Eight Sides To One Story -Part2

The Journal News,
Real Estate Home section,
April 24-25, 2004.
By Noreen Seebacher

BuildingGreen (www.buildinggreen.com) – an independent company that offers both print and electronic resources to help design and build construction projects that minimizes ecological impact and maximizes economic performance.

Sustainable sources (www.greenbuilder.com) – Provides a wide range of green building information sources, along with search engines, bulletin board services, and online databases.

Institute for the Environment (www.gwu.edu/~greenu/instu.html ) – A unique public-private partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and George Washington University, The Institute for the Environment includes a wealth of information on sustainable development. Check out the Environmental Information Resources, which lists environmental subjects by topic.
Oikos (www.oikos.com/index.lasso) – A site dedicated to information on energy efficiency and sustainable building construction. The site offers architects, designers, building constructors, consultants and consumers detailed information on products and techniques. The centerpiece of the site is Resources for Environmental Design Index (REDI), a searchable database of 1,800 sources of building materials and equipment with substantial environmental benefits, including products made with recycled content and product that save energy.

Good architecture is green architecture, group says

The growth of green and sustainable development starts with showing builders and developers that it makes sound business sense.

They need to understand that it can reduce energy costs and add to property values, according to about 30 architects, urban planners and public sector officials who attended a roundtable discussion a month ago in Washington, D.C co-sponsored by the Urban Land Institute and the American’ Institute of Architects.

The roundtable, which focused on moving green and sustainable development techniques into the mainstream, included a variety of public officials and private sector representatives from the development, investment, brokerage and environmental conservation communities. Roundtable Chairman Kenneth W. Hubbard, executive vice president of Hines in New York City, said the green and sustainable development movement is about changing behavior. The key is understanding “that good architecture is green architecture,” he said.

The Hines real estate organization is known worldwide for its green buildings. Since 1992, the company has been a partner in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program, which recognizes projects that meet EPA standards for superior energy management and conservation. Hines’ projects have received more than 70 Energy Star Label awards.

Rick Fedrizzi, president of Green-Think LLC in Syracuse, and a member of the World Green Building Council, said there is a need for more research and education to raise awareness of the benefits of green building. When the council was established, it focused entirely on environmental issues. As a result, “there was little interest” in green building, Fedrizzi said.

Now, the council focuses on economic benefits like optimal building performance, reduced operating costs, improved employee productivity in commercial buildings, enhanced asset value, reduced electricity consumption and improved indoor quality.

"To attract and engage the necessary funding for green buildings, you absolutely must make the business case,” Fedrizzi said.