The Wood User's Guide to Green Building - California Redwood ...

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Green Building Standards — What are Green Building Standards?California’s Higher StandardsCalifornia is developing evenstronger efficiency standards, andwill likely remain a world leaderin advancing green buildingpractices.The executive order signed byGovernor Schwarzenegger inDecember 2004 mandated that newand existing state office buildingssharply increase their energy andwater efficiency in keeping with theprinciples of green building.Some local governments haveadopted green building ordinancesor issued voluntary guidelines. SanDiego County has had voluntaryguidelines since 1997. SantaMonica’s energy efficiency andrun-off guidelines have also beenin place more than a decade. SanMateo County and San Franciscohave green requirements forgovernment buildings. MarinCounty demands that new homesbe more energy efficient. Andother cities and counties continueto follow suit.Like California, the federalGeneral Services Administrationrequires new U.S. governmentbuildings to increase energy andwater efficiency.Other groups, like the AmericanSociety for Testing and Materialsand the American Society ofHeating, Refrigerating andAir-Conditioning Engineers,are creating minimum highperformance standards.Materials and Resource Considerations within LEED and Green Globes.IssueLife CycleAssessment (LCA)RenewabilityForest CertificationLocally ProducedMaterialsOther PossiblePointsLEED ® for New ConstructionNot currently included; the USGBC isconsidering how to incorporate LCA intofuture LEED products1 point if 5% of the total value ofbuilding materials comes from rapidlyrenewable sources, defined as 10-yearrotation or less1 point if 50% or more of the woodbasedmaterial and products are FSCcertified1 point if minimum 10% of totalbuilding materials were extracted,processed and manufactured withina 500 mile radius; a second point for20% minimum1 point for low-emitting materialsif composite wood and agrifiberproducts contain no addedureaformaldehyde resinsGREEN GLOBES for NewConstruction10 points each for using LCA tools tochoose building systems or assemblies5 points for proportion of materialsthat are bio-based, such as greeninsulation, natural fibers and naturalstructural materials5 points for lumber and timber panelproducts that originate from sustainablesources and are certified through SFI,CSA, FSC or ATFSPotential advantages of locallymanufactured materials are captured inpreference for materials that haveundergone LCA5 points for environmentallypreferable products and equipment thatare third-party certified0.5 points for raised floors0.5 points for partition walls that areeasily removed and recyclable22Source: Wood Promotion Network
The goal for all these programs isto raise the efficiency bar to levelshigher than currently set in statelaw or regulations.How Do the Rating Systems Rate?How the rating systems ratedepends on who you talk to.First of all, it’s important tounderstand that with the exceptionof some state and local governmentprojects, there is no requirement“Many green building programs determineenvironmentally preferable products based onintuition, bias, and internal politics.”— Dr. Jim L. Bowyer, Professor Emeritus of Bioproducts andBioprocess Engineering, University of Minnesotathat a builder or designer must gettheir project rated for greenness.It’s also important to understandthat buildings can be built “green”without third-party certification.Rating entities charge moneyfor certification – sometimes somuch money that developersbelieve going through the processneedlessly inflates their bottomline.Instead, they go ahead andbuild green and leave it at that.Like so many other things, thebeauty of a rating system is oftenin the eye of the beholder. Somepeople say a particular ratingsystem demands too much ofarchitects and builders. Othersinsist it doesn’t demand enough.Different rating programs havedifferent costs. The University ofMinnesota found that certifyinga commercial building throughLEED could cost $20,000 for nonmembers($17,500 for members),plus a fixed registration fee of $600($450 for members), compared toa flat registration fee of $500 forGreen Globes with certificationcosts ranging between $4,000 and$6,000. The October 2007 editionof BUILDERnews says LEEDcertificationof a commercialstructure can cost in excess of$50,000.Rating systems also have differentpoints of emphasis. For instance,Green Globes emphasizes “EnergyUse” above all other categories.In contrast, LEED allocatescomparatively more points to“Materials.” Within its “Materials”category, LEED credits onlymaterials that are renewablewithin 10 years. It credits bambooas renewable but not wood.LEED also recognizes only onesustainable forestry certificationprogram and requires certificationfor wood only, not otherresources like bamboo, steel orconcrete.23
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Page 6: Introduction — Wood for a Cooler
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Page 28 and 29: Materials Origin and Impact — How
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