Building green can save you some green

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Cindy Parker

This is another buzz-word and a sign of the times. This one, however, has graduated to the “mainstream” and perhaps a little further. Concepts that may have started out as funky, fringe and earth-friendly are now becoming the guidelines and code requirements for standards in construction.  

Twenty (make that 30) years ago, the construction industry was not interested in things like building performance, the carbon footprint and sustainability. Now, these terms can make – or break a successful contractor, and help win or lose a competitive bid.

Building performance? Who would have thought a building should be more than a box to keep the inside and the outside separate? Building performance actually refers to how well the “box” does that job, how efficient the separation of inside environment and outside environment occurs, and how much it costs on a comparative (per square foot) basis.

The carbon footprint and sustainability? Two more terms with regard to production of the manufacturing, transportation, assembly, life expectancy and disintegration of the materials used for a building. Now, the “green” contractor must take these issues into consideration when submitting bids.

To help establish a structure for these construction methods, to provide an “apples to apples” base for pricing and performance, the LEED rating system has been developed. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) recognizes the environmental performance of buildings at four levels as endorsement of their “green” credentials; Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

If you are not in construction design/engineering or the building trades, or a supplier to these industries – the “green” details and LEED rating may not interest you, whatsoever. But, it should.

The critical thing to keep in mind is that buildings which have this certification are required to “perform” to certain specifications. They are required to achieve certain operating costs per square foot. They are “commissioned” after they are built. They are completed by providing an owner’s manual and proof that the components used during construction met the required criteria and that operating the building (heating, cooling, lighting, draining, ventilating, etc.) has been proven to meet the required guidelines.

When a new school, community or civic building project is on the books, the LEED specifications should be part of the project. When renovations and upgrades are required, the LEED specifications should be part of the project. It’s the pay now or pay later dilemma. You have XX dollars available for a project, meeting the LEED specification may cost XXX dollars. However, operating the XX building will cost YYYY dollars per year and operating the XXX building will only cost YY dollars per year. This information along with a performance guarantee should result in available financing to cover any additional costs to upgrade the construction to LEED equivalent specifications.

Green building, building green, saving green.