IT PAYS TO BE GREEN
by Lim Lay Ying
Property Times, New Straits Times
26th February 2005

In a world of finite resources, environmental and economic concerns are mounting as people become increasingly aware of their living environment. Throughout the globe, fingers are pointing at buildings as one of the greatest culprits of pollution because they emit 50 per cent of the entire greenhouse gases and consume as much as 50 per cent of the energy. The United States alone contributes up to one-fourth of the planet’s emissions.

These pressing concerns have resulted in a push towards green design, construction, and maintenance. Recent surveys have confirmed repeatedly, that going green saves money over the long-term because of reduced energy costs. Green buildings built in the United States were observed to consume 30 per cent less energy on the average than comparable conventional buildings.

And in just over a two-year period, the higher construction costs of such buildings were comfortably offset by savings from the lower running costs. In fact, advancements in technology have managed to introduce more economical techniques of energy-saving such as with the use of recycled paper and fabrics (including old, shredded jeans) which are more effective than traditional insulation, rather than exotic materials like coated glass, computer-controlled blinds, and photovoltaic cells.

Intangible benefits

While economic savings is obviously a clear benefit of building green, intangible benefits have been surfacing as well. Studies by environmental psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan at the University of Michigan, revealed that office buildings which use more natural daylight report greater job satisfaction, less stress, and better health amongst employees. Productivity levels were therefore seen to be enhanced.

In shopping centres which installed light-diffusing skylights above merchandise displays, sales were reported to be as much as 40 per cent higher – according to the Heschong Mahone Group, a California-based consultancy that specializes in energy-efficient building technologies. Green buildings were able to lease faster, command higher lease rates and longer lease terms, and maintain higher tenant retention rates.

Health care facilities which have also incorporated green design features such as plenty of natural light and views of water and green spaces, have also returned positive findings of patient health. Blood pressure was lowered, stress and pain were reduced, and hospital stays were shorter for patients, based on studies conducted by the Centre for Health Design (CHD), a California-based nonprofit organization.

With the stakes so great, countries throughout the world are urging new projects and renovations to explore ways that focus on the long-term environmental impact of maintaining and operating buildings.

The first zero-net-emissions Games

In China, the Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic Games has called for all buildings and sports venues to be designed and constructed using green-architecture principles. Dubbed the “green, high-tech, and people’s Olympic Games”, the Chinese are using this opportunity to direct the world’s attention towards green design and construction principles.

A key priority is the 3.6 million-square-feet athletes’ housing component of the games site which will later be used as owner-occupied residential units. The buildings will employ energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly materials and feature natural daylighting and ventilation.

Ninety per cent of the buildings’ hot water requirements are to be met with solar power and eighty per cent of the energy used for street-lights will be supplied by solar panels. Advanced rainwater collection systems will also be incorporated to allow gray water irrigation and water facilities that will treat wastewater biochemically.

Rating systems

Britain had since 1990, introduced an assessment and rating system known as the BREEAM standard in its quest to produce green buildings. During 2003 alone, seventy buildings which make up 25 per cent of the country’s total floor area, fulfilled the BREEAM standard.

Similar standards have since been adopted in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. In America, the United States Green Building Council (USBGC) – a private nonprofit organization, developed the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards in 2000 aimed at producing “the world’s greenest and best buildings”, and subsequently the LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors) Program.

The LEED and LEED-CI standards give developers in the US a straightforward checklist of criteria to measure the level of “greenness” of a building. The ratings are conceived, created, tested, tweaked, and voted on collaboratively by members of USBGC which include manufacturers, municipalities, architects, interior designers, builders, and numerous branches of the military.

Rating criteria

Points are given for various sustainable features in five categories: building site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. Ratings categorized as platinum, gold, silver, or certified, are according to the number of points earned. A building that is rated platinum for example, would have scored at least 52 points, while a gold rating would be 39 to 51 points. The next level, a silver rating requires 33 to 38 points, and a certified rating would be 26 to 32 points out of a total of 57 points.

To earn additional points, a project can incorporate a variety of features such as light pollution reduction, landscape and exterior design that diminishes heat islands, water efficiency, and features that support alternative transportation (e.g. public transportation access, bicycle storage, etc).

With the LEED system, a platinum-rated building would be able to effectively reduce its environmental impact by over 70 per cent, while a gold-rated building by an estimated 50 per cent. Since 2000, 137 new buildings have been certified while 1,700 buildings in 50 states have registered as LEED projects to be evaluated for their sustainability and environmental performance over their lifecycle.

Leading the way

Examples of buildings in the US which have been awarded LEED Ratings include Pittsburgh’s 1.5 million-square-feet convention centre – so far the largest building to be awarded a gold LEED rating, the silver-rated PNC Firstside Centre (also in Pittsburgh) which houses office and operations space for PNC Financial Services Group, and Toyota’s 624,000-square-feet office complex in Torrance, California, with a gold-rating.

Across the globe, at conferences and symposia, in print, and on the Web, the concept of implementing environmentally-friendly construction principles is gaining ground. Whether the issue is about sustainability or building green and high-performance buildings, developers, designers, consultants, and local authorities in Malaysia should take heed as its natural resources continue to deplete, and not view this trend as more than a mere fad. Not only will going green be better for the environment, but investors/building owners and the occupants will stand to gain too.

There’s just too much at stake to let the concept pass.