| Contractor-Driven LEED®
Credits
By Charlie Popeck In
June 2000 the United States Green Building Council introduced the 2.0 version
of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System
for commercial, institutional, and high-rise residential buildings.
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L.E.E.D. evaluates the environmental performance of a building from a
"whole building" perspective over a building's life cycle. The program
has grown tremendously since then by proving itself a viable method of providing
a third-party green building certification tool designed to ensure building owners
and occupants that their building meets stringent standards of performance, and
the General Contractor, construction manager and their subcontractors are becoming
increasingly important to the success of L.E.E.D. projects. With the increasing
popularity of project delivery methods like design-build and construction manager
at-risk, the contractor can be directly responsible for 25 of the 69 points available
in the L.E.E.D. system. Construction professionals can bring tremendous value
to project teams by achieving points toward certification in each of the five
L.E.E.D. green building categories: Sustainable Sites Several
points in this L.E.E.D. category such as site selection, development density,
and alternative transportation are beyond the control of the contractor, but others
like erosion and sedimentation control, stormwater management, reduced site disturbance
and heat island effect are definitely within the contractor's sphere of influence.
For civil and remediation firms, the brownfield redevelopment and light pollution
reduction points can produce a business opportunity. Basic strategies employed
in this category include keeping all stormwater onsite during construction and
after building occupancy, reducing the percentage of the site that is disturbed
by development and installing reflective flatwork systems and roofs that do not
create heat islands.Water Efficiency Water reduction strategies
include installing low-flow and waterless plumbing fixtures inside the building,
which also helps to reduce wastewater leaving the building. Additionally there
are two points available for limiting potable water use for landscape irrigation.Energy
& Atmosphere With 17 points available, the energy and atmosphere category
offers more opportunity than any other category. There are four fundamental strategies
used in this category to increase energy performance, reduce energy demand, utilize
any available site energy (including renewable energy sources such as solar and
wind), and maximize energy efficiency of the building envelope.
Materials
& Resources Strategies in this category include using products made
from post-consumer or post-industrial waste materials. Products that are recyclable
themselves, not just made from recycled materials are also considered. Purchasing
materials from within a 500-mi radius of the project site are used to reduce the
amount of fuel required to transport materials to the site. The contractor's main
focus in this category is the construction waste management program. A program
must be developed by the contractor to divert as much construction waste from
the landfill as possible. Indoor Environmental Quality Using
products free of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) is one of the basic strategies
employed in this category. Paints and coatings, carpeting, composite wood products
and other interior finish materials are also addressed. Building ventilation is
another major component in this category. owners can avoid a growing amount of
litigation due to "sick building syndrome" by incorporating these strategies
into their buildings.Innovation and Design Process This
sixth L.E.E.D. category awards points toward certification for innovative applications
of materials or processes that do not exist in any of the other five categories.
Included in this category is the point that the project receives for having a
L.E.E.D. accredited professional as a member of the project team.
Many
contractors have developed and implemented an internal green building program
in an effort to differentiate themselves from their competition. L.E.E.D. registered
projects currently account for more than 4 percent of the commercial building
market, with estimates for 2005 exceeding 7 percent. What
contractors need to know: L.E.E.D. has been embraced by many owners because
of the lower operating and maintenance costs associated with green buildings.
Many construction companies who were not previously aware of the L.E.E.D. program
are now being faced with L.E.E.D. requirements for projects, and are wondering
how to catch up. Southwest Contractor is offering a Green Building Seminar series
in Las Vegas that starts in February. Please join us to become aware of the opportunities
that green building and the L.E.E.D. program offer.Detailed information on
all possible credits can be obtained on the USGBC website at www.usgbc.org.
Charlie Popeck is the founder and principal of Green Ideas, a Valley-based
environmental building consultant. He can be reached at Charlie@egreenideas.com
or 480- 807-0062.
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