Building Design & Construction Sustainability White Paper

Progress Report on Sustainability is Building Design & Construction Magazine's 2004 edition of its annual white paper on the green building movement in the US. For anyone interested in the the state of sustainable building in this country, or in where this movement is headed in the upcoming year, this report is a must-read.

The report Action Plan recommends the USGBC:

• Coordinate more closely with Federal agencies and regulators
• Seek stronger sponsorship from the executive branch
• Eliminate code requirements and other regulations that discourage or restrict sustainable design
• Continue to document the health and performance benefits of green building in schools
• Promote a national program to reduce construction and demolition waste by 50% in five years
• Seek progress in the green homes sector, balancing sustainability goals with the high competitive cost pressures of this market segment

From the report's reader survey:

• Green know-how does not appear to be a strong attraction for clients choosing design professionals.
• First costs are still seen as the single greatest barrier to green design.
• Green products should be evaluated on a cradle-to-grave life cycle basis rather than solely based on energy and environmental impacts.
• Designers have trouble sourcing green products because "green" is not always clearly defined, green products are difficult to find or obtain, and manufacturer claims for the green products do not always seem trustworthy.
• Respondents want independently documented evidence of the benefits of green building in comparison to conventional construction techniques.

USGBC continues to develop its various green building categories. In addition to the now four-year-old New Construction (NC) category, Existing Building (EB) and Commercial Interiors (IC) categories were rolled out in this past year, and the Core & Shell (CS) category is "well into its pilot phase". Some particularly interesting statistics regarding existing buildings from this section of the report include:

• 75% or more of the lifetime costs of a building go into operations and maintenance.
• Existing buildings, including homes, consume nearly 40% of the nations energy, add 40% to its atmospheric emissions, consume 12% of its fresh water and 88% of its potable water, and account for 40% of its municipal solid waste. They also consume 40% of all wood and raw materials used in US construction.

Additional articles in this white paper discuss aspects of green building related to first costs, state and local regulations, "high performance" schools", residential construction, health care facilities, and more.