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Green Buildings

Green Buildings. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Special Solicitation Workshop San Francisco Mar-23-04 Olof Hansen U.S. EPA Region 9 Waste Management Division Strategic Planning and Partnership Office.

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Green Buildings

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  1. Green Buildings Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Special Solicitation Workshop San Francisco Mar-23-04 Olof Hansen U.S. EPA Region 9 Waste Management Division Strategic Planning and Partnership Office

  2. Buildings in the United States have a significant impact on the environment and account for: • Energy • 37 % of primary energy use • 68 % of all electricity use • Materials • 60 % of non-food/fuel raw materials use • Waste • 40 % of non-industrial solid waste from construction and demolition debris per year • Water • 36 billion gallons of water per day • 20 % loss of potable water in many urban systems due to leakage • Air Quality • 35 % of CO2, 49 % of SO2, 25 % of NOx, and 10 % of PM emissions SBIR USEPA Region 9

  3. Green Buildings and EPA • Sustainable building is a priority under EPA's Resource Conservation Challenge • EPA is an active member of the U.S. Green Building Council • Federal statutes require green building practices • Agency issued Environmental Quality Guidance for Green, High Performance and Sustainable Buildings • Buildings have tremendous human health and environmental impacts SBIR USEPA Region 9

  4. Environmental Impacts of Buildings • Indoor Air/Human Health • Americans spend 90% of their time indoors • On average, indoor air is 2-10 more contaminated that outdoor air • 20% of workers suffer from indoor air illnesses resulting in 11,400 premature deaths/year • Health and productivity losses associated w/indoor air quality are estimated to cost tens of billions of $ annually SBIR USEPA Region 9

  5. Environmental Impacts of Buildings • Air/Energy Impacts • Buildings consume one third of all energy • Consume 2/3 of all electricity in the U.S. • Buildings contribute • 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions, • 49% of sulfur dioxide emissions, and • 10% of particulate matter emissions SBIR USEPA Region 9

  6. Environmental Impacts of Buildings • Waste Impacts • Worldwide construction activities consume 3 billion tons of raw materials each year • Nearly 40% - 136 million tons/year - of waste going to landfills in the US is building construction and demolition debris • More than 30% of the mercury in solid waste is from building switches, thermostats, florescent tubes, and paints SBIR USEPA Region 9

  7. Environmental Impacts of Buildings -Waste SBIR USEPA Region 9

  8. Waste from Building Construction and Demolition Debris 136 M Tons = 1.36 M Freight Cars = 15,000 Miles SBIR USEPA Region 9

  9. Federal Government Leading by Example • Owns 500,000 buildings = 3.1 billion sq. feet of floor space • Largest energy user in the country • 2% of building-related greenhouse gases in US • $3.4 billion/year • 23% reduction in energy (‘85-’01) • 100 buildings are Energy Star labeled • 10.5 million metric tons of carbon equivalent/year SBIR USEPA Region 9

  10. Building insulation Carpet & padding Cement & concrete containing fly ash/slag Latex paint Floor tiles Flowable fill Laminated paperboard Patio blocks Railroad grade crossing surfaces Restroom dividers Structural fiberboard Compost & mulch Landscaping timbers Park benches & picnic tables Playground equipment & surfaces Federal Green Building Materials Requirements SBIR USEPA Region 9

  11. Federal Law: RCRA 6002 and Executive Order 13101 • Requires the purchase of recycled materials - Federally funded projects • Uses Federal purchasing power to promote recycling • EPA and State inspectors enforce implementation of RCRA 6002 • TOOLS: • Screened vendor lists • Specifications SBIR USEPA Region 9

  12. Why Recycled Products? • Aluminum • 95% less air pollution • 97% less water pollution • One can = energy savings of ½ a can of gasoline • Paper • 74% less air pollution • 35% less water pollution • One ton = 17 trees & 7,000 gallons water • Green House Gases = 25 million cars/year SBIR USEPA Region 9

  13. Additional Federal Focus Areas • Energy Star • Environmentally Preferable Purchasing • Green Janitorial Products • Biobased Products (wheatboard, soy adhesives, plastics) • Construction & Demolition Debris • Database of C&D Recyclers • Green Leasing • Waste Wise • GreenScapes SBIR USEPA Region 9

  14. The Challenge SBIR USEPA Region 9

  15. The Challenge • Increase the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use energy, water, and materials, and • Reduce building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal • Assess the complete building life cycle SBIR USEPA Region 9

  16. Green Building requires anintegrated design approach: • Focusing on only one component of a building can have unintended environmental, social, or economic consequences • Examples: • Poorly designed energy efficient building envelopes can result in poor indoor environmental quality • Some recycled content latex paint could have higher volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions than other environmentally preferable paints SBIR USEPA Region 9

  17. Example of Green Building (1) • New GSA Federal Building in San Francisco • windows that open, • shared spaces between offices, • lots of natural light, • reduce energy costs by 45 percent, and • is expected to save $500,000 per year in taxpayer dollars. SBIR USEPA Region 9

  18. Example of Green Building (2) - Low Tech • Earthship • 4500 used tires • Round adobe bricks • Solar Panels • Sinks • Grease & particle filter • Garden grey water • Freshwater collection • Roof/rain > 4 cisterns • 40,000 gallons Garden “gray water” SBIR USEPA Region 9

  19. SBIR R&D for Green Buildings • Impacts of buildings are so tremendous • Numerous research opportunities • on buildings’ environmental effects and interactions and • on technologies and techniques to reduce these impacts • We encourage new ideas/research SBIR USEPA Region 9

  20. Research Needs • Water conservation and reuse, • Recharging of groundwater, • Construction runoff control, • Use of green building products, • Indoor environmental quality (e.g., day-lighting, ventilation, low emitting materials) • Design products to consider toxicity emphasizing natural, low-emitting materials • Effect on cost savings, worker productivity, and worker health • Comparable information on the environmental impacts of building products • life cycle assessment (LCA) and • building product life cycle inventories (LCI) tools and protocols SBIR USEPA Region 9

  21. Design techniques or equipment to promote building renovation/deconstruction instead of demolition Design, construction practices or equipment to improve indoor air quality Building materials development to reduce risks from persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals Recycled content building materials development using local feedstock Develop natural flame retardancy for building materials Rapidly renewable/bio-based building materials development using local feedstock Environmentally preferable building systems or materials with unique application to arid Southwest Measurement/metering equipment for green building systems Moisture control systems/materials/detection equipment for condensation, water intrusion, etc. Some Green Building SBIR Topics SBIR USEPA Region 9

  22. EPA Resources • Websites • Green Buildings: • www.epa.gov/greenbuildings • Recycled Products • www.epa.gov/cpg • Environmentally Preferable Purchasing • www.epa.gov/oppt/epp • Green Building Contact in Region 9: Timonie Hood • (415) 972-3282 • hood.timonie@epa.gov SBIR USEPA Region 9

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