energy consumption through carbon emissions avoided or offset over one year. LEED Zero Water recognizes a potable water use balance of zero over one year. LEED Zero Waste recognizes buildings that achieve GBCI’s TRUE certification at the Platinum level.

Recent years have spotlighted the need to reduce carbon emissions and accelerate efforts to achieve a low-carbon future. Buildings account for nearly 40% of all carbon emissions, and according to a 2020 UN report, buildings must reduce at least 50% of their carbon emissions by 2030 to achieve net zero by 2050. Organizations, cities and countries around the globe are now monitoring their outputs and committing to carbon emissions reductions as well as net zero emissions.

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/usgbc-announces-more-23-million-square-feet-leed-certified-net-zero-space

Posted on

White House announces building codes initiative

The new initiative includes support and incentives for communities.

Continuing a strong focus on green buildings, the Biden-Harris administration launched a new initiative on June 1 to advance building codes across the U.S., as a key strategy in addressing the climate crisis.

The National Initiative to Advance Building Codes includes incentives and support for communities to adopt updated building codes and a commitment to lead by example across the vast federal buildings portfolio, including through above-code standards. USGBC is also pleased to see the administration’s pledge to comprehensively review federal funding and financing of building construction and to require modern codes and standards to the greatest extent possible.

Why building codes matter

Building energy codes are essential to USGBC’s work, as they lay the foundation for green buildings. The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that updated codes will deliver $138 billion in energy cost savings from 2010–2040—or about $162 annually per residential unit—along with 900 million metric tons of carbon emissions reduction.

In addition to providing savings, building codes are a cost-effective tool for improving indoor air quality, strengthening grid reliability and increasing resilience to natural disasters. They are living documents that constantly evolve to improve efficiency and resiliency.

The Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation program

While building codes more than pay for themselves over time, the initial process of updating codes can be an impediment. Many states have struggled to adopt or implement updated codes, due to a lack of resources and technical support.

One of the initiatives included in the administration’s announcement was the ongoing rollout of a $225 million competitive grant program supporting updated codes implementation. The Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation program is overseen by DOE and funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law passed in November 2021.

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/white-house-announces-building-codes-initiative

Posted on

LEED is leading the way for smart buildings

LEED is leading the way for smart buildings

CommScope is a global leader in network infrastructure for buildings, data centers and service provider networks. My role at CommScope is in strategy and technology for buildings and campuses, which includes understanding the impacts of macro trends on our customers, anticipating market needs, and then translating that into solutions and services.

The current macro trends we are studying are densification of our urban centers, pervasive automation and sustainability. These macro trends are what’s driving the need for smart buildings. They are the “why” for smart buildings. We need more smart sustainable built spaces that are in harmony with our environment and communities, that make the occupants lives better, healthier and safer. Our built spaces also need to be more inclusive, supporting more diverse workforces and community members, connecting people with people, and connecting people with systems and resources.

Smart buildings aren’t the goal, they are the vehicle that helps us reach our global imperative: more sustainable communities. USGBC’s collaboration with the smart building industry is timely and demonstrates its continued leadership in the design, construction and operation of environmentally and socially responsible spaces.

There are several smart building rating systems that exist, and they are useful for understanding the specific technology attributes of a building, but we have not seen significant adoption of smart building rating systems. One reason for low adoption may be the ambiguity around the term “smart building.” What is a smart building, and what does it mean to stakeholders if their building meets a specific smart building rating?

The industry has coalesced around some concepts, but falls short in a precise definition, which makes measurement systems difficult to characterize. Generally expressed, a smart building collects data from multiple systems and devices and shares that information so that action can be taken to improve business process, operational efficiency, sustainability, health and occupant safety, and user experience.

There are countless ways to attain these outcomes and varying degrees of importance attached to each of these outcomes for the stakeholders. If your building is “smart,” it has the infrastructure in place to support the systems and devices you deploy to get access to the type of data you need, and then to take action to have a positive impact on business process, operational efficiency, sustainability, health and occupant safety, and user experience. Rating a building for “smartness” based on whether it has a specific system is limiting, because a system may be germane to one business type or stakeholder and not important to another. it may also be relevant for a single snapshot in time and not later. A more effective way to measure the smartness of a building is to measure the buildings’ ability to support interoperability and sustain itself through technology adoption and evolution.

USGBC’s LEED program is the most widely adopted building certification program. The LEED framework allows for new experience, new stakeholders, and new science and technology to be incorporated into the program to ensure the program stays relevant and meets the evolving needs of our communities. Technology and automation can support more sustainable buildings, but it’s not a given. Technology and its supportive infrastructure have a carbon footprint. The methodology, architecture and its interoperability all need to be considered when applying sustainability benefits to a technology.

One of the most common design, construction and maintenance practices seen within operational technology is siloed systems that are built and managed individually with their own infrastructure and with minimal upfront consideration to interoperability and shared infrastructure. There is industry focus on software interoperability for smart buildings, and this is critical, but there is a great deal of duplicate physical infrastructure that is designed, installed and maintained that could be reduced with proper planning early in the design of a project. The LEED system requires the design charrette, sets the project expectations and compels early collaboration across the building stakeholders; this approach would be immensely helpful in defining technology systems and their infrastructure for smart buildings.


Posted on

The circular economy and LEED

What is the circular economy?

In a sense, the circular economy is a new way to look at old problems. The idea is to unlock the full value of materials, rather than wasting them. To unlock the value, we need innovative business solutions coupled with progressive policy that allows new economic models—concepts like designing for circularity, establishing real product take-back business models that work, leasing rather than owning materials, supporting refurbishment and remanufacturing, and innovating reverse logistics (how to recover used materials better).

All these concepts need new ideas, new solutions, and most importantly collaboration. The circular economy is the most powerful vehicle to bring all these stakeholders together to solve these problems. That’s why the built environment needs to engage.

How can the built environment be circular?

Today, we are in a mostly linear economy: Take, make, dispose. That’s what happens to buildings. We make them mostly out of virgin materials that are not very durable, and then when we’re done with a building, we tear it down and recycle 30–50% of the materials, and build something new.

A circular built environment looks very different. There are fewer virgin materials, and most of what makes up new buildings is coming from reused, salvaged, biobased or recycled materials. Further, our buildings last longer, are used more intensely (by more people, using more services), and are designed to be renovated and upgraded, rather than demolished. Finally, when buildings do near the end of their useful life, we salvage and reuse everything, so that landfill and waste become just a tiny byproduct of the process.

LEED v4.1 addresses many of these circular economy interventions, from promoting building reuse to designing spaces for flexibility, as well as encouraging reuse, salvage and recycling. We have points for all these strategies. We also support shifting from fossil-fuel based materials to sustainably harvested, biobased materials, a key component of moving away from a linear fossil fuel–based economy. We also must remember that the shift to biobased materials must include sustainable production and harvesting practices at the least, and must lead to regenerated ecosystems.

One case study for these principles is our Circular Products pilot credit in LEED v4.1. This credit addresses emerging areas of the circular economy for building products. These new concepts include:

  • More accurate recycled content disclosure. It’s not enough to know if a product has recycled content; we need to know where it came from and if there are any legacy ingredients that may be harmful as the material is reused in new products.
  • Design for circularity. We give credit to products that are designed to be disassembled and put back into commerce, rather than disposed of.
  • Zero waste. Manufacturers are increasingly cutting their waste during manufacturing processes, a key element of circularity. Our TRUE Zero Waste is one program that helps support these goals.
  • Closed-loop products. The pilot credit rewards products that are made anew or made again using post-consumer materials. Product leasing or sharing is also encouraged and gives more emphasis to remanufactured and refurbished products

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/circular-economy-and-leed

Posted on

Case studies on student climate action

On May 17, the San Mateo County Office of Education, the New York City Department of Education and Denver Public Schools joined the Center for Green Schools for the webinar “Students Act on Climate.” In this webinar, district sustainability staff and student climate leaders shared inspiring stories, strategies and lessons learned from each of their climate action efforts:

Three years ago, San Mateo County Office of Education developed an innovative Youth Climate Ambassadors Program, in which students in 9th through 12th grades explore social and environmental issues contributing to climate change. The program design is set up not only to encourage students to earn about climate change, but to also empower them to lead their own community impact projects. These projects, combined with personal leadership plans, have led to many amazing student-led activities and have encouraged alumni to make an impact with their own school districts and broader communities.

The New York City Department of Education shared details from the 2022 NYC Education Youth Climate Summit: “Solutions in Our School Communities,” a student-designed and -led summit that provides all the city’s students with the opportunity to learn about climate change, network with peers, explore sustainability careers and develop climate action plans. The team highlighted how they sought to engage students beyond listening to becoming speakers with its immersive climate action planning program. The program had students collect observations through photos, identify issues and goals, and build out simple steps for school-based climate action plans.

 

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/case-studies-student-climate-action

 

 

Posted on

LEED is leading the way for smart buildings

LEED is leading the way for smart buildings

CommScope is a global leader in network infrastructure for buildings, data centers and service provider networks. My role at CommScope is in strategy and technology for buildings and campuses, which includes understanding the impacts of macro trends on our customers, anticipating market needs, and then translating that into solutions and services.

The current macro trends we are studying are densification of our urban centers, pervasive automation and sustainability. These macro trends are what’s driving the need for smart buildings. They are the “why” for smart buildings. We need more smart sustainable built spaces that are in harmony with our environment and communities, that make the occupants lives better, healthier and safer. Our built spaces also need to be more inclusive, supporting more diverse workforces and community members, connecting people with people, and connecting people with systems and resources.

Smart buildings aren’t the goal, they are the vehicle that helps us reach our global imperative: more sustainable communities. USGBC’s collaboration with the smart building industry is timely and demonstrates its continued leadership in the design, construction and operation of environmentally and socially responsible spaces.

There are several smart building rating systems that exist, and they are useful for understanding the specific technology attributes of a building, but we have not seen significant adoption of smart building rating systems. One reason for low adoption may be the ambiguity around the term “smart building.” What is a smart building, and what does it mean to stakeholders if their building meets a specific smart building rating?

The industry has coalesced around some concepts, but falls short in a precise definition, which makes measurement systems difficult to characterize. Generally expressed, a smart building collects data from multiple systems and devices and shares that information so that action can be taken to improve business process, operational efficiency, sustainability, health and occupant safety, and user experience.

There are countless ways to attain these outcomes and varying degrees of importance attached to each of these outcomes for the stakeholders. If your building is “smart,” it has the infrastructure in place to support the systems and devices you deploy to get access to the type of data you need, and then to take action to have a positive impact on business process, operational efficiency, sustainability, health and occupant safety, and user experience. Rating a building for “smartness” based on whether it has a specific system is limiting, because a system may be germane to one business type or stakeholder and not important to another. it may also be relevant for a single snapshot in time and not later. A more effective way to measure the smartness of a building is to measure the buildings’ ability to support interoperability and sustain itself through technology adoption and evolution.

USGBC’s LEED program is the most widely adopted building certification program. The LEED framework allows for new experience, new stakeholders, and new science and technology to be incorporated into the program to ensure the program stays relevant and meets the evolving needs of our communities. Technology and automation can support more sustainable buildings, but it’s not a given. Technology and its supportive infrastructure have a carbon footprint. The methodology, architecture and its interoperability all need to be considered when applying sustainability benefits to a technology.

One of the most common design, construction and maintenance practices seen within operational technology is siloed systems that are built and managed individually with their own infrastructure and with minimal upfront consideration to interoperability and shared infrastructure. There is industry focus on software interoperability for smart buildings, and this is critical, but there is a great deal of duplicate physical infrastructure that is designed, installed and maintained that could be reduced with proper planning early in the design of a project. The LEED system requires the design charrette, sets the project expectations and compels early collaboration across the building stakeholders; this approach would be immensely helpful in defining technology systems and their infrastructure for smart buildings.

https://www.energycostsolutionsgroup.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=5624&action=elementor

Posted on

Pro tips

Pro tips

 

LEED Fellow Rachelle Schoessler Lynn shares advice on life cycle choices for your project.

Feature image: The LEED Platinum HDR office in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: Halkin Mason Photography/HDR.

Q: As a designer, I am trying to figure out what I can do to make a bigger impact in materials choice and life cycle strategies for my clients’ LEED projects. What would you recommend?

A: For a while now, we have been deep into the conversation about life cycle impact and materials reduction, as well as how those things affect human health. How do materials credits in LEED v4.1 work to make our places more sustainable and healthy for occupants? Sometimes, we have to take a step back first and examine the assumptions we’re making. How can we think differently?

Here are a few ideas:

Use less stuff.

At the start of a LEED project, take a look at the space you are going to design or update. Take an inventory of the materials, furniture and existing structure and determine what you can reuse. 

Questions that I ask myself might be whether every floor has to have carpet or resilient flooring. For instance, could you maintain some of the concrete flooring?  Other considerations are to work with the manufactures to understand what the end of life for their products really are. Is a given product 100% recyclable or reusable? I often think about the cradle to cradle philosophy—the use of biological nutrients and technical nutrients and avoiding monstrous hybrid products. 

Design with flexibility.

It’s possible to design our projects so that deconstructing the building also limits the amount of product sent to landfills. The circular economy is about how we make products that can be reused, donated or recycled in an effort to lessen the embodied carbon in the products over their life cycle.

Embodied carbon is a hot topic these days, and for those who design buildings and interiors, it’s important to be aware that the embodied carbon in the interior space will far exceed the embodied carbon of the initial build. This is because the leases will continue to turn over.

We need to find ways to limit the waste to landfill and instead reuse materials and furniture, recycle materials and integrate demountable walls that can be reused over and over.

Develop a resources library with your manufacturers and vendor reps.

I have done this at several firms where I have worked. The idea is to use the criteria from external sources (such as those in the sidebar below) and only allow products from these sources into your resource library. The point is that designers would not have to worry about the sustainability and health attributes, and you can feel confident that you are making the best choices.

The construction credits for materials can be challenging to achieve. The general contractors are usually providing the documentation. As the designers are selecting materials, be sure to look for products that have EPDs during the design process. Twenty products plus five to seven more is a good number to make sure you get the 2 points. The same is also applicable to finding HPD products. If you can find optimized products, that will also contribute to LEED points. You may also want to explore the pilot credit for circular products.

Another pilot credit that you may be interested in is Social Equity within the Supply Chain. Its intent is to “create more equitable, healthier environments for those affected by and involved in the production of materials and products used in a project, including the stages of raw materials extraction, processing, manufacturing, and assembly of components and products.” For those considering the AIA Framework for Design Excellence, this credit will apply to the pledge statements.

 

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/pro-tip-using-materials-strategies-leed