Background

 on  Green  Building  

Ra'ng  Systems  

Michael  Gresty  
2010  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   1  

 Popula'on  Growth  

World  Popula'on:  LeB:  Since  prehistoric  'mes  (log  scale),  Right:  Since  800  AD  (linear  scale).  Drawn  using  data  
from  US  Census  Bureau,  Historical  Es'mates  of  World  Popula'on,  and  World  Popula'on  1950-­‐2050.  The  recent,  
rapid  increase  of  popula'on  led  to  the  anthropocene.  Note  that  the  popula'on  is  now  increasing  at  the  rate  of  
one  billion  people  every  13  years.  [Source:  TAMU]    

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   2  

 Limits  to  Growth  
Popula'on  trajectories  indicate  world    
popula'on  reached:  
•  2.5  billion  in  1950  
•  6.1  billion  in  2000  
•  6.6  billion  in  2007  

Projec'ons  are  the  world  popula'on    

will  reach:  

•  7.2  billion  by  2015  

•  9  billion  by  2050  

Source:  Millennium  Project  

I  =  P  ×  A  ×  T  is  a  formula  to  describe  the  impact  of  human  ac'vity  on  the  environment.  
Human  Impact  (I)  on  the  environment  equals  the  product  of  popula'on  (P),  affluence  (A:  
consump'on  per  capita)  and  technology  (T:  environmental  impact  per  unit  of  consump'on).  

Diagram:  Club  of  Rome  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   3  

 di;o  
Sustainability  defined  in  terms  of  
•  Human  
cccc   Welfare  Index  and  Ecological  
Footprint    

Cuba  

Diagram:  World  Wildlife  Fund  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   4  

 Externali'es  &  Market  Failure  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   5  

Major  Events  that  Triggered  Awareness  of  Need  for  Change  

•  1952  –  Great  Smog,  London    

•  1962  –  Silent  Spring  
•  1973  –  Oil  Crisis  
•  1978  –  Love  Canal  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   6  

 Major  Events  that  Triggered  Awareness  of  Need  for  Change  

•  1984  –  Bhopal  
•  1986  –  Chernobyl  
•  1987  –  Garbage  Barge  (Mobro  4000)  
•  1989  –  Exxon  Valdez  
•  1990  –  First  Gulf  War  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   7  

 Unsustainable  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   8  

 Utopian  Alterna'ves  

Image:  Whole  Earth  Catalog  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   9  

©  U.S.  Green  Building  Council  2009  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   10  

 Equitable  

Sustainable  

Viable   Bearable  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   11  

 Concentric  dependence:  the  economy  depends  on  society,    
which  in  turn  depends  on  the  environment  for  sustenance.  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   12  

 Defini'ons  of  Sustainability  
•  Sustainable  development  is  development  that  meets  the  
needs  of  the  present  without  compromising  the  ability  of  
future  genera'ons  to  meet  their  own  needs.      
-­‐-­‐  Report  of  the  UNEP  Brundtland  Commission,  Our  Common  Future,  1987  

•  Sustainability  is  improving  the  quality  of  human  life  while  

living  within  the  carrying  capacity  of  suppor'ng  ecosystems.    
–  Interna'onal  Union  for  the  Conserva'on  of  Nature,  UNEP  Environment  
Program  and  World  Wildlife  Fund  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   13  

 Real  World  Alterna'ves  
Awareness  of:  
•  Finite  natural  resources  
•  Limited  carrying  capacity  
•  Needs  of  Human  development  &  wellness  
+  
Vision:  
•  -­‐  Innova'on/Design  
•  -­‐  Markets  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   14  

 How  to  Get  There  
.  .  .  Reworded  as  The  Four  Principles  of  
The  Four  System  Condi'ons...    
Sustainability  
In  a  sustainable  society,  nature  is  not  subject  to  
To  become  a  sustainable  society  we  must...  
systema:cally  increasing:  
1.  eliminate  our  contribu'on  to  the  progressive  
1.  concentra'ons  of  substances  extracted  from  
buildup  of  substances  extracted  from  the  Earth's  
the  earth's  crust  
crust  (for  example,  heavy  metals  and  fossil  fuels)  
2.  eliminate  our  contribu'on  to  the  progressive  
2.  concentra'ons  of  substances  produced  by  
buildup  of  chemicals  and  compounds  produced  
society  
by  society  (for  example,  dioxins,  PCBs,  and  DDT  )  
3.  eliminate  our  contribu'on  to  the  progressive  
physical  degrada'on  and  destruc'on  of  nature  
3.  degrada'on  by  physical  means   and  natural  processes  (for  example,  over  
harves'ng  forests  and  paving  over  cri'cal  
wildlife  habitat);  and  
4.  eliminate  our  contribu'on  to  condi'ons  that  
4.  and,  in  that  society,  people  are  not  subject  to  
undermine  people’s  capacity  to  meet  their  basic  
condi'ons  that  systemically  undermine  their  
human  needs  (for  example,  unsafe  working  
capacity  to  meet  their  needs  
condi'ons  and  not  enough  pay  to  live  on).  

Chart:  The  Natural  Step  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   15  

 Backcas'ng  
•  A  plan  for  the  future  that  
starts  not  with  today  but  
with  a  vision  of  what  sort  
of  future  we  want.    
–  What  would  success  look  
like  for  us  if  we  achieved  
what  we  wanted?    
•  With  a  vision  of  a  desired  
future  in  mind,  we  can  
take  stock  of  where  we  
are  today  and  ask,  “What   Diagram:  The  Natural  Step  

ac'ons  do  I  need  to  take  

to  achieve  this  vision?”  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   16  

 What  is  Green  Building?  
•  Green  Building  is  the  prac'ce  of  crea'ng  structures  and  using  
processes  that  are  environmentally  responsible  and  resource-­‐
efficient  throughout  a  building's  life-­‐cycle.    
•  Life  cycle  phases  to  be  considered  include  programming,  
si'ng,  design,  material  sourcing,  construc'on,  opera'on,  
maintenance,  renova'on,  and  deconstruc'on.  
•  Green  buildings  minimize  their  nega've  impacts  on  human  
health  and  the  natural  environment,  and  maximize  their  
posi've  impacts,  by:  
–  Efficiently  using  energy,  water,  and  other  natural  resources  
–  Reducing  waste  and  pollu'on    
–  Protec'ng  occupant  health  and  improving  produc'vity  
•  The  rela've  importance  of  these  criteria  in  any  defini'on  
depends  on  local  context,  culture,  and  values.  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   17  

 Other  Related  Concepts  
•  Sustainable  buildings  
•  High  performance  buildings  
•  Net  zero  energy/emissions  
•  Cradle-­‐to-­‐cradle  
•  Restora've/regenera've  design  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   18  

Different  Emphasis  Depending  on  Context,  Culture  
For  instance,  energy  and  water  are  priority  issues,  but:  
•  Urban  criteria  
–  Building  can’t  be  off  grid,  but  may  have  distributed  
genera'on  
–  Water  conserva'on  within  and  using  rainfall;  well  unlikely  
•  Rural  criteria:  
-­‐  Can  be  off  grid,  as  there  are  mul'ple  poten'al  sources  of  
renewable  energy  
–  Water  conserva'on  within  and  using  rainfall  may  be  
supplemented  with  a  well  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   19  

 LEED  in  Qatar  –  Some  Issues  
1.  Qatar  

•  570,000  sq.B.  office  building  in  1,500,00  sq.B.  complex,  

including  extensive  underground  parking.    
•  There  is  no  mechanical  hea'ng.    
•  Preliminary  shading  studies  performed  to  ensure  glazing  
shaded.  
•  Uses  32%  less  energy  than  ASHRAE  90.1-­‐2007  
•  BUT  equipment  requirements  poorly  suited  to  climate  and  
market  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   20  

 Why  Develop  a  Green  Building?  
•  Owner’s  goals  must  be  clear  –  develop  a  strategy  to  
achieve  them.  
•  Evaluate  direct  benefits  (to  owner,  to  occupants)  
•  Evaluate  intangible  social  and  environmental  benefits  
(no  direct  benefit  to  owner,  occupants)  
•  Engage  stakeholders  to  derive  advantage  from  
intangibles.  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   21  

 Standards  and  Ra'ng  Systems  
•  Standards  set  minimum  performance  criteria  or  
thresholds  
•  Ra'ng  Systems  evaluate,  recognize  and  reward  
performance  rela've  to  a  standard,  by  using  
consensus-­‐driven  ‘strech’  thresholds  and  third-­‐party  
evalua'on  and  verifica'on  
•  There  are  hundreds  of  ‘eco-­‐labels’  including  a  
growing  number  for  green  buildings  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   22  

 What  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems  Do  
All  of  the  systems  aspire  to  improve:  
•  the  environmental  performance  of  the  building  
•  the  internal  environment  for  occupants  
•  upon  exis'ng  environmental  standards  

Key  Differences  in:  

•  how  they  assess  the  building  
•  what  parameters  they  measure  
•  how  they  score  building  performance  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   23  

 Ra'ng  Systems  –  Common  Features  
A  ra'ng  system:  
•  Is  a    tool  
•  requires  improvement  to:  
-­‐  the  internal  environment  
-­‐  the  environmental  impact  
-­‐  life  cycle  costs  of  the  building  
•  examines  whole  building  performance  
•  provides  an  overall  assessment  
•  allows  comparison  with  other  buildings  
•  encourages  best  prac'ces  
•  drives  market  transforma'on  

Interna'onal  Green  Building  Ra'ng  Systems   24