The Trend Toward Green

All colors have many different shades.  Take the color green for instance.  You have dark greens that many people describe as emerald and you have have lighter greens that many might describe as mint or pastel.  The same is true for individuals and companies that claim to be GREEN (some are emerald and some are mint).  The truth is there are as many ways to be GREEN as there are to catch a fish.  As a result, there has been some ambiguity in the green building movement, and assessing whether a building is truly GREEN or not has posed some challenges.  You might sum this idea up by saying that GREEN is in the eye of the beholder.  The solution: United States Green Building Council and the LEED designation system.  LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and was started by the US Green Building Council in 2000.  The US Green Building Council, a non-profit organization, was started in 1993 with the goal of making green buildings available to everyone within a generation.  The LEED system is pretty straightforward and has distinctive categories.

Total # of LEED Certified Projects - 5/18/2011

• LEED Certified
• LEED Silver
• LEED Gold
• LEED Platinum

Buildings are awarded different LEED designations based on how many points they receive on a 100 point scale.  Points are awarded based on the efficient use of water and energy, the preservation of the atmosphere, the consideration and implementation of green materials and resources, the ability to improve indoor air quality, the environmental impact of the overall design, and the willingness to make decisions about the site's development that will protect the natural environment.  The LEED's Platinum designation is the highest rating and the applicant must receive 80 or more points to obtain a platinum level designation.  Buildings that receive a silver, gold, or platinum rating are very interesting to look at.  One building we learned about in class is the Patagonia Service Center building in Nevada.  Patagonia is a company that has made sustainability a major part of its culture from buying locally to building green.        



Patagonia's Reno Service Center - LEED Gold

Patagonia received the LEED Gold rating for their new building in Reno, Nevada.  Given its proximity to the Truckee River, managing storm-water runoff was of major importance. The excerpt below from Patagonia's website describes how Patagonia effectively dealt with this important environmental concern:

When snow or rainfall hits impermeable surfaces – such as parking lots, roofs and walkways – it runs off, carrying with it oil, gasoline, detergents, pesticides, garbage and other pollutants. These could flow into the nearby Truckee River, which supplies the city of Reno with some 85% of its municipal water. To ensure that the rate and quantity of storm-water runoff from our facility does not exceed pre-development levels, our civil engineers designed a management system that exceeds those found on most commercial sites. In our parking lot, we installed pervious pavers that allow water to percolate back into the ground. We integrated detention ponds into the landscape to capture runoff from the roof before it passes into the soil – a natural filter. In the paved area of the receiving dock, we installed two sand/oil separation units to aggressively filter out contaminants before runoff heads into city storm drains and ultimately the Truckee River.

As you can see, many factors go into achieving a LEED designation.  Based on all that Patagonia did, I was surprised that it only received a gold rating.  It would be interesting to learn why and what kept Patgonia from earning the platinum rating.  Watch the video below and see for yourself just how much Patagonia did to earn the LEED Gold rating.  It might really surprise you!