High Performance Buildings, continued from pg 2 The effort is comprised of six perfor- within a range of what’s predicted, but
that these buildings need to be between
mance areas: Site, Energy, Materials, many don’t.
70 and 80 percent more efficient than cur-
Water, Indoor Quality, and Beauty “Building owners need appropriate
rent standards. The following initiatives
+ Inspiration, and includes a Living building performance feedback in order
support this goal.
Building Leader program that offers a to verify that buildings meet their design
• Architecture 2030 is working to
series of intensive, advanced eLearn- targets,” said Anne Evens, Director of Ener-
achieve a dramatic reduction in the
ing sessions in green building topics. gy Programs at the Center for Neighbor-
global-warming-causing greenhouse
• The World Business Council for Sus- hood Technology (CNT). “Additionally, a
gas (GHG) emissions of the building
tainable Development has developed feedback loop is necessary in the building
sector by changing the way build-
a program called “Energy Efficiency lifecycle in order to quantify the true ben-
ings and developments are planned,
in Buildings” that aims to produce a efits of green or high performance build-
designed and constructed. The 2030
roadmap for reaching energy self- ing, whether it is dollars saved or avoided
Challenge is stating that all new
sufficiency in buildings by 2050, CO
2
emissions,” she said.
buildings and major renovations re-
while being economical and socially Cities serious about cutting their green
duce their fossil-fuel GHG-emitting
acceptable. The project looks at all as- house gas emissions through high perfor-
consumption 50 percent by 2010, in-
pects along the “life cycle” of new and mance building will have to use building
crementally increasing the reduction
existing buildings and will comprise performance feedback as a tool to under-
for new buildings to carbon neutral
three phases, each producing reports stand how to make improvements. More
by 2030.
that together will form the roadmap importantly, this feedback loop will allow
• Cascadia Green Building Council’s Liv-
to transform the building industry. design teams to know what went right and
ing Building Challenge [http://www.
what went wrong with the building design
cascadiagbc.org/lbc] uses a guideline Performance measurement
so practices can be improved upon for the
of 20 prerequisites to support build-
next project and the one after that.
So how will we know when we get to our
ings as not only self-sustaining struc-
destination on the continuum? Green
tures but as harmoniously giving
Stacey Hobart is Communications Director
building advocates are talking a lot now
back more than they take from the
at New Buildings Institute [NewBuildings.
about “performance measurement.” Re-
environments in which they’re built.
org], a national nonprofit working to im-
cent studies show that the majority of
prove the energy performance of commer-
high performance buildings perform
cial buildings.
4 © Verde Publishing, Inc. CitiesGoGreen.com 5 of 4
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