Report Shows Cost Benefits of Green Buildings Including Increased Productivity of Employees

Shattering the old myth that green buildings cost too much to construct and expenses are never fully recouped, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has published a report highlighting just the opposite.

Image courtesy of arabianindustry.com.

The report explores the benefits of green building construction through looking at aspects of the industry including: design and construction costs, the perception gap, operating costs, green retrofits, asset value, and workplace productivity.

Jane Henley, CEO of WorldGBC, said in an overview of the report that, “Today, green buildings can be delivered at a price comparable to (or cheaper than) conventional buildings, and investments can be recouped through operational cost savings,” and with the right design features, can create more productive workplaces.

Most of the costs in the report related to architectural design and consultant fees, as well as construction costs, referring to building structures, not site acquisition.

Actual cost premiums have been taken from a wide variety of building types, including: offices, homes, schools, warehouses, banks, supermarkets, health centers, community facilities, academic buildings, and public buildings.

The report showed that increases in upfront costs have been found to be proportional to the increased level of environmental certification, with more aspiring projects, such as those that aim for ‘zero carbon’ performance, showing a 12.5 percent increase in design and construction costs compared to a conventional building.

But for the majority of green buildings, the cost typically ranged from less than zero percent to four percent higher based on studies published within the last ten years.

In addition, the report found that higher levels of certification (such as BREEAM Very Good, LEED Silver/Gold, and Green Mark Gold/Gold Plus) were shown to range from zero percent to 10 percent higher cost, while the highest levels of BREEAM Excellent, LEED Platinum, Green Mark Platinum, and ‘zero carbon’ ranged from two percent to 12.5 percent higher cost.

The report also suggests a number of ways to reduce the construction costs of green buildings, including hiring an experienced design and construction team and using an integrated design process, which goes from the pre-design phase through post-occupancy. This involves adopting green strategies and including them in the budget from an early stage to avoid more expensive bolt-on strategies.

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Ikea Grows Sustainability Initiatives with New ‘People & Planet Positive’ Strategy

Ikea, which has been working for a number of years to increase its energy efficiency, while at the same time preserve the environment, has just released a new sustainability strategy, People & Planet Positive.

The strategy incorporates a new set of goals expected to be achieved by 2020, including converting all lighting to LED that the company expects will last for 20 years and use up to 85 percent less electricity.

Ikea also says that it’s working on “becoming energy and resource independent, which includes producing as much renewable energy as is consumed in Ikea Group stores and buildings,” including allocating $1.8 billion (€ 1.5 billion) to wind and solar projects.

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Buenos Aires Expanding Energy Efficiency Retrofit of Public Buildings

Buenos Aires is the political, financial, and cultural hub of Argentina, but also the country’s largest energy consumer, using far more energy than it produces.

Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo courtesy of solarthermalmagazine.com.

“Generation and distribution facilities are operating at their capacity due to lack of investments. For this reason, the national government usually imports energy in order to satisfy growing demand,” according to a joint report by the Environmental Protection Agency of Buenos Aires and the ICLEI, an international association of local governments implementing sustainable development.

Besides making sure the whole city has power to operate, the Buenos Aires government is also responsible for the maintenance of about 1,500 public buildings, including schools, hospitals, public service centers, and cultural centers. The city government spends about €20 million per year on electricity for these buildings.

To lower its energy costs and bring down its greenhouse gas emissions, the city is in the process of expanding its “Program of Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings” that was initiated in 2008.

Under the program, the city’s EPA will expand its current retrofit study project to include 15 more buildings. Their current energy usage will be evaluated, and then modifications will be made to lower their energy costs.

The city’s agency is “expected to invest €150,000 in professional contracts to implement the energy saving diagnosis and €100,000 for equipment for the 15 buildings. The cost of human resources needed for each energy diagnosis is approximately €10,000,” according to the report.

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Changing Black Roof to White or Green Creates Natural Building Cool Down Effect, Says Study

Intensive green roof system at Chicago City Hall. Photo courtesy of Elements Roofing, LLC.

It’s common sense to most of us that if we wear lighter colored breathable clothes, we’ll feel cooler when we’re outside in the summer heat. Well as it turns out, the same principle also applies to the buildings that we live and work in.

Testing this idea on its own properties, the energy company Con Edison in its effort to create both more energy efficiency within its own corporate structure and combat global warming, commissioned a study by Columbia University to measure temperature differences and other data from the three roof types.

The three different roof types were monitored and tested (and are continuing to be tested) as part of a long term study of there effectiveness. The white roofs were installed at the company’s headquarters in Manhattan and its Learning Center in Long Island City, N.Y., where the green roof was also installed.

Photo by the www.infrastructurist.com.

The black and white roofs are made of the same material, ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer, with color being the only difference. The green roof consists of 21,000 plants in four-inch deep modular sedum systems.

The sedum is a large plant group containing around 400 species found throughout the northern hemisphere, varying from creeping herbs to shrubs. The plants have water-storing leaves.

The Columbia study found that, “The white membrane temperature peaks are on average 30 °F (17 °C) cooler than black in summer. [The] green roof membrane temperature peaks are on average 60 °F (33 °C) cooler than black in summer.”

Researchers in the study said, “We estimate that the 10,764 sq. ft green roof on the Con Ed building is saving roughly $400/yr in heating costs and $250/yr in cooling costs. If this area had been a white roof instead, we estimate that cooling savings would have been $200/yr.”

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Consulting Firm Launches Online Do-It-Yourself Property Energy Analysis App.

Image courtesy of Australian Natural Energy.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia- Green Power Labs Inc., a solar energy assessment and consulting company, has launched a new online interactive education tool designed to allow user to enter information about their property and determine if solar energy for generating electricity and heating hot water is worth the investment.

The tool, SolarRating Online, will be free to visitors today in honor of Earth Day. “The site is designed to be a first step in helping people understand how solar might be used at their home or business. Once they complete this step and feel more comfortable with their level of knowledge, we certainly would encourage them to look for a reputable solar installer in their area to see what specific options best fit their property,” said Marlene Moore, vice president of public relations at Green Power Labs.

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