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October 2009— Vol. 87, No. 8

Despite recession

Green building trend growing

Number of LEED®-certified buildings increasing dramatically

 

By Diane Friend Edwards

 

A building flooded with daylight and fresh air; free of toxic substances; fitted out with the latest energy-efficiency and water-saving technologies …

Once rare, “green” buildings are in demand by a growing number of businesses, governments, and homebuyers. Even small businesses and companies that lease space are making their buildings green.
“If we can do it, anyone can,” said Keith Wiemert, CEO of Seasons Federal Credit Union, which has branches in Middletown, Cromwell, and Meriden.

In April, Seasons became the first financial institution in Connecticut and one of only four credit unions nationally to receive LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The Meriden branch, which had been relocated to a leased space in a new strip mall, was certified in the LEED Commercial Interiors category.

LEED—for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—is a third-party rating system that has become the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. The current version (LEED 3.0, or LEED 2009) has separate rating programs for new construction; existing buildings: operations & maintenance; commercial interiors; schools; and core & shell. (Two new categories, homes and neighborhood development, are also being added.) Each system has four levels of certification: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

At press time, 37 building projects in Connecticut had been LEED-certified and 174 were registered for certification, with more on the way. Here are just a few:

• Rockville Bank’s Manchester branch, which opened in February, was the first bank branch in Connecticut using green technology inside and outside. To reduce electricity use, for example, the lighting is automated to work in conjunction with natural lighting, says COO Joe Jeamel. Other green features include a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system that brings in fresh air (rather than recirculating indoor air); low-VOC paints, which emit few harmful volatile organic compounds; landscaping with indigenous plants that require less water and no sprinkler system; and showers and bicycle racks to encourage employees to commute by bike. Rockville has applied for LEED certification for new construction.

• Alexion Pharmaceuticals, in Cheshire, is pursuing LEED certification for two office suite renovations, one for its call center operation, the other for its research and development team. “The projects involve things like lighting controls, use of natural lighting, and low-flow water appliances,” says Dan Caron, vice president for site operations and engineering. “With LEED, you also look at the type of materials you’re using—how much recycled content they have—and minimizing your construction waste.”

• Aetna received Silver LEED certification for a new customer center inside its historic headquarters building in Hartford. Built in 1929, Aetna’s headquarters is the largest Georgian building in the country, says David Carter, vice president of public relations. Aetna now is completely renovating and expanding its nearby Atrium Building using green practices. In that project, all of the concrete, steel, and other materials from a demolished parking garage have either been reused in the new building or sent to recycling facilities, says Mike Marshall, head of asset management.
Of course, it’s possible to build green without pursuing certification under LEED or any other rating system.

“Some clients tell us they want a LEED-like building. Others say they just want sustainable design,” says Ross Spiegel, an associate and senior specification writer in the Shelton office of Fletcher Thompson, one of the nation’s top architectural, engineering, and design firms.

Marked growth despite economy

Remarkably, interest in green building and LEED has grown in spite of the recession.

“Green building is the bright spot in an otherwise tough economy,” says Harvey M. Bernstein, a vice president at McGraw-Hill Construction. “Green growth is phenomenal across the globe.”

According to the company’s Green Outlook 2009, “The U.S. green building market is accelerating at a dramatic rate.” The value of green building construction starts rose fivefold from 2005 to 2008 and could triple over 2008 levels by 2013.

Another report, published by NextGen Research, states that the market for green building products will increase at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 5% from 2008 to 2013.

Meanwhile, this spring was the greenest yet for the home building industry, according to the National Association of Home Builders. “The growth of the NAHB National Green Building Program exceeds even our most optimistic expectations,” says NAHB Chairman Joe Robson.

LEED, too, has been going strong.

“The recession hasn’t lessened our clients’ interest in LEED,” says Fletcher Thompson’s Spiegel.

As of March, the firm had five projects awaiting LEED certification; by August it had 17. During the same period, Fletcher Thompson increased the number of LEED Accredited Professionals (APs) on its staff from 17 to 27. (APs have passed a rigorous exam on green building practices and LEED requirements. They shepherd clients through the LEED process and register projects for certification.)

“In some cases, our clients already know about LEED [when they approach us]. In others, we have suggested it. But it’s more common now for people to already have heard of LEED,” says Spiegel. “LEED is on everyone’s radar.”

The USGBC’s statistics bear that out.

“Just in the first half of 2009, we have certified more buildings than in all of 2007,” says USGBC spokesperson Marie Coleman. “And we are well on our way to surpassing last year’s numbers, as well.”

LEED 3.0 raises the bar

Since its debut in 2000, LEED has been updated twice, most recently in April. The changes reflect an evolving understanding of green building issues.

For example, “a high-performance building for a school is different from one for a laboratory,” says Todd Renz, chair of the Connecticut Green Building Council (a USGBC chapter) and president of O,R&L Construction. “The process needed to be made relevant to specific building types.”

The USGBC also wanted to accommodate various scenarios—such as a case where a developer constructs the basic building (the “core and shell”), but a tenant is responsible for the design and construction of the interior.

Seasons’ Meriden branch was such a case. The landlord had built “a plain vanilla strip mall,” notes Wiemert. Seasons earned LEED certification for commercial interiors by including such features as motion-sensor lighting; an energy-efficient, fresh-air HVAC system; natural fiber insulation; flooring and wall panels with high recycled content; and designated car-pool parking.

To become certified under LEED 3.0, a project must satisfy certain prerequisites and be awarded credits for earning points (based on a 100-point scale) in each of these categories:

• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy & Atmosphere
• Materials & Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality

Credits are weighted to reflect their potential environmental impact.

A project may also earn two types of bonus points: Regional Priority Credits, for addressing local environmental priorities, and Innovation in Design Credits, for using innovative technologies that enable the project to exceed LEED requirements.

The number of points needed for certification depends on the level: at least 40 for Certified, 50 for Silver, 60 for Gold, and 80 for Platinum.

LEED now also has minimum project requirements which, among other things, require owners of certified projects to provide energy- and water-use data to the USGBC for five years from the time of occupancy.

“The bar has been raised,” says Renz.

LEED Accredited Professionals now also must meet tougher requirements, including continuing education through programs such as the USGBC’s LEED Professional Credentialing Maintenance Program. (The AP program itself is now managed by the Green Building Certification Institute.)

Most APs are professionals in technical fields such as architecture and engineering. LEED 3.0 offers a new LEED Green Associate credential for other types of professionals who want to demonstrate green building expertise in nontechnical fields. This credential denotes basic knowledge of green design, construction, and operations and also requires continuing education.

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