Axiom Sustainable Consulting

Date and Time:  July 19, 2011 at 7:00pm

Presenter:  Michael Kawecki

                  Axiom Sustainable Consulting

Michael gave us an interesting presentation on the US Green Building Council and LEED.

 

 The US Green Building Council (USGBC) is a coalition of the country’s foremost leaders from across the building industry, promoting buildings that are:

• Environmentally responsible.
• Economically profitable.
• Healthy places to live and work.

Who is the USGBC?

 Members include building owners and end-users, real estate developers, facility managers, architects, designers, engineers, general contractors, subcontractors, product and building system manufacturers, government agencies and non-profits.

What is LEED?  (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

• A nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
• A voluntary, consensus based rating system.
• Promotes a whole building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health.

 LEED was created to:

• Facilitate positive results for the environment, occupant health and financial return.
• Define green by providing a standard for measurement.
• Prevent greenwashing.
• Promote a whole building, integrated design processes.

 What does USGBC certify?

• Does not certify, endorse or promote products, services or companies.
• Does not track, list or report data related to products and their environmental qualities.
• It is up to project teams to determine which products are most appropriate for credit achievement and program requirements
• Buildings are certified, individuals are accredited.

To get a perspective on the magnitude of upgrades and new sustainable construction that will be required:

• Buildings are the largest contributor to global warming
• Consume 40% of total US energy consumption for building operations
• Consume 8% of total US energy for building construction
• Building operations account for 43% of total annual US greenhouse gas emissions
• 150 billion square feet will be remodeled in next 30 years
• 150 billion square feet will be constructed in next 25-30 years
• ¾ of building stock will be remodeled/rebuilt in next 30 years

 Following is a link to Axiom Consulting and the ‘Green Associate Candidate Handbook’ which is a free publication that can be downloaded.

http://www.axiomsustainable.com/

http://www.gbci.org/main-nav/professional-credentials/resources/candidate-handbooks.aspx