Sustainable Design and Construction

• Introduction
• LEED Overview
• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Innovation and Design Process
• Regional Priority
• Summary
• Footnotes
• References

Introduction

The intent of this chapter is to acquaint facilities managers with sustainable design and construction techniques. The reader is encouraged to follow links provided for further information and instruction.

Sustainability is a term frequently used on college campuses. In response to global warming, in 2006 a small group of college presidents created the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) (www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org). “Modeled after the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement, the initiative seeks” to lead “their institutions to develop comprehensive plans for making their campuses climate neutral, and for providing the education and research necessary for society to re-stabilize the world’s climate.”¹ Seven tangible actions listed in the commitment will help institutions achieve climate neutrality. In addition to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills, cleaning buildings utilizing “green” housekeeping methods, and reducing the consumption of water and energy (topics addressed in other chapters of this manual), facilities managers are being asked to develop their institutions' buildings in a sustainable manner. The most often cited definition of sustainable development is credited to the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations, which defined it as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”²

How does the ACUPCC affect facilities managers who are responsible for the design and construction of buildings? One of the tangible actions requires the institution to establish a “green building policy” within two months of signing the commitment and to implement it within two years. The policy must include language that states “that all new campus construction will be built to at least the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Silver standard or equivalent.”³ Although alternative rating systems such as the Green Building Initiative's Green Globes (www.greenglobes.com) are permissible, this chapter will concentrate on LEED, since it is specifically referenced in the ACUPCC Implementation Guide.