 David Kuack |
As commercial construction continues to rebound, green building trends should gain momentum. A study released by Good Energies Inc., a venture capital company, indicates that green buildings are expected to account for nearly half of non-residential construction by 2015. That is an increase from the current 15 percent, reports The Wall Street Journal.
According to Greg Katz, managing director at Good Energies, the cost for non-residential green buildings is about 2 percent more than traditionally constructed buildings. Public misperception is that these green buildings cost 17 percent more than conventional buildings based on a survey by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Katz said the payback time for a green building is three to four years. Over a 20-year period, Katz said a green building’s energy and water savings alone outweigh the increased building costs. Over 2,000 commercial properties are now U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certified.
An Increasing Role for Plants
U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system applies to construction related issues including site selection, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. There are few requirements for building project sites, but this may change with the launch of the Sustainable Sites Initiative.
The initiative is a partnership led by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The initiative seeks to transform land development and management practices with the first national rating system for sustainable landscapes. The initiative’s guidelines apply to any type of designed landscape with or without buildings. U.S. Green Building Council is participating in the initiative and anticipates incorporating the initiative’s guidelines and performance benchmarks into the LEED system.
Over 150 projects in 34 U.S. states, Canada, Iceland and Spain are participating in a two-year initiative pilot program that began in June. The projects will be used to test various aspects of the initiative’s rating system for a variety of project types, sizes and geographic locations throughout the design, construction and maintenance stages.
Sustainable landscapes are a major element of the initiative. Based on the results of the pilot program, the initiative’s guidelines and performance benchmarks could play a major role in determining the type of ornamental plants used in future site development, both commercial and residential. An initiative reference guide is expected to be released in 2012-2013.
For more: U.S. Green Building Council, www.usgbc.org. Sustainable Sites Initiative, www.sustainablesites.org.
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