Getting Started

About The Green Hive

Getting Started / FAQ

What is green building?


The term “green building” (often used interchangeably with sustainable, high performance, healthy, low impact) refers to buildings and their sites that are designed and constructed to increase environmental performance and protect human health. Green buildings:

  • Consider the true costs of building and site impacts on the local, regional, and global environment through lifecycle costing and assessment
  • Use natural resources efficiently, maximize the use of local materials, and reduce waste
  • Conserve and reuse water and treating storm water runoff on-site
  • Use energy-efficient systems and products
  • Reduce building footprints, allowing ecosystems to function more naturally
  • Optimize climatic conditions through site orientation and design
  • Integrate natural daylight and ventilation and improving indoor air quality
  • Encourage transit, bicycle, and pedestrian activities
  • Minimize the use of mined rare metals and persistent synthetic compounds
  • Reduce, reuse, and recycle materials in all phases of construction and deconstruction
  • Include advanced telecommunications technology, allowing greater electronic access, and reducing the need to travel
  • Are designed for future flexibility, expansion, and building demolition

 

What are the benefits of green buildings?


Green building provides the framework and tools to build in an economically advantageous manner while conserving natural resources and minimizing the ecological degradation from the built environment.

Green building practices deliver several benefits to residents and businesses, including:

  • Providing long-term financial savings for building owners and occupants
  • Saving energy and natural resources
  • Helping the City meet its goals to reduce global warming
  • Reducing the use of toxic materials
  • Enhancing the quality of indoor environments, where people spend upwards of 80 percent of their time.
  • Minimizing site impacts by protecting and enhancing natural spaces
  • Minimizing damaging storm water runoff and construction-related erosion.

In addition, green building expertise and technologies are central elements in an emerging environmental industry sector and provide the opportunity to strengthen and diversify the local economy. By promoting and applying green building practices, municipalities can help stimulate economic growth and build
demand for innovative and efficient building materials, energy systems, and related services provided by local firms.

 

Do buildings affect natural resources?


Yes. For example, a standard wood-frame home requires more than one acre of forest, and the waste created during construction averages between 3-7 tons. In 1998, The National Association of Home Builders reported that a 2,085-square foot, single-family house requires 13,127 board feet of lumber; 6,212 square feet of sheathing; 14 tons of concrete; 2,325 square feet of exterior siding; 3,100 square feet of roofing material; 3,061 square feet of insulation; 6,144 square feet of interior wall material; 120 linear feet of ducting; 15 windows; 13 kitchen cabinets and 2 other cabinets; 1 kitchen sink; 12 interior doors; 7 closet doors; 2 exterior doors; 1 patio door; 2 garage doors; 1 fireplace; 3 toilets; 2 bathtubs; 1 shower stall; 3 bathroom sinks; 2,085 square feet of flooring material... and 68 gallons of paint and coatings. In addition, the majority of new development in many regions is on “greenfields” – land not previously built on. Such practices threaten farmlands, fragment the landscape, reduce wildlife and fish habitat, and alter site hydrology. Meanwhile, the majority of existing abandoned and degraded sites within a city – lands most suitable for new development – are much slower to redevelop.

 

Do buildings affect global warming?


Yes. The construction and operation of buildings together use one-third of all energy consumed in the United States. Buildings are a major source of urban air quality problems and the pollutants cause climate change. For example, buildings emit sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and particulate emissions, all of which damage urban air quality. Energy use in most buildings produces 40% of carbon dioxide emissions, a primary contributor to global warming.

 

What effect do green buildings have on health and productivity?


Numerous studies link how employees perform at work to how the building itself performs. Eight case studies show worker productivity increases between 6-15% in structures built to maximize day lighting, natural ventilation, and indoor air quality through reduced use of toxic materials (e.g., paints, materials, and laminates low in volatile organic compounds). 1 Adverse health risks and missed work have direct economic impacts. Since a typical employer spends almost 70 times more on salaries than on energy, the productivity advantages of green buildings can have substantial financial benefits to those who manage the building.

Asthma and other health issues related to indoor air quality have also become major health concerns at home. Respiratory disease has increased nearly 50% in the last decade. Many building materials can have an adverse effect on indoor air quality: paints, laminates, floor finishes, cabinets, particleboard, and certain structurally engineered building systems off gas and contain carcinogens found in some volatile organic compounds. Because most people spend more than 90% of their time indoors, the environmental quality of building materials and ventilation are key elements to creating healthy homes and workplaces.

Above General Green Building FAQs excerpted from City of Portland, Office of Sustainable Development, Green Building Policy.

 

How do I know if my project’s specified materials are green or sustainable?


Third party certifications are often a reliable way to assess a product’s sustainability and environmental impact. Online resources like GreenBuildingPages.com and BuildingGreen.com offer unbiased reviews and case studies for products and materials.

The Green Building Pages serves as a web-based location to offer evaluate criteria and to inform about manufacturers sustainable practices and products.

The Green Hive Sustainable Design and Resource Center serves as a bricks and mortar library and resource center for a more hands on experience with products and materials.

The Green Hive Sustainable Design and Resource Centers’ steering committee of qualified advisors has a process in place to vet and review vendors submitting reference materials to the center.

These advisors are independent and not employees of The Green Hive.
The process includes:

  • Adhering to third party standards currently approved by LEED, Green Globe Globes, GSA, DSA, AIA, etc. (See Below)
  • Verifying the amount of time the vendor has been in business.
  • Examining the business’s manufacturing and employment practices (requesting letter documentation from potential vendors)
  • Utilizing GreenBuilding Pages Benchmarking Sustainability, where appropriate and in conjunction with LACCD approved products.
  • Obtaining a list of references from the manufacturer.
  • Using potential vendors marketing/education arm to
    provide demonstrations, seminars that contribute to CEU’s

Below is a partial list of recognized third party certifications and standards that our steering committee considers when reviewing a product.

 

How can I finance or defray the cost of my green building or energy conservation project?


There are many incentives available for green projects, and more to come (I would like to say something current about the administration, perhaps a white house link, but for now…start here:)

What steps can I take to green my office space?

 

  • Establish an office green team to set specific company goals and encourage coworkers to join in.
  • Arrange for an energy audit from the local utility, and measure improvements from that baseline.
  • Set computers, printers, etc. to go to “sleep” after a few minutes.
  • Print and copy double-sided to reduce paper use
  • Use only recycled paper products
  • Purchase furniture that is made of recycled products, and recycle or donate once it’s no longer needed
  • Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs or LED’s
  • Turn off computers and lights at night - install power strips so it’s easy to turn off all electronics at once
  • Encourage recycling by having bins accessible around the office, and at every desk.
  • Have reusable mugs for coffee or water, rather than disposable ones
  • Encourage carpools, ridesharing, and bicycle transport.
  • Purchase carbon offsets

 

What can I do now to green my home and community?

 

  • Go Solar. Geothermal. Wind. Check out Fuel Cells. Tax incentives, rebates and other options for affording energy efficiency strategies are available now.
    More Info
  • Get involved and be an advocate for green building codes and guidelines in your community.
    More Info
  • Turn off the lights when not necessary. Use compact fluorescent lamps or LEDs for your light fixtures.
  • Unplug the appliances, electronics, and even cell phone chargers in your home when not in use. Standby power in the average household consumes 1,000-kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
  • Consider Energy Star Appliances- they use less energy, save money and help protect the environment.
    More Info
  • Use Low VOC or No VOC paint for your projects. Typical household paint contains up to 10,000 chemicals, containing toxins and carcinogens. Some of the most harmful are volatile organic compounds. VOC’s in paint and paint related products are second only to automobiles in VOC emissions.
  • Use non-toxic, environmentally safe, biodegradable cleaning products.
  • Recycle more, Use less.
  • Keep bins in convenient places throughout your home to separate and collect recyclable materials. Learn what can be recycling services are available in your area by contacting your waste collection company or local government.
  • Computers, monitors, cell phones and other electronics include toxic materials. The Environmental Protection Agency can help you find local electronics recyclers.
    More Info
  • Did you know you could recycle athletic shoes?
    More Info
  • Check the U.S. Department of Energy’s Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s list of most fuel-efficient cars and find the one that’s right for you.
    More Info
  • Rather than driving your car to work every day, you can walk, ride your bike, and take the bus or the train or carpool. You’ll be cutting down on air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, oil consumption and the costs of fuel and maintenance of your vehicle.
    http://www.publictransportation.org/
    http://www.pickuppal.com/pup/intro.html
  • Buy locally produced items, including produce and other goods. It reduces the amount of fossil fuels required to transport the things you buy from other parts of the country or the world. It also reduces the amount of plastic and paper products consumed in the packaging of such far-traveling products. Buying local reduces the consumption of valuable natural resources and helps support the local economy.
    More Info
  • Bring your own reusable bags when you shop. They are available for sale at many grocers and other retailers. Or reuse some you may have around the house. The bags are sturdier than disposable bags, making the trip home easier, and they don’t waste resources or end up in landfills.
    More Info
  • Recycle your kitchen organic waste into compost. It allows us to return badly needed organic matter to the soil. In this way, we participate in nature's cycle, and cut down on garbage going into landfills.
  • Opt for drought tolerant landscaping around your home.
  • Use nontoxic gardening techniques. Pesticides and garden equipment emissions affect our clean air and drinking water.

 

What is LEED?


Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) developed LEED.

 

What is the USGBC?


The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization committed to expanding sustainable building practices. USGBC is composed of more than 15,000 organizations from across the building industry that are working to advance structures that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Members include building owners and end-users, real estate developers, facility managers, architects, designers, engineers, general contractors, subcontractors, product and building system manufacturers, government agencies, and nonprofits.

Click here to learn more about LEED and becoming a LEED certified professional?