Green goes mainstream: industry seeks an objective rating system.

GREEN BUILDING, WHICH HAS BEEN GROWING for years under that name or related concepts like sustainable building, is gaining greater momentum and reaching a complex maturity in both the commercial and residential segments of the market.

This complexity, which has increased during 2004,

The expansion in 2004 of the Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the U.S. Green Building Council is one indication of a move into prime time for the commercial sector, which has been the focus of this program. Another indication is the introduction of federal legislation in July to promote the development and construction of environmentally friendly federal buildings and schools.

In the residential sector a key event has been the development of voluntary Model Green Home Building Guidelines by the National Association of Home Builders and the NAHB Research Center and key industry players.

The complexity starts with the fact that some green rating systems certify individual products while others let products contribute to rating points, but do not give individual ratings. For instance, LEED does not give direct credit for individual products, but individual products can contribute to a LEED rating for a building. On the other hand, the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute certifies individual products.

Door and hardware manufactures, who should have already done some studying on the subject of green, need to do more homework to see how their products, not only of wood but other materials such as steel and aluminum, fit into the green building picture. Higher cost of some green products has been a factor in past years, but a new study sheds additional light on that aspect of the business decision.

The complexity continues with the fact that green building includes much more than energy efficiency, which was an initial emphasis in past years. It is complex to determine, for instance, the level of greenness of products like the EPS Core Door by BenchmarkHMF Commercial Door Systems, a division of ThermaTru and Pella door frames made of 95 percent recycled aluminum.

Confusion is part of the complex situation. For example, the Window & Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA) is gearing up to deal with what the Environmental Standards Task Group chairman called the tremendous confusion about how door and window manufacturers should comply with environmental standards.

Task Group chairman Peter Walker of J. M. Huber Corp. emphasized that environmental standards issues are not just about wood products, but other materials used by WDMA members such as metal, vinyl and glass. "We have to greatly elevate the scope, focus and priorities of the association in environmental matters." He said his group has discovered literally hundreds of organizations working on environmental issues in all kinds of venues and guises.

Some key locations for green building activity in the commercial building sector have been Portland, Oregon, Chicago, Illinois and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Portland was the location this year for the Green Build Expo and Conference hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council. Chicago not only has started a green building program, but it is the location for the Chicago Center of Green Technology, which used some recycled building materials, but also included as few materials as possible with volatile organic compounds (another part of the green rating system). Pittsburgh added another green aspect by having a green convention center for the Green Build Expo and Conference in 2003.

California added its name to the list this year by providing one of the big boosts in momentum when it released a study which demonstrated that the benefits exceed the cost by a factor of 10 to 1. Greg Katz, a principal at Capital E and the lead author of the report by the California Department of Finance, stated that "This report should permanently lay to rest the myth that green buildings are not cost effective and not ready for prime time."

But the study says that "the definition of sustainable building is innately subjective. There is no universally accepted way to compare such diverse green attributes as; improved human health, reduced water pollution and reduced forest cutting. Different green building programs balance various dimensions of 'greenness' through a necessarily subjective weighting."

Green building could get a big boost not only in California, but nationwide, if proposed legislation is passed in Washington DC. Senators Jim Jeffords, Vermont and Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey introduced legislation this Summer to promote the development and construction of environmentally friendly federal buildings and schools.

The "High-Performance Green Building Act of 2004," authorizes $35 million over five years to support federal buildings and schools that are designed and operated to boost environmental, economic, health and productivity performance above that of conventional buildings. One of the provisions is to create an Office of High-Performance Green Buildings at the General Services Administration (GSA) to promote public outreach, research and development.

Jeffords, the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said, "Green buildings are an environmental investment in our future ... It's time for the federal government to catch up to the private sector and work together to reap the many benefits of high-performance buildings." In an interview with Doors and Hardware magazine, one of the members of Jeffords staff, who did not want to be identified by name, said, "It is unlikely the bill will come out of committee before the end of the year, but we are hopeful. We are also excited about moving the bill out of committee during the next session in 2005."

Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO & Rounding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council, a private non-profit organization, said, "We are excited about the introduction of legislation establishing an office and a Federal role for green buildings ... This legislation provides the mechanism for preserving a leadership role for the federal government as well as enhancing the existing partnership of the U.S. Green Building Council and the Federal family."

Previous efforts with green building by the federal government included The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) adopting in 2002 sustainable building as one of its six priority areas. Original tasks of the OFEE, created a decade ago, were promoting waste prevention, recycling and the purchase of recycled content and environmentally preferable products by the federal government.

Recently, many federal agencies have begun encouraging or mandating the use of the LEED rating system as a checklist for design. But the OFEE said some federal and industry contacts are concerned about a government-wide endorsement of the LEED system. One concern is that although the USGBC has a consensus process in place to resolve members' comments on the rating systems, trade associations are not allowed to become members. Also, some members complain they are not able to fully participate in the development of the rating systems.

Some other Washington DC area organizations focused on green building in the housing sector. Green activity during 2004 in the residential segment of the building industry included the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) along with the NAHB Research Center unveiling in March the names of the 59 key industry players that will be instrumental in the development of voluntary Model Green Home Building Guidelines, which were announced initially at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas.

"Home builders nationwide have been building 'green' for more than thirty years, but never before have those practices evolved into a single, written set of criteria for what actually is green building. Through NAHB's leadership, the guidelines will ensure that all builders are following the same path to building green,' said Ray Tonjes, NAHB Green Building Subcommittee chair and home builder from Austin, Texas. "The Model Green Home Building Guidelines will take 'green' to the mainstream." Part of that effort will continue to be on energy efficient houses, which he said have reached a level of efficiency twice as much as 30 years ago.

These green building industry leaders have accepted the NAHB Research Center's invitation to participate in a stakeholders group consisting of large and small home builders, manufacturers, architects, environmentalists, government agencies, suppliers and other groups with significant expertise in green building issues. The stakeholders group met at the end of the National Green Building Conference and ended with small groups established to cover all aspects of green building. Guidelines are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

RELATED ARTICLE

The LEED[TM] Green Building Rating System is a voluntary third-party rating system. Credits are earned within six environmental categories:

* Sustainable Sites

* Water Efficiency

* Energy and Atmosphere

* Materials and Resources

* Indoor Environmental Quality

* Innovation and Design