On June 23, 2004, the city of Houston took a major step to improve the quality of life for current and future generations living in the greater Houston area. By adopting the Green Building Resolution, the city has set a standard for new construction, replacement facilities and major renovations of city of Houston-owned buildings and facilities with more than 10,000 square feet of occupied space.
The resolution states that the sustainable principles of the U. S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, be used to the greatest extent practical and reasonable for these buildings and facilities, with a target of LEED Silver level certification.
The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary standard that defines high-performance green buildings — buildings that are healthier, more environmentally responsible and more cost-effective. LEED was developed by the U. S. Green Building Council, or USGBC, the nation's foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry that work to promote structures that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live, work and play. The Greater Houston Area Chapter (GHAC) of the USGBC worked with the city's Building Services Department for more than a year to develop the resolution and pursue adoption by the City Council. In the United States, there is currently more than 120 million square feet of building undergoing LEED certification.
Green buildings are designed, constructed and operated to enhance environmental, economic, health and productivity performance over that of conventional buildings. A sustainable, green building approach takes into consideration not only the building, but also the building's site, the development density, transportation and additional factors such as storm water retention. The benefits of adopting the USGBC LEED Silver level to in Houston are tremendous. The benefits to occupants, owners, the environment and society are quantifiable and well-documented, and include reduced waste, decreased water usage, energy savings, reduced operating and maintenance costs, and improved indoor air quality. Today's buildings are using 30 percent of the world's energy, including 60 percent of the electricity. Various studies indicate that a USGBC Silver level building will have an increase in energy efficiency of 30 percent above the current code requirement of the city. Minimal increases in up-front costs of about 2 percent to support integrated green design result in an average life cycle savings of 20 percent of the total costs, approximately 10 times the initial investment. This is smart investing by the city.
It follows that reduction in energy consumption leads also to reduction in emissions. This in turn can have beneficial effects on the rising rates of asthma, especially in children. We all can breathe easier.
Councilman Member M. J. Khan has asked, "Why stop at city-owned buildings? Why not all buildings in Houston? " That is a good question, council member. William McDonough, author of Cradle to Cradle, has stated, "Regulation is a sign of design failure. " A city resolution or ordinance to cover all buildings in Houston is a complex issue that will require much effort to sort through the necessary issues. A much quicker method would be for all owners, developers, brokers, tenants, speculators and everyone else to take on Council Member Khan's challenge to build, renovate and operate structures within our built environment as high-performance, green buildings to the USGBC standard of LEED Silver. David Orr from Oberlin College has stated, "When we heal the Earth, we heal ourselves."
Implementation of the green building resolution by the city of Houston is the first step we can take to help heal the Earth. If the large institutions, particularly the tax-exempt, in our area would pick up Council Member Khan's challenge, we can take even more steps.
Will the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston take up the challenge and continue to build green, or, was their its School of Nursing and community center a one-shot deal? How about the Houston Independent School District? Building green can improve the indoor environment that our next generation is being exposed to. A National Academy of Sciences study suggested that at least 28 percent of developmental disabilities are due to environmental causes. A study in California, which analyzed test scores of 21,000 students, concluded that students in classrooms with the most natural light scored 20 percent higher on math tests and 26 percent higher on reading tests than did students in classrooms with the least amount of natural lighting. A two-year study of six schools in Johnston County, N. C. , orth Carolina concluded that children attending schools with full-spectrum light were healthier in general and absent an average 3-4 three to four days less than were students in conventionally lit classrooms. Healthy construction methods and materials reduce the incidence of asthma, the number oneNo. 1 cause of absenteeism for both students and teachers. The longest of journeys begins with a single step, says an old proverb.
What about you real estate brokers? Who will step up and take up Council Member Khan's challenge? Are you they willing to focus your their efforts to deal with only high-performance, green buildings? The city of Houston has set the bar. Who else will take a green step and join them on it?
Ten years ago, the idea of high-performance, green buildings was hard to define and the practice was difficult to implement. Advances in technology combined with growing awareness has enabled sustainable design practices to be readily available and adopted.
In February 2003, the Chronicle reported on how environmentally friendly building does its bit for city life. The article reports on how employees respond to a green-built environment with improved productivity and less absenteeism. Ross Perot once stated, "An activist is not the man who says that the river is dirty, but he is the man who identifies what needs to be done, rolls up his sleeves, and cleans up the river." The city of Houston has decided to be an activist in the high-performance, green building arena. On behalf of our children's children, thank you.
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