ENR Magazine - News Article
November 13, 2006

By Heather Hatfield with Craig Barner, Robert Carlson, Alex Padalka, Lucy Bodilly and Eileen Schwartz.

Green Initiatives Flourish Across U.S.

Jurisdictions are mandating sustainable buildings without quantifying up-front cost premiums

From Arlington, Mass., to Calabasas, Calif., state and local governments are adopting resolutions, passing legislation and issuing executive orders to mandate or encourage sustainable building, despite extra costs that may be incurred. Massachusetts and Illinois have initiatives pending. Of 48 city initiatives in force, four were adopted in September.

Ten federal agencies, eight countries and 19 states also have green building programs and guidelines that govern project design and construction, says the U.S. Green Building Council.

But the cost to jurisdictions of mandating green is just beginning to surface. In Chicago, which expects to complete a study next year on how to better quantify extra costs, "there is widely varying opinion about what we pay as a premium for green buildings right now," says John Montgomery, green building program coordinator for the city's Public Building Commission. "Some claim we are paying 10 to 15%, he says. But Montgomery estimates the premium to only 1 to 3%.

Most green building initiatives are based on USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building rating system. Some jurisdictions are adopting Green Globes, a two year-old rating system developed by Green Building Initiative, Portland, Ore. But some agencies and municipalities have developed their own green building guidelines. Several areas even have incentives, such as expedited permitting, to encourage private green development.

"One of the terrific things is how green building has evolved so quickly," says Thomas C. Leppert, CEO of Turner Corp., Dallas. "It is market driven."

Compliance is not always easy, through. "For projects at the lower end of the construction cost gradient, complying with the new standards has been a challenge," says Julie Hendricks, ecoservices specialist with architect Kirksey, Houston.

At the federal level for public buildings, the Environmental Protection Agency, the General Services Administration, the Dept. of Energy, Dept. of State, Dept. of Energy and individual military services within the Dept. of Defense all have green guidelines.

Ten states with sustainable guidelines require LEED silver certification - the second lowest of four levels - for virtually all state-owned or funded facilities. States also are offered private developers tax incentives and density bonuses. In Oregon, a business energy tax credit is tied to the LEED certification level achieved - certified, silver, gold or platinum.

Schools continue to be a niche for green construction. Washington state has led the way in sustainable rules, especially for schools. Officials claim the up-front cost premium is worth it. "There are extra costs to design buildings that meet these standards, but long-term benefits of energy efficiency, recycled materials and lower building emissions need to be considered," says Steve Valandra, spokesman for Washington's Dept. of General Administration. "The more the practice is put into place the more the costs will come down."

New York City's School Construction Authority, which has $9 billion to spend on capital improvements and new construction over the next three years, is developing its own green standards. They will go into effect Jan. 1.

"Because we are developing these guidelines just for schools, we will be able to achieve better environmental and health benefits than LEED can alone," says E. Bruce Barrett, SCA's vice-president of architecture and engineering.

Cities big and small are on the green bandwagon, Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, and Salt Lake City are some. Starting Jan 1, New York City also will have regulations for most capital projects to have a LEED silver rating.

Chicago's goal for 2006 is for all new city buildings to achieve a LEED silver rating. The city encourages private green development through expedited permitting. Officials are cutting in half the time it takes to get a permit for silver-level buildings, says Erik Olsen, green projects administrator for the city's Dept. of Construction and Permits.

Earlier this year, San Francisco building inspection, environment and planning departments jointly finalized a directive that follows Chicago's lead. They now give priority permit review to all new and renovated buildings that qualify for the LEED gold rating or its equivalent. Santa Monica, Calif., also has a priority permitting policy.

In Houston, all city-owned buildings and facilities over 10,000 sq ft must be LEED-certified if it is "reasonable" to do so according to a 2004 city resolution. "The city if Houston is investing an additional 2% in up-front project costs for LEED-certified projects" say Wendy Teas Heger, chief of design and construction for Houston's Building Services Dept. "However, we expect a return, in the form of operation and maintenance savings within 10 years maximum. Given increasing energy costs, we believe this investment is good business.-