...Green Construction INF 103 Prof. Sean Kenney 02/25/2013 What would life be like if we no longer had the resources to supply us with food, water, and the necessary resources to sustain human life? What if our air was no longer breathable? What if our streets were filled with trash? If our behavior as a society doesn’t change our habits this image can soon become a reality. Going green is necessary to preserve and sustain our required livable resources. In fact we have all gone green without a conscious effort. One aspect of going green that interests me is green construction. Green construction is the ability to construct eco-friendly buildings while efficiently using resources and reducing pollution. This process also continues throughout the buildings life cycle. Green construction has the ability to create and sustain a viable way of reducing the permanent destruction of human resources. USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) is an organization of members who are dedicated in regenerating and sustaining a healthy environment. USGBC developed an internationally known green construction program called LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED was created “to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life” (Foundations of LEED, 2009, Para. 3). For a building to be deemed green, it must be certified...
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...Sustainable Construction and Green Design info Green Building Discussions USGBC- United States Green Building Council. organziation website “www.usgbc.org” NAHB- National Association of Home Builders. organization website “www.nahb.com” Built Green- organization website “www.builtgreen.net” These “organizations” are organized around the idea that a group of individuals have found merit and acheivement in creating better building practices that benefit the environment and an owner’s built habitat. The individuals probably understood that creating an organization would benefit their agenda more efficiently and effectively than just a charter or group. The organizations then have the interest of their members. Their members have founded these organizations simply to provide better building practices, cleaner environment, more effecient energy use, and better overall quality life built directly from the green building elements. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) does not appear to have been started with the initial effort to create green building practices. This organization has been around longer than the green building movement began its’ roots, but has watched the trends of the housing market, evaluated the financial systems within this industry, and have forecast from these analysis. Provided, the NAHB has seen a growing interest in the community to create higher quality homes and businesses while also protecting the environment. The NAHB bagan their interest...
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...Under Armour is a small company and is not competing well with respect to the criteria described in the company analysis ETHICS CHECK Products: Under Armour will continue to increase the amount of products it makes from recycled materials. Energy: Under Armour will continue to find ways to reduce the energy used to run its business. Waste: Under Armour will continue to find ways to reduce and reuse the waste it creates. Supply Chain: Under Armour will partner with its suppliers to understand and improve its upstream environmental impact. Green Building: Under Armour will continue to incorporate green building practices into its retail stores and corporate facilities. UA’s environmentally friendly product line creates synthetic textiles from used plastic bottles, reducing plastic waste by over 250,000 1 liter bottles in 2009 and estimated to exceed 1,000,000 bottles in 2010. UA states, “Our vision is to build green technology into the best performance gear in the world. We’ll get there with science, passion and innovation and we’ll never sacrifice performance,”[xi] committing to help create a better environment while maintaining their high quality standards. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS The athletic apparel industry is entering a ‘golden age’ in retail. Reports project the global sports market to reach $145 billion in revenue in 2015! This has lead to stiff competition and more options for consumers. What used to be a market dominated by a few heavy-hitters is now full...
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...If you walk up Poly Canyon Road and take a left, crossing Brizzolara Creek, you will come to the agriculture portion of main campus. The abbotoir stands next to the bull pen and the creek. The bridge crosses a fish ladder to aid the salmon back up the creek to where they can spawn. If you continue walking you will come to a reservoir with pumps and machinery used by engineering students. On the other side of the reservoir, there is a small bird sanctuary and beyond are fields that are often full of students learning how to survey the land. Behind you a stand of trees blocks out the bustle of campus life and in front of you the fields are ringed by beautiful mountains. But this is all about to change. The abbatoir is going to be moved and the fields will become the concrete foundations of a new residential complex: Student Housing North. Student Housing North is a huge residential development that was approved and added to the Master Plan in 2001 and is projected to be completed in stages beginning in 2007. The complex will be comprised mainly of apartment style upper class housing but will also include restaurant and retail spaces. The plan is to double the number of students living on campus. The project will include two new parking structures in order to support the increase of students. A lot of controversy surrounds this aspect of the new project. The development aims to reduce traffic and congestion because 2,700 students will be living on campus instead of commuting...
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...strategies vary widely based on your goals and situation. Sustainable materials can mean many things, and this page explains some considerations besides the materials’ energy performance. Lifecycle Assessment is the most thorough way to determine the environmental impacts of your building materials. However, LCA can be very costly, varies project-to-project, and is not yet extremely prevalent. Instead, the building and building products industries have a host of measures and “certifications” for green building products. BuildingGreen’s Green Building Product Certification Guide is a fantastic resource for understanding this (sometimes intentionally) complex world. The following is a quick rundown of factors about how the material is produced and disposed of that can be important to consider. Materials using recycled content not only require less virgin resources, they also use less energy and chemicals to process. For instance, recycled ("secondary") aluminum has 90% less embodied energy than virgin ("primary") aluminum. It is beneficial to both use recycled material, and design your constructions to be recycled as well. Using Recycled Materials To use recycled content in your building, call suppliers to source recycled materials. Be sure to verify the physical properties (strength, stiffness, etc.) of the material with recycled content. If they are lower-performance, you may need to alter your design to use slightly more material. This is usually still a net...
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...Upton, an exemplar development with houses built to high levels of sustainability. The buildings pictured were designed by Gale & Snowden Architects Ltd, who also acted as ecological design consultants for the site. http:/ /www.ecodesign.co.uk Good Practice Guidance: Sustainable Design and Construction The purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development ... ... To achieve sustainable development, economic, social and environmental gains should be sought jointly and simultaneously through the planning system ... ... Good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, is indivisible from good planning, and should contribute positively to making places better for people ... ... Local planning authorities should adopt proactive strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change, taking full account of flood risk, coastal change and water supply and demand considerations ... National Planning Policy Framework, Department for Communities and Local Government, March 2012 Cross Sector Group on Sustainable Design and Construction August 2012 Contents Introduction Background The role of planning, and its relation to Building Regulations Formulating planning policies on sustainable design and construction Justifying local requirements: evidence and viability Examples of local plan policies Development management 03 04 05 06 06 07 08 Annex 1 – Example policies on sustainable design and construction ...
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...Green Depot: The Eco-Friendly Way Kaplan University In this report I will put into words my interpretations of the marketing mix of Green Depot. “The marketing mix is the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to product the response it wants in the target market” (Armstrong & Kotler, 2010, p. 81). Marketing Mix Analysis Overview Green Depot is the eco-friendly version of Home Depot. Providing “environmentally friendly and sustainable building products, services and home solutions” (Green Depot, About us 2005). I would analyze the marketing mix of Green Depot as adequate. The company’s primary goal is incorporate “green living and building in communities so it is easy, affordable and gratifying” (Green depot, 2005). I choose only adequate because green living although in the future may be affordable currently it is in fact a bit expensive. This company was founded in 2005 by Sarah Beatty her purpose to make green services readily available and easily adopted into standard construction operations was successful. Green Depot has created a unique filter to gage whether or not the products are in fact “green”. This filter focuses on five categories air quality, local, social responsibility, energy conservation. By use of their “proprietary filter” Green Depot has been set apart from the greenwashing stigma “a form of corporate misrepresentation where the company will present a green public image and publicize green initiatives that...
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...Environmental design in architecture encompasses factors relating to the natural environment, and can be measured through the various green building council principles and guidelines. However it also needs to be seen holistically as an expression of culture, it defines the human environment. In this way regionalism is important, successful environmental design tempers and is able to manipulate the climate, or human senses, or both, here the thermal experience is introduced and the ecology of heat is important. Today, with the evidence to climate change indisputable, successful tempering, of the climate; this ecology of heat for human comfort range cannot simply be through the air-conditioner, it can turn to GBC's as a first step, but additionally it must look to design for the climate, for regionalism, with specific techniques and strategies. This will be looked at in detail by examining the works of Costa Rican Architect Bruno Stagno, both in his designs for buildings in the tropics, his formation of the Institute of Tropical Architecture (Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical) and his various writings relating to architecture and regionalism. Included in this is his approach to eco principles and how this has, and could benefit a Costa Rican GBC adoption of LEED. Introduction With today's contemporary architectural discourse, and indeed building industry, an outsider looking in can be excused for thinking environmental design is simply the application of the of a LEED rating...
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...Proximity Hotel is a LEED Platinum "green hotel" and the building's design and construction followed guidelines of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in six key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design. To earn LEED certification, a building project must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks ("credits") within each category. This comprehensive approach is the reason LEED-certified buildings have reduced operating costs, healthier and more productive occupants, and conserve our natural resources Here is a sampling of the sustainable practices at Proximity Hotel: * The building uses 39.2% less energy than a conventional hotel/restaurant by using ultra efficient materials and the latest construction technology. * The sun’s energy heats hot water with 100 solar panels covering the 4,000 square feet of rooftop (enough hot water for a hundred homes). * 700 linear feet of stream was restored...
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...energy resources are found and implemented there is only one answer, Green building. What is Green building? In simple terms it is the practice of constructing buildings and homes with more efficiency and to create less of an impact on our resources and our environment. Governments throughout the world are becoming more involved with their ecosystems and establishing guidelines for businesses and industry to follow. By adopting the strategies of Green building we can make the world a cleaner and healthier place to live. Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water, and materials while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment through better design, construction, operation, maintenance and demolition (EPA, Green building). Whereas a good design is important in Green building, the actual operation and maintenance of a building has a huge impact on human health. It has become so important that building councils and rating systems have been established by the United States and across the world. Green building has brought into practice new construction techniques and practices along with new ideas and products to try reduce and eventually eliminate the impact of buildings on the environment. Green construction can be established at any phase of construction or even after a building is completed. In the United States alone buildings account for 39% of all energy use, 12% of total water...
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...ACE TECHZION 2K15 Implementation and explanation of the Green Building concepts PRESENTED BY Y.SAI KRISHNA 138P1A0137 Towards the implementation and explanation of the Green Building concept Y.SAI KRISHNA (1256sai@gmail.com) Abstract: The “Green Building” is an interdisciplinary theme, where the green building concept includes a multitude of elements, components and procedures which diverge to several subtopics that intertwined to form the green building concept. Generally, the green building is considered to be an environmental component, as the green building materials are manufactured from local eco-sources, i.e. environmentally friendly materials, which are then used to make an eco-construction subject to an eco-design that provides a healthy habitat built on the cultural and architectural heritage in construction while ensuring conservation of natural resources. This ensures disassembling the building components and materials, after a determined building lifetime, to environmentally friendly materials that can be either re-used or recycled. During their lifecycle, the green buildings minimize the use of resources (energy and water); reduce the harmful impact on the ecology, and provide better indoor environment. Green buildings afford a high level of environmental, economic, and engineering performance. These include energy efficiency and conservation, improved indoor air quality, resource and material efficiency, and occupant's health...
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...Angelica Jackson Problem Solving Theory/GS1140 Project: Professional Organization and Problem 10-8-2014 Florida Green Building Coalition “Providing statewide green building programs with economic and environmental behavior..” The Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) is a nonprofit 501 ©3 Florida corporation founded in 2000 is dedicated to improving the built environment. The Location of the organization is 1415 Piedmont Dr. E Suite 5, Tallahassee, Fl. 32308. Their mission is “to lead and promise sustainability with environmental, economic, and social benefits through regional education and certification programs.” FGBC was conceived and founded in belief that green building programs will be most successful if there are clear and meaningful principles on which “green” qualification and marketing are based. We are a membership-based organization governed by a Board of Directors and corporate officers who are elected by general membership. The purpose of the FGBC are to administer certification programs based upon the green building standards, educate the general public, businesses, institutional and government bodies of the long term benefits of sustainable development and green building practices, and to provide opportunities for members and other interested parties to increase their knowledge of green building practices. Although there are currently three competing certification options in Florida, the FGBC certification standards are the only ones based...
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...Vol. 14 Nº 27 Ben Tran: Green Management: The reality of Being Green in Business 21 GREEN MANAGEMENT: THE REALITY OF BEING GREEN IN BUSINESS GESTIÓN VERDE: LA REALIDAD DE LA SOSTENIBILIDAD ECOLÓGICA EN LA GESTIÓN GERENCIAL Ben Tran1 ABSTRACT Green management and going green are not as clear cut and easy as hyped by the general media. While going ecologically green is indeed beneficial and appropriate, the process and procedure of becoming green is anything but easy. Firstly, turning green is largely not a legal requirement, but a voluntary process. Thus, even though LEED (which is by far the more publicly known green certification standard) governs the certification of the green management effort, it is not a compulsory condition for practitioners to go green. Secondly, even with the encouragement of incentives to comply, practitioners are skeptical in becoming green due to: (a) a lack of true understanding of the benefit of ecologically friendly procedures (the practice of profits versus the theory of benefits); (b) lack of short term gain in life cycle costing (practitioners want instant incentives); and (c) mostly, because it is not a legal requirement for the vast majority of municipalities. Keywords: Green management, green business practices, barriers toward green management, encouragement & incentives for green management, LEED Certification. RESUMEN La gestión ambiental sostenible y el tornarse ecológico no es tan claro ni factible como lo pregona la prensa. Mientras...
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...WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS/ DEVELOPMENT? WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE/ GREEN BUILDINGS? In the 21st century, our world is developing from every aspect in a blink of an eye. Everywhere we go, there’s huge tall buildings, shopping centres, etc. But the question is, what is the advantage of a sustainable building? Sustainable building also known as green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle. The common objective is that green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by: - Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources. - Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity. - Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation. A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Sustainability may be defined as meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Green building practices aim to reduce the environmental impact of building. The first rule is that the greenest building is the building that doesn't get built. Since construction almost always degrades a building site, not building at all is preferable to green building, in terms of reducing environmental impact. The...
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...Innovation is the process whereby organizations use skills and resources to either develop new goods and services or introduce new production and operating systems to respond to the changing needs of customers (Jones, 2010). Much of Starbuck’s success hinges on incremental innovations (Jones, 2010). The company has one ear firmly planted on technological ground and has harassed incremental technological change (Jones, 2010). From a digital perspective, the Starbucks Digital Network (SDN) offers new, localized, and valuable content from the biggest names in news and entertainment. The SDN offers free subscriptions to The Economist, Wall Street Journal, for example. Brotman (Chief Digital Officer) states that SDN coupled with world class mobile platforms and the company’s in-house Wi-Fi strategy offers customers an experience second to none (Kanani, 2012). The company pays heed to customer preferences. For years Starbucks has maintained that dark roasts are much better than light rendering the business with the formidable task of convincing internal and external audiences that its lighter roast “Blonde” stood up to the company’s high standards. R&D revealed through the consumer research “sensory preference” map that 40% of U.S. coffee drinkers prefer lighter blends and dark roast drinkers fall within a small area on this map Starbucks seized the opportunity because it recognized a huge long-term growth prospect (Gertner, 2012). The company pays particular attention to its...
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