That is the question facing the owners and operators of over one billion square feet of commercial space that have obtained LEED status under the U.S. Green Building Council‘s green building rating system.

What they (and you) decide will make a big impact, it will mean the difference between one billion square feet of truly sustainable real estate, and one billion square feet of potentially sustainable real estate. The gap between real and potential sustainability lies in the way LEED is perceived. If you think attaining LEED is attaining sustainability, your answer to the "now what?" question might well be "nothing," since you’ve already achieved your goal. But you would be missing the point because LEED does not equal sustainability.  It merely opens the door to sustainability. True sustainability is a process.

Think of it this way. Would you walk away from your garden after carefully planting your seeds? Or would you continue to tender and monitor it to make sure it thrives? With LEED as the seed, what’s next is to ensure that sustainability blooms.

So back to the question. Now what?

Well, first, go ahead and hang that LEED plaque up on your wall. You deserve it. You’ve made a great start. To reach your full, sustainable potential, here’s what you must do beyond LEED:

1. Establish a long-term environmental management system

In a nutshell, this means putting in place a plan to ensure the continued improvement of your building’s environmental performance following a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. Beyond LEED, this means that other sustainability efforts should be constantly evaluated and added when necessary. This may include programs like ISO 14001 and 9001, ENERGY STAR, supply chain lifecycle analysis and carbon footprint reporting.

2. Measure and manage with a sustainability metrics

Is your building saving as much energy as its LEED certification predicted? Are the bathroom retrofits lowering water consumption? Is the recycling program being fully utilized? These questions can only be answered if a building’s sustainability performance is being measured and managed. Right now, little of that is being done. USGBC research suggests that a quarter of new LEED buildings are not saving as much energy as expected, and that most buildings do not track energy consumption.

The key to any long-term plan is a system to measure and manage your sustainability efforts so that you can set baselines for future improvements, not just for LEED recertification.

Environmental performance should be measured and managed as widely as possible, and should go beyond energy and water use to include purchases (paper, recycled materials, cups, cardboard cafeteria trays, etc.), waste and recycling, heating and cooling days, and other sustainability markers.

3. Communicate and educate

Your building’s tenants and employees have to realize that they do not just work in a LEED building, but that they are in fact part of the green process.

Tenants who are reminded to switch off the lights, for example, can make a difference in energy use. Other tenant-controlled activities like recycling and purchasing should be guided with regular education sessions and the use of informational signs to make sure your sustainability programs are not under utilized.

Because new equipment cannot be run in the same old ways, don’t forget to train your operations and maintenance staff in updated efficiency techniques. They will hold the key to any upgrades you’ve made for LEED.

Externally, your building’s efforts should be communicated through corporate social responsibility reports or the use of a sustainability-reporting framework like the Global Reporting Initiative. These detailed reports document results (obtained using a sustainability metrics) and demonstrate a commitment to sustainable development that will serve to motivate and build on LEED for a lasting green benefit.

4. Conduct management review

As a process, sustainability has to be incorporated into your building’s or company’s overall strategy. Sustainability has to be accounted for in capital budgets, risk management, corporate reputation and other decisions. This will ensure that the sustainability process continues beyond LEED as part of your long-term vision.

Via: www.greenbiz.com

Oberlin has one remarkable building, around ten years old, which is home to the Program of Environmental Studies. It’s called Adam Joseph Lewis Center (AJCL). Part of its energy comes from solar photovoltaic panels located on the building’s roof. Excess energy is sold to the local utility center. Further, the Lewis Center has a “living machine”, designed by John Todd, which processes waste water, making it available for irrigation and toilets.

Solar technology is fabulous, and at a glance, looks an ideal solution and alternative to fossil fuels. However, it may also have an environmental impact, which is worth considering. That’s why the life cycle of the solar installations on the Lewis Center was assessed, and what was discovered was that their eco benefits exceed their costs.

The Center also carefully monitors its environmental performance, including energy use and generation. It has 150 environmental sensors, and on its website lots of specific data is available to evaluate progress. Among the Lewis Center’s awards are having been named one of the 30 milestone buildings of the 20^th century by the US Department of Energy, and one of the top 10 green projects by the American Institute of Architects. What’s also interesting is that during the design process, the community was invited to suggest ideas, students participated, and different buildings and projects were visited seeking for inspiration and ideas.

Of course, Oberlin has other programs and colleges apart from the environmental one. Yet, green efforts are being destined to all of them. Next month, the Litoff building will be inaugurated. It will be home to music studies programs. The building “intends to be the first music facility in the world to attain gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating”.

Another very interesting initiative is the Oberlin Project, which consists of a green redesign of the Oberlin community. For this to happen, the college and the city of Oberlin are working together. A 13-acre piece of land owned by Oberlin College, and located in downtown Oberlin, will be turned into a LEED-Platinum neighborhood.

Other green actions include requiring “all new construction and major renovations on campus to be designed and built in accordance with LEED Silver standards.” Besides, the Farm to Fork program has allowed for the college’s dining services to buy as much as half of total produce from local sources. Also, electronic waste is collected on campus to be recycled. There is an organic vegetable garden, and fruits are also grown on campus. On the other hand, biodiversity is enhanced; a wetland was created which contains more than 70 native plant species.

Now, it’s no surprise that Oberlin College “has been awarded the highest grade given to any college or university, an A-, on the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s College Sustainability Report Card 2010. For the second consecutive year Oberlin has earned top honors on the Report Card.”

Keep it up Oberlin!

VIA: World Changing

Let’s look at what Seattle has done so far.

In 2005, the city’s mayor, Greg Nickels, launched Seattle’s Climate Protection Initiative. This helped maintain the city’s already existent environmental programs. By 2008, greenhouse gas emissions were 7% below 1990 levels, meeting Kyoto’s targets. This stands out even more when we consider that Seattle has grown 16% since 1990.

Environmental actions are organized in different fronts.

The most challenging area is transportation which accounts for around 40% of Seattle’s GHG emissions. So what is being done? The car as a means of transport is intended to be increasingly replaced by alternative methods. Walking and biking are encouraged. Last year, Seattle adopted the Pedestrian Master Plan, which works specifically on fostering walking and improving conditions, such as better sidewalks. Regarding biking, there are now 201 miles of bike lanes. “The Bicycle Master Plan calls for Seattle’s bike system to more than double in size, stretching 450 miles.” Hopefully, biking as a means of transport will continue to grow; between 2007 and 2009, it grew 15%.

The city is also working to get itself ready for electric vehicles. It will receive about $20 million of investment to develop EV infrastructure, with around 2,500 charging stations. Seattle has also made an agreement with Nissan so as to make Nissan LEAFs available for purchase.

There is also an interesting project that consists in turning waste-grease into biofuel. A company called General Biodiesel collects waste-grease from restaurants and grocery stores and transforms it into about 3,000 gallons of biodiesel a month. Waste-grease biodiesel produces 80% less emissions than petroleum diesel.

Efforts are also being destined to reduce waste.

In 2003, the city’s recycling rate was 40%. Last year, it was 50%, which allowed to reduce the amount of garbage being sent to a landfill in Oregon by 36 metric tons. The next goal is to reach 60% by 2012. Some methods being used are expanding solid waste services, making recycling for small businesses free, forbidding dumping recyclables and making recycling easier by allowing glass and plastics to be collected together.

Regarding renewable energy deployment, Seattle City Light has an interesting program called Green up, through which customers can pay a slightly higher bill and include a portion of renewable energy in their total consumption. That money is used to pay for “Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) equal to the amount of customer demand.”

The city is trying to engage the community in environmental matters, considering the importance of individual actions. Citizens are given access to a carbon footprint calculator, connected to a customized action plan. Further, volunteers are offered the possibility of being trained as “Carbon Coaches”. They are given information and tools, which they can later pass on to the community.

Seattle is also looking to green its buildings. The City of Seattle’s Green Building Program offers incentives and technical assistance to help individuals or businesses who want to have greener constructions. The city currently has 38 projects targeted for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. 16 projects are already LEED certified, among which is Seattle’s City Hall, which is Gold on LEED.

Let’s hope politicians find the carbon neutrality by 2030 goal feasible and continue to work to achieve it.

VIA: WorldChanging

City of Seattle’s website

In an interview with Sustentator, Caryn Heilman says finding the organic materials the Inn uses “took an incredible amount of research”, yet it enabled them to get to know green companies and artists, which was “so gratifying”.

The inn powers itself partly with solar photovoltaic panels. For heating and hot water generation, it uses biodiesel. Resorting to biodiesel allows the inn to emit 78% less carbon dioxide. When you’re taking your eco-friendlier hot bath, you also have access to organic shampooing. While in the bathroom, another useful gadget is the dual flush toilet, which helps reduce water consumption.

Caryn says most of the inn’s green products are more expensive than regular ones, including the organic beds, linens, bath and bodycare products, breakfast, fair trade coffee and tea, nontoxic building materials, FSC-certified wood, recycled insulation and efficient appliances. Besides, she adds that biodiesel is very expensive. Solar panels were also costly but they “will pay back within 5 years”, thanks to the savings on electric bills. All this spending and efforts in greening the inn are a great source of marketing; thus by attracting more guests, the costs are offset.

What about the lighting of the inn? Of course, LEDs (light emitting diodes) are used, including for the “exit” signs.

Both Nana and Caryn were always interested in sustainability, and were led to the Berkshires because of its “mix of nature and culture”; that’s why they felt they “needed to respect the environment”.

The floors of the hotel are a whole different subject. The wood is certified FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). The carpets are 100% pure wool.

When asked how the guests respond to the inn’s green way of functioning, Caryn says that “most people are happy to try our products and notice a positive difference in their ability to sleep.  They are impressed with the lack of allergens and general quality of the air and environment.”

Among Caryn and Nana’s current projects, they are aiming at getting LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. They also are looking for sponsors to build a community arts center, that will include a number of sustainable features, such as a green roof, renewable energies, and LED lighting.

More: Topia Inn

The building I just mentioned is the Kroon Hall, home of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. It consumes 81% less water and 58% less energy than other similar buildings.

The Kroon Hall also uses renewable energy; it has solar panels on its roofs that provide it with 25% of its electricity needs. Solar power is also being used for heating around 50% of water, with solar water heaters.

As regards recycling, the Kroon has a system to reuse water. Storm water is collected, as well as grey waters. These are filtrated using native aquatic plants. Grey waters and storm water are used for flushing toilets and for irrigation. On the other hand, plumbing includes low-flow mechanisms, and so do irrigation fixtures, which greatly lowers the demand for water.

Other initiatives include profiting from natural light, and controlling artificial lights with sensors that turn them off when there is no one around. Construction materials include FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) wood, 16% recycled materials, 34% of all materials came from regional sources, a special type of concrete that helps insulate, and low-impact paint. Now that the building has been completed, all appliances and equipment are Energy Star TM rated.

All of these strategies got the Kroon 59 points on the LEED certification, more than enough for obtaining Platinum.

Concerning its pledges to reduce GHG emissions, for now, Yale has achieved a 7% decrease, even though the campus grew 3.2% in size.

Some of its projects include working on energy efficiency on the whole campus, and increasing the dependence on renewable energies. Yale not only uses solar power, but also co-generation in one of its two main power plants, biofuel, and hydrogen cells. There is also a project to implement wind power.

Further, green purchasing is encouraged as a means of making consumption greener and showing the institution’s commitment to environmental actions.

The whole of the campus works to increase recycling levels. And this isn’t new for them, given that Yale’s recycling efforts began in 1970. Students have participated in the recycling competition we’ve told you about in Sustentator called RecycleMania and came out fourth. Plus, last year the university recycled and donated more than 1,400 tons of trash.

The last initiative I’m telling you about (there’s really so much) is the Yale Sustainable Food Project, which has developed and manages an organic farm on campus. It also works to make the food sold on campus more sustainable, considering and spreading the idea that food has an important environmental impact.

It is very encouraging to see young people learning to care for our planet, and actually making things happen.

VIA: Courant

For more: Yale Sustainability

The company’s green actions are organized in the eBay Green Team, which mainly tries to enhance smart ways to shop green and more sustainable buying choices. With this in mind, it has started to work with three organizations, with the aim of uniting innovation with older or vintage products. Behind this is the idea that most times the greenest product is one that already exists.

Since its creation in 2007, when a group of employees decided to green their workplace, eBay Green Team has grown a great deal. Today, more than 2,000 eBay employees in around 23 countries have become members. They not only promote sustainable activities within eBay, but they also support environmental projects in their nearest locations. As a whole, the company is also helping advance environmental legislation.

eBay is trying to make its headquarters more sustainable. That’s why they have asked for the help of the environmental consultant ICF International, which assessed the company’s environmental performance. They have set the goal of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2012 compared to 2008 levels. How are they planning to accomplish this? By making their energy consumption more efficient, investing in renewable energy and by helping employees’ daily activities become greener.

Being eBay an Internet company, its main impact is due to the energy consumed by its data centers. The company is now building a new data center in Salt Lake City which will respond to LEED Gold standards.

On the other hand, its newest building, inaugurated on 2008, is in San Jose, California, and it also complies with requirements of LEED Gold Standard. Among other things, they have a lighting system that detects the amount of natural light coming in from the outside and according to this, adjusts the electric light. This allows the company to save around 39% in energy. The San Jose building is the first building in the city to accomplish LEED Gold standards. It has more than 3,000 solar panels, which supply between 15 and 18% of its total energy needs.

For more: eBay

A small ISP (Internet Service Provider) and hosting company in Illinois has become the first data center operator to be powered entirely by wind energy. The company is called Other World Computing (OWC) and is located in Woodstock, Illinois. It has installed a wind turbine on its premises, that supplies all of its energy needs.

The turbine is 131 foot high and it can generate 500 kilowatts of power. Per year, it generates 1.2 million kW, more than twice what OWC needs. The surplus power will be sold to the local power provider. When the wind blows stronger, the wind turbine can produce in one week more energy than what OWC needs for a whole month. On the other hand, the company knows that the wind may not always blow; in those cases, energy is taken from the local provider.

When wind power is transformed into energy, the energy goes to the company’s metering device; OWC uses the amount it needs, and the rest is sold to the local provider.

Further, the company’s facility was rated LEED Platinum. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a rating system that provides a set of standards for environmental construction. Also, thanks to its different green initiatives, OWC was ranked N 9 on a list of green-IT vendors, by computerworld, in 2008.

The turbine was designed to function and produce energy at low speeds, given that the area’s average wind speed is of 10-15 mph. Even at 9 mph, the turbine can generate power.

The whole installation of the turbine cost $1.25 million, an investment that OWC expects to recover within 10-14 years. This period can be reduced considering the rising energy costs.

VIA: DataCenterKnowledge

The houses were designed by architect George Watt, and are now being built by Silver Lining Builders.

Electricity will come from the photovoltaic panels that will be installed in each house, on the roof. The system will be linked to the grid, via a net-metering system. So, when the panels aren’t working, (at night or on cloudy days), homes can use energy coming from the grid. However, the homes are designed to generate enough electricity to be self-sustaining.

The heating and cooling system will be based on a geothermal electric heat pump. The interior of the homes will be painted with non-toxic paints, with low VOC (volatile organic compound) and decorated with non-toxic furniture. Further, the homes include a mechanical ventilation system that brings in fresh air from the outside, and also either warm or cool air from the geothermal system.

To make the homes more energy-efficient, a great deal of attention was paid to insulation. Windows are double-glazed and low-E, which means that they have a low emittance of radiant energy. Walls and roofs are highly insulated, to keep interiors warm in winter, and cool in the summer.

They will be about 2,800 sq ft large. The largest one 4,000 sq ft. One of the homes was already built, and it is expected to be sold at $1.2 million, around $300 a square foot. However, the developers are trying to lower the costs to near $200 a square foot, for the other homes.

The neighborhood is of 1.5 acres, and it is located across from a market, shops and restaurants. It also has a good access by bus. This project is another proof that it is feasible to live inside our society in an environmentally conscious way. Let’s hope initiatives like this continue to grow, and we get to see more of these eco-neighborhoods.

Via: Daily Camera

SpringLeaf

It’s been a few years since they’ve been working on their environmental impact. Lately, they’ve been developing quite interesting initiatives, and have many plans.

Their work is organized in a number of areas.

Energy consumption

Their latest decision has been to replace conventional light bulbs for LEDs in 8,000 stores. Thanks to this, each store will be saving about 10% in electricity consumption. These LEDs are a special design made for Starbucks by General Electric.

Starbucks has undertaken an energy audit, through which it learned that 80% of its carbon footprint comes from energy use. That’s why this particular area represents the biggest opportunity and challenge to improve. The company has set the goal of consuming 50% renewable energy by 2010, of the total used energy.

Also, many stores are being upgraded and new stores are being built to use 25% less energy. Starbucks has decided that all new stores will be certified green by the end of 2010.

Among other current efforts, stores conserve energy by allowing temperatures to reach 75 degrees instead of 72 on warm days, and so reduce air-conditioning use. Further, in 2008, it bought renewable energy credits that represent 20% of all electricity consumed in US and Canada stores.

Green construction

Starbucks is trying to make its stores greener by improving design, building and operation of the stores. Some actions include the incorporation of sustainable building materials and furnishings, also measures of efficient energy and water usage into store designs.

An important goal that has been established is to make all new stores certified green. Starting in late 2010, all new company-owned stores will be created to function in a green manner, and will follow LEED criteria. Besides, in spring 2010, Starbucks plans to open 10 pilot stores that will test different strategies to reduce energy and water use, and will be LEED certified.

Recycling

Starbucks wants to make 100% of cups reusable or recyclable by 2015.

For the time being, it is promoting customers to bring their own reusable mugs. Customers that bring their own mugs get 10 cents off their price. The company is trying to participate in commercial recycling, avoiding its waste to end up in landfills.

These are the main courses of action developed by Starbucks. I think its initiatives are numerous and interesting. It is encouraging to see how large and successful companies are able to gradually integrate capitalism with a more responsible impact on our environment.

More: Starbucks

The power obtained is not only used by the hospital, but also by other local consumers. To compensate the costs, the local utility pays the hospital for the energy it produces. Furthermore, the heat emitted by the engine when working is recycled to produce energy for the waste treatment process in the brewery.

This project means a turnaround in energy sustainability. Hospitals consume more than twice as energy as other businesses. Ironically, they are provided with coal can energy, which can hijack health. Burning coal releases mercury and arsenic, which contaminate air and water and can cause heart disease, lung and liver dysfunctions, as well as reproductive problems.

Therefore, in agreement with its healthcare mission, Gundersen Lutheran has started the “Envision” campaign. The renewable energy engine is the first step. Gundersen Lutheran aims to have energy independence by 2014, not only by using renewable energy, but also by improving energy efficiency, recycling waste and achieving a LEED certificate.

Via: Earth911