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GreenMoney Journal - publishing since 1992
Fall 2010 issue
Socially Responsible Investing – Better Companies, Better Communities
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Top Sustainable Design Trends: How Green Design is Going Mainstream
By Steve Glenn, CEO, LivingHomes
Green is going mainstream, at least in construction. It’s likely that within ten years, there
really will be no special category for “green building”; it’ll just be the way all buildings are
built.
Several trends will make this so, but none more than so than basic necessity: buildings –
specificially, the energy required to heat, cool, and light them – are, as a category, the largest
category of carbon emitters in the world, larger than transportation or industry. The resources
building use in the US are daunting (USGBC data):
• 39% of all energy (versus 29% for industry
and 32% for transportation)
• 71% of all electricity
• 40% of carbon emissions
• 65%
of all waste output
Every pound of concrete produced results in one pound of carbon
emissions. Forty percent of all raw materials extracted in the world are used for construction.
Simply put, there is no way we will be able to significantly lower carbon emissions
without radically reducing the “ecological footprint” of buildings – the resources used to create
and operate these buildings.
The good news is that the technology, materials, resources,
processes required to do this is becoming increasingly available and cost effective, and there are
an increasing number of trends that will only increase the advantage – and necessity – to build in
a more sustainable way.
A) Governments will reward it and require it.
Spurred on by local initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, an increasing number of cities are
either rewarding or requiring sustainable design. In Los Angeles and Santa Monica, for example,
homes that will be LEED certified (at least “Silver” level, for Los Angeles), receive expedited
permitting. In LA, any new building above 50,000 square feet must be designed to achieve a minimum
LEED certification. “LEED”, short for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design, is the leading
green building certification program. It was developed in 2000 by the non-profit United States
Green Building Council (USGBC) and it awards points for components in buildings that reduce energy,
water use, indoor air pollution, etc. Based on those points, a building can achieve Certified,
Silver, Gold or Platinum certification. Increasingly, local and federal governments are also
providing financing incentives for energy efficient retrofits. Last year’s stimulus bill from the
federal government, for example, contained over $1B in support for energy efficient retrofits.
B) Consumers and companies want healthier, more sustainable buildings –
increasingly for the economics. Consumers are making more purchase decisions in all categories of
products based on whether a product is healthy or sustainable. The huge growth in the market for
organic food, organic cotton and hybrid car sales reflect this. The National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB) in its annual survey of consumer trends has found a growing number of home buyers
want “green” features in their homes, though most are not willing to pay more for these features. A
number of recent studies found that LEED certified buildings sell for more than non-LEED certified
projects and that rents and occupancy rates are higher. Other research has confirmed the
significant energy and operating savings of LEED certified and energy efficient buildings. And yet
another category of research has confirmed that workers are more productive in buildings with
natural light and ventilation. Given the cost, productivity and health advantages, more businesses
are seeking homes in building that feature sustainable design. A report by Costar as reported by
http://www.mybuildingsuccess.com found that “LEED buildings rent for $11.24 per square foot more
than non-LEED buildings and have 3.8% higher occupancy rates.”
C) Architects,
contractors, developers are integrating sustainable design into their projects. As the
demand increases, more designers, consultants and others are completing sustainable design training
– and projects. The USGBC has a LEED Accredited Professional certification program, which involves
extensive testing, and the number of LEED APs now tops 100,000. As professionals become more
knowledgeable, more of their projects integrate the materials, systems, and processes that reflect
good sustainable design practices. Mainstream homebuilders like KB Homes and DR Horton are
integrating sustainable elements – solar panels, recycled materials, EnergyStar appliances – into
more of their offerings, and commercial builders like Simon Development and Forest City are
completing more LEED certified projects. LEED certified projects have grown from 3 in 2000 to over
2000 in 2009 and they have been doubling in number each year for the last three years.
D) Materials and technologies are becoming more accessible and
cost-effective. One obstacle to mass adoption of sustainable design has been materials and
environmental systems that are comparable in cost to non-sustainable alternatives. The good news is
that thanks to greater demand, cost for these components has dropped considerably as availability
has increased. For example, EnergyStar appliances (appliances certified by a federal program) are,
in many cases, no more expensive than non-EnergyStar appliances. The price of photovoltaics – solar
panels that convert the sun into electricity – has dropped considerably in the last year and
promising new technologies offer the possibility that these technologies will allow for electricity
production that is no more expensive than that which is created by coal or gas. As pricing for
these systems and materials drop, their integration into projects will increase, creating a
virtuous cycle that should reduce costs further.
With these trends, increasing demand and
adaption of sustainable design, some of the elements you can expect to see integrated into homes
include:
1. Better design. In the Energy Crisis 1.0 in the 1970s, there
were a number of “green” homes that were developed but their design – underground, straw bail – put
off most consumers. Now, more companies like LivingHomes put design first, ensuring that consumers
have homes that meet both the great value they put on form and functionality and an emphasis on
healthy, sustainable construction.
2. Zero energy. Homes will be built
to be much more energy efficient, reducing the power they need, and then they will produce the
power they do need through renewable means, such as photovoltaics or wind generation.
3. Water efficiency. As water conservation takes center stage in more
communities, there will be more mandates, as there are in California, for example, to integrate low
flow water fixtures and appliances into home design.
4. Better indoor air
quality. A recent report from the EPA found that indoor air is, on average, four times
more polluted than outdoor air. More research suggests that compounds that off-gas in the home,
such as formaldehyde, urea and mold, are a leading cause of skin, eye and head irritation and even
some cancers. There is a new generation of low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints and stains,
and you can find millwork that is formaldehyde-free. These choices reduce indoor air contamination.
5. Real-time feedback. It’s not enough to build homes that are more
resource efficient if the consumers who live in the homes don’t make smart choices about their
usage of resources. Research suggests that consumers with real-time feedback on their electricity
use reduce their use by 20 percent. Companies like Lucid Design Group and others have introduced
systems that provide this real-time information via a web-based “dashboard.” In addition, utilities
are beginning to role out Smart Meters that will also make it easy for consumers to understand what
they’re using when, and how much it costs. This should make consumers increasingly conscious -- and
responsible -- about their resource use.
The bottom line is this: Resources on the planet
are growing ever more scarce and there is significant and increasing environmental damage, global
warming, among the best known. Buildings built traditional ways are energy and resource hogs.
Consumers have already voted with their wallets – they appreciate beautiful, functional products
that are built in a healthy and sustainable way. Today, it’s hard to find homes and buildings that
reflect these values. But if these trends hold, in the not too distant future it will be hard not
to.
Article by Steve Glenn, the founder and CEO of LivingHomes, LLC (
http://www.livinghomes.net ), a premier developer of modern, prefabricated homes that combine
world-class architecture with an unparalleled commitment to healthy and sustainable construction.
The first LivingHome, designed by Ray Kappe, FAIA, was installed in eight hours. It became the
first home ever to receive a LEED for Home Platinum rating and was the only home to win the AIA’s
top sustainability award in 2007. The second LivingHome was named Green Home of the Year by Green
Home Builder Magazine.
Before LivingHomes, Glenn worked as with the Clinton HIV/AIDS
Initiative (CHAI) and managed the development of a $220 million program in Mozambique, the first
program CHAI launched in Africa. Glenn is founder and former Chairman and CEO of PeopleLink, a
leading provider of enterprise ecommunity solutions, which raised $35 million from AT&T Ventures,
GE, Goldman Sachs, idealab and others. Glenn was a founding partner of idealab, a business
incubation firm that raised $1 billion and that founded or invested in a number of successful
companies including GoTo/Overture (OVER), NetZero/United Online (UNTD), CitySearch (TMCS),
Tickets.com (TKTS), eToys and CarsDirect. Glenn worked for Walt Disney Imagineering as co-director
of the Virtual Reality Studio. Glenn co-founded Clearview Software, which was sold to Apple
Computer where Glenn later served as a marketing specialist.
He holds a bachelor’s degree
with honors from Brown University, and was a Coro Fellow. Glenn is a co-founder of the Sustainable
Business Council, http://www.sustainablebc.org (and chair), the Kaia Parker Dance Fund,
http://www.kaiaparker.org and a co-founder and former board member of Hope Street Group,
http://www.hopestreetgroup.org . He is a member of the board of directors of the Brown University
Entrepreneur Forum, http://www.brownep.org and Watts House Project,
http://www.wattshouseproject.org . Glenn teaches courses at Pepperdine Business School and
California State University, Long Beach.
He was named the Clean Tech CEO of the Year in
2008 by Clean Tech Week, and Environmental Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009 by LA City
Council/Faith2Green.
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