“Green” Buildings and LEED Certification

Environmental stewardship has historically been a hollow notion in the U.S. While some Americans have openly endorsed the notion for many years, the ideals of environmental stewardship have more often been stereotyped as that of a “tree hugger”; a notion ridiculed much more than embraced. A public that has been slow to embrace the notion has been even slower the let the concept affect their purchasing practices. However, there is no disputing the fact that the concept of true environmental stewardship and the ‘green’ movement has finally arrived. There is argument about what factor or more likely combination of factors is responsible for the apparent shift in attitude; a crystallizing consensus on global warming, persistent news about deforestation, or more likely, four dollar per gallon gasoline, but rest assured, the green movement is here and it has real momentum.

Part and parcel with the ‘green movement’ is a push for building practices that utilize sustainable materials and incorporate sustainable practices. Government, military, and many commercial sectors are adopting standardized methods for requiring and measuring sustainability. The prevailing standard and that which has been or is being adopted by most government organizations is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design); a third-party certification program and benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of sustainable buildings. LEED comprises a collection of individual standards tailored for a wide range of projects from residential construction to the operation of existing Confidential Memorandum Page 37 commercial buildings, and each area contains a graduated range of standards designated as certified, silver, gold and platinum in order of increasing sustainability.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency led the push for sustainable building practices beginning in the early 1990s. In response, the commercial building industry created the U.S. Green Building Council, (USGBC) a collection of more than 15,000 organizations from across the building industry dedicated to working together to advance structures that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. The USGBC’s stated mission is “to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.”

LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality. LEED is a practical rating tool for green building design and construction that provides immediate and measurable results for building owners and occupants. Materials & Resources The LEED program evolved over time as did the many standards. Standards for new commercial construction came first, followed by health-intensive standards for interiors, then standards for the renovation of existing buildings. LEED is not the only series of sustainable building standards, but it is, by far, the most common and most successful.

At present, most federal government dollars spent of buildings/facilities carry with them a requirement for LEED certification; most commonly silver certification at minimum. In 2006, industry experts estimated the value of the US green building materials market at $21.9 billion. This figure is expected to rise to $27.9 billion by 2011; an AAGR of 4.9% over five years. Structural building materials accounted for nearly three-quarters of the US green building materials market in 2005, followed by interior materials (13.8%), exterior materials (11.2%) and plumbing/wiring/fixtures (0.1%).

Incorporating CAF panels garners many LEED points and contributes significantly to a projects chances for certification. Depending upon location and amount of material included, CAF panels qualify for points in the following areas: