June 7, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Green Building, LEED, Uncategorized
Tags: Education, Green Building, LEED, Training
Following our recent posts, the 7th Step in the 12 Steps to a Successful LEED Project requires team members to attend LEED workshops
7. Attend LEED Training workshops
Make sure everyone on the team has a copy of the LEED reference guide and their pages are highlighted. The LEED Consultant should provide the teams with the technical details and any specifications such as VOC limits and such but at the end of the day it is the responsibility of the project team members to be up to speed with LEED.
Attending these workshops is a great way for everyone to get on the same page and understand the system to a more comprehensive extent. In fact attending together can hash out conflict areas and will allow the team the ability to ask questions affecting each team members responsibilities as they pertain to LEED.
GreenStep Education is a great resource for team members. Alex Spilger is a seasoned sustainability professional who has the tools to get any team up to speed.
Another great resource is Pass the LEED which is an online resource for all things LEED. They provide LEED Exam Prep Training as well as Project Training courses designed for all project types.
–The EBS Team–
June 1, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in LEED
Tags: Consulting, Green Building, LEED, USGBC
Lighting (especially Daylighting), energy modeling, LEED Documentation, and sustainability experts are just a few crucial aspects of a successful LEED project. Hiring a firm that can provide expertise in a package is often your best bet. They will understand how energy modeling affects LEED EA credits and even better they will be able to advise on the several synergies that exist within LEED.
For instance, Increasing Fenestration with the appropriate glass can increase thermal resistance, allow for Daylighting, allow thermal comfort for occupants, reduce electrical lighting requirements, reduce HVAC demand, and increase credit for EA all the while reducing operating costs for the building which in turn will affect the Net Operating Income (NOI) of the property.
Be careful when choosing a LEED Consultant – there are so many out there these days however many of them aren’t sustainability experts and few offer the full breadth of services. Being able to Document a LEED project isn’t enough – often a good question to ask is something like, “How will the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient of my West Facing Fenestration affect my tenants and which Tvis value would you recommend as a result?” If they can’t answer a more challenging question like that one then they shouldn’t be hired.
Also, with the launch of LEED 2009, your consultant should be able to communicate the affects of the transition from older LEED Versions to the new 100 Point scale under LEED 2009 and how urban projects are more greatly impacted.
–The EBS Team–
May 24, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Green Building, LEED, Uncategorized
Tags: Design Charrette, LEED
5. Charrette – More the better
An Eco-Charrette is a crucial tool for success. All ideas are put on the table and all sustainability goals are addressed. You will also get a chance to see where the experience is in the room and then can decide how to coach those less experienced folk through the ins and outs of LEED.
Often called a Design Charrette (much more appropriate name), these “meetings” need to be approached with an open mind on all fronts. Often architects feel pressured in these meetings as needing to be the know it all and can be left defending their design. However if these are facilitated early in the process architects can influence sustainability to a large degree as can engineers.
The idea is to work as a team and make sure everyone’s expertise gets addressed and realized. Often General Contractors are the most difficult to convince and they see the “old way” of doing things as their only way. Work with those people who are most unconvinced about LEED and take them under your wing. Bring them to USGBC Chapter events or have a lunch with them and the owner of a LEED facility to which that person can share their success with the process.
–The EBS Team
May 18, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in LEED
Tags: LEED, sustainability
This is the 4th Step in our 12 Steps to a Successful LEED Project series. Please read the following and let us know what you think – feel free to comment or inquire through our website.
4. Record, Record, Record
This goes along with what was mentioned last week about sharing the successes we incur in life. For any LEED project, you, me, and everyone should know about what happened and why it was great. That includes the USGBC. They want to know as well and maybe you will get some bonus exposure from it.
Beyond that however we want to be able to make the case about costs and the more records we have, the more power a sustainability push can be. Costs are the bottom line-ROI, NPV, NOI, and IRR are often used to describe the financial success of an asset and while we are moving toward Triple Bottom Line thinking, we need to document how that thinking helped the true “bottom line.” We can use those tools to restructure how financial institutions, REITs, and Developers think about sustainability – so please Record – then SHARE!
The EBS Team
May 7, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in LEED
This is our 3rd step in a 12 step process of achieving LEED certification. I hope you enjoy this one cuz its important! Like really important…
3.Write down your Sustainability Goals
All projects that are seeking LEED certification should have a sustainability statement to which governs their project. Sustainability is such a broad term and can mean so many things in building so it’s important to get on paper what those criteria are and which are the most important before any LEED scheming is undertaken. Getting this together early will provide the focus you will need for success not only with LEED but with Energy, Atmosphere, Water, Waste and Site.
Just so we’re clear: the definition of sustainability as it relates to development is: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
This definition is so simple in its purest form. Embrace it, love it, cherish it and most importantly use it. Try your absolute best not to borrow from our future. You really don’t have any way of repaying mother nature. Maybe plant a tree, but lets be real – the better approach is intelligent design from the beginning.
As Architecture for Humanity would say: Design like you give a damn.
The EBS Team
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