Make room on the mantle for another award, San Francisco. The World Green Building Council (WGBC) has named San Francisco the greenest of them all when it comes to promoting green building practices as a means of reducing carbon emissions.
San Francisco is home to the largest public LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design) Platinum certified building in the world, the California Academy of Sciences. Sustainability was incorporated into every aspect of the design and construction of the new Academy, which opened in 2008 and replaced its earthquake-damaged predecessor. SF Dept. of the Environment
By Bill Picture
Published: January, 2012
Make room on the mantle for another award, San Francisco. The World Green Building Council (WGBC) has named San Francisco the greenest of them all when it comes to promoting green building practices as a means of reducing carbon emissions.
The WGBC’s Government Leadership Award for "Best Green Building Policy" was awarded to San Francisco at last month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. The WGBC is a coalition of more than 90 national green building councils from around the world; its mission is to help facilitate the global building industry’s move towards sustainability.
Those green building councils were each invited to nominate government policies from their respective countries. From the 22 nominations received, which included both developed and developing countries, a panel of green building and sustainability experts chose a winner for each of the six set categories: Local Climate Action Leadership (Mexico City), Urban Retrofit (Birmingham, UK), Regional Leadership (Singapore), Industry Transformation (New York City), Most Groundbreaking Policy (Tokyo), and Best Green Building Policy (San Francisco).
An early start
San Francisco’s aggressive effort to green the building industry began almost a decade ago. It was in the midst of a construction boom that the City’s Board of Supervisors and then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, recognizing the impact of construction projects on the environment, passed an ordinance requiring municipal projects to meet tough new environmental standards. San Francisco Department of the Environment Director Melanie Nutter estimates that buildings accounts for 55 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in San Francisco.
It didn’t take long for the new standards to prove effective, giving city policymakers the proof needed to convince developers and contractors to follow suit.
"We knew this was a good thing from the beginning, but we needed hard figures before we could approach the private sector," said Richard Chien, Private Sector Green Building Coordinator for the SF Department of the Environment. "The changes we wanted to ask for weren’t small, so we needed proof to back it up."
A green building ordinance establishing environmental standards for all major construction projects in San Francisco followed in 2008, accompanied by a package of incentives designed to make going green more attractive (and less painful) for developers and contractors.
The State of California has since set its own green building standards, which became mandatory in January of last year. In many cases, however, local codes go above and beyond what the state requires. For instance, the state requires that 50 percent of a construction project’s debris be diverted from landfill, i.e., recycled or reused. San Francisco requires that 75 percent of that debris be diverted.
"I wouldn’t say it’s our goal to be ahead of the rest of the state," said Chien. "I’d say our pace is determined by the severity of the environmental challenges we face. But as the codes are updated and revised, we’ll continue to monitor how the real estate market is doing and remain sensitive to what these new rules mean for developers. It’s crucial that we consider all of the interests involved."
At some point, however, Chien expects local, regional and national efforts to sync up. "And once we’re all moving in the same direction, we can get the financial industry involved," he added. "That’s the goal—to get everyone aligned around green building."
Hard to be the greenest
Bay Area residents are likely not surprised to read that San Francisco has done more than any other city to promote green building, given that sustainability—from conserving energy and water, to aggressive recycling and composting—has become second nature for most, both at work and at home. They will be surprised, however, to learn that the rest of the world is catching up. And being the greenest is getting harder by the minute.
"That’s absolutely true," said World Green Building Council CEO Jane Henley. "That’s a pretty great race to have going on, though, wouldn’t you say? It’s a win-win for all of us."
While San Francisco’s policies definitely stood out, Henley says the competition was nothing if not fierce. What gives San Francisco its edge, she said, is a general understanding of the value of sustainability that has allowed policymakers to set very aggressive standards without much guff from those being asked to change their ways.
"We’re talking about a total mind shift here," she said. "The old development model still being used by much of the world says, ‘To make the most profit, invest the least amount upfront.’ Changing that model means changing how people value things and analyze the macro-benefits, which isn’t easy. The level of knowledge is much lower in other parts of the world, so their policies are less aggressive."
San Francisco has strong leadership to thank for keeping it on the green fast track—but that isn’t altogether unique. Henley says that around the world, local governments have become the biggest cheerleaders for sustainability, and it’s at the city level that the most is actually being done.
"What’s that saying? ‘Governments talk, cities act,’" she said. "So helping cities make the right decision is where we believe we’ll have the biggest impact."
Chien suspects that including major renovations in the scope of projects subject to new green building codes helped set San Francisco apart from its competitors for the World Green Building Council’s overall award. Green building codes elsewhere often apply only to new buildings.
"And that’s a pretty big piece of the pie," he explained. "A significant number of permitted construction projects fall under the heading of renovation."
But will they notice?
Besides allowing developers and contractors to sleep well at night knowing they did their part to curb carbon emissions, building green also affords them access to useful tools and incentives that would otherwise be off-limits. But once the project is completed, does the average Joe care (or even notice) when he sets foot inside a green building? Does a Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design (LEED) certification mean anything, and will it factor into a customer’s decision-making process when leasing office space, buying a home or booking a hotel room?
"For the big companies moving into these commercial spaces, I think it does," said Henley. "They’re aware of the value. Plus, the shareholders like it; and it’s good marketing to use for positioning. But for the everyday user, I think the awareness is still fairly low. We’ll ask how many stars a hotel has, because we know what that means in terms of quality. But we’re not yet to the point where people ask about what that hotel is doing to be sustainable."
"I don’t think that’s far off," added Chien. "Businesses are seeking out energy-efficient buildings, for a variety of reason. The public isn’t usually far behind. We’ll have to wait and see."
For more information on the World Green Building Council’s Government Leadership Awards, visit http://www.worldgbc.org/site2/index.php?cID=449.
When the City implemented stringent environmental standards for all municipal projects, Laguna Honda Hospital, a city-owned facility that provides long-term residential care to seniors and persons with disabilities, was the first hospital in California to receive LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. SF Dept. of the Environment
San Francisco’s tough green building standards apply not only to new construction, but major renovations as well. In addition, as of February 2011, all nonresidential buildings 10,000 square feet and larger must undergo an energy efficiency audit and report to the City on annual energy use to help the City reach its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2012. The iconic Transamerica Building was the first building to comply with the new law. An onsite cogeneration plant that produces 70% of the building’s overall energy needs helped it earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest honors, LEED Platinum certification. SF Dept. of the Environment
