EPA and Green Building

1
EPA and Green Building

• Environmental Technology Council
• Ken Sandler
• October 7, 2004

2
Buildings The Environment

• Buildings and development have a huge impact on
  health and the environment
• Over 40 of energy use (including about
  two-thirds of all electricity use)
• Nearly 15 of greenhouse gas emissions
• Nearly 15 of all freshwater use
• Over 37 of all non-industrial waste
• About 90 of peoples time is spent indoors,
  where pollutants may be 2-100 times higher than
  outdoors.

3
Defining Green Building

• Increasing the efficiency with which buildings
  and their sites use energy, water, and materials,
  
• and reducing building impacts on human health and
  the environment,
• through better siting, design, construction,
  operation, maintenance, and removalthe complete
  building life cycle.

4
EPA Green Building Programs

• Includes
• Energy Star
• Indoor Environments
• Water Use Efficiency
• Greening EPA
• Environmentally Preferable Purchasing
• Construction Demolition Debris
• Construction Sector
• Brownfields
• Smart Growth
• Heat Islands
• Etc.!!

5
EPA Green Building Workgroup

• Founded July 2003
• Mission EPA leadership on green building based
  on jointly informing, coordinating guiding
  development of EPA policies, programs,
  partnerships, communications and operations that
  influence building and development
• Intranet site http//intranet.epa.gov/oppt/gbw-int
  ra includes Workgroup Charter, Minutes, etc.
• Internet site www.epa.gov/greenbuilding includes
  links to EPA building programs
• Management champion Bill Sanders, Director,
  OCHP. Co-chairs, Ken Sandler, OAR Alison Kinn
  Bennett, OPPTS

6
Other Players in Green Building

• U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED rating
  system
• Currently over 5000 organizations in USGBC
• Nearly 1500 buildings (over 18 million square
  feet) registered under LEED
• Interagency Sustainability Working Group
• Working to green Federal buildings and coordinate
  Federal policies and messages

7
Sources of Federal Green Building Research

• DOE its labs, e.g. National Renewable Energy
  Lab (NREL), Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL)
• NIST Building and Fire Research Lab
• USDA Forest Products Lab
• ORD, e.g., Indoor Environ. Mgmt. Branch
• Natl. Research Council -- Federal Facilities
  Council

8
Examples of Green Building Technologies

• Green roofs
• Energy Star products and buildings
• Low-flow water fixtures
• Low-VOC products
• Permeable pavement
• Underfloor air distribution systems
• Plastic lumber decking
• Photovoltaics

9
Green Building Technology Needs

• Advanced HVAC (heating, ventilation,
  air-conditioning) systems
• Zero-energy buildings
• Affordable technologies (e.g., fuel cells)
• Systems integration / Smart Buildings
• More sustainable building products (non-toxic,
  bio-based, recyclable, etc.)
• More research on health, productivity and
  economic effects
• Better measurement, verification, commissioning
• Life-cycle analysis databases, standards tools

10
Relevance to the Environmental Technology Council

• Green building
• Responds to significant health and environmental
  impacts,
• Represents an economic sector with room for
  growth and improvement,
• Relies on, and demands, innovative technologies
  and solutions,
• Requires coordination across offices and
  environmental media,
• Represents opportunities to work with
  enthusiastic partners.

11
Discussion

• Questions?
• How can the Green Building Workgroup and the
  Environmental Technology Council help and support
  each other?
• Which green building technology issues seem to
  represent the best opportunities for ETC
  involvement?
• Next steps?

12
For More Information

• Ken Sandler
• sandler.ken_at_epa.gov
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• OAR/Indoor Environments Division
• Mail code 6609J

Alison Kinn Bennett kinn.alison_at_epa.gov Tel
202-564-8859 Fax [phone] OPPTS/Environment
ally Preferable Purchasing Program Mail code
7409M