LEED for Municipalities: An Overview and Guidelines for Implementation

1. LEED for Municipalities: • An Overview and Guidelines for Implementation

2. Contents Overview • Green Building • USGBC • LEED • Making the Business Case • Examples in the Industry Case Study • City of Boulder Process • Funding and Allocation • Consultant Process • Recommendations • Next Steps Tools and Resources

3. Environmental Impact of U.S. Buildings • 65.2% of total U.S. electricity consumption • > 36% of total U.S. primary energy use • 30% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions • 136 million tons of U.S. construction and demolition waste • 12% of potable water in the U.S. • 40% (3 billion tons annually) of raw materials use globally

4. Defining Green Design • Green • High Performance • Ecological • Sustainable • Whole System • Restorative • Regenerative • Elegant • Efficient • Resource Conservation • Cost Effective Use the language which appeals to your audience

5. Benefits of Green Building Economic • Reduce operating costs • Increase building valuation, occupancy, ROI • Productivity Health and Safety • Enhance occupant comfort and health • Reduce liability Community • Minimize strain on local infrastructures and improve quality of life Environment • Reduce the impacts of natural resource consumption

6. U.S. Green Building Council • Non-profit organization based in Washington, DC • Membership by companies across building industry • Consensus driven • Goal of market transformation towards green building “As a balanced, consensus coalition representing the entire building industry, the USGBC promotes the design, construction, and operation of buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work.”

7. LEED Green Building Rating System • Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) • Third Party Verification / Certification of Performance • Tool for Team / Building Integration • Checklist of Greening Strategies • Defines “Green” Building • Sets Quantifiable Targets and Goals • Tool for Benchmark and Comparison Across Buildings

8. Applying LEED • Checklist of Available Strategies / Points • Contains Prerequisites and Credits • Requires Team Wide Collaboration / Participation • Initiate (Register) During Design • Certify After Occupancy

9. LEED Products • New Construction (NC) • Existing Buildings (EB) • Commercial Interiors (CI) Under Development • Core and Shell (CS) • Home (H) • Neighborhood Developments (ND)

10. LEED Application Guides • Under Development • Lodging • Campus • Retail • Healthcare • Laboratories • Schools LEED was designed for commercial projects. These guides support application in other project types.

11. LEED Categories SustainableSites (1 prerequisites / 14 points) WaterEfficiency (0 prerequisites / 5 points) EnergyandAtmosphere (3 prerequisites / 17 points) MaterialsandResources (1 prerequisites / 13 points) IndoorEnvironmentalQuality (2 prerequisites / 15 points)

12. LEED-NC Levels of Certification Total Points = 69 Certification at Four Levels: • Certified (26- 32 points) • Silver (33-38 points) • Gold (39-51 points) • Platinum (52 + points) Basic LEED Certification is designed to be one step above code, and ratchets up along side code and standard practice.

13. LEED Certification Process • Identify target points (not every credit is appropriate for every project) • Register project with USGBC declaring intent to use LEED ($750-$3,000 fee based on size) • Identify responsible team members for each point (this is an integrated effort) • Collect and submit documentation • Building Certification ($1,500-$7,500 fee based on size)

14. Documenting LEED Compliance • Signed Letter Template declaring achievement • Supporting documentation in some cases, including calculations, plans, cut sheets, etc.

15. Cost of Green Building: Factors • Location • Baseline • Owner/ Team Values • Climate • Timing of Implementation • Building Size • Building Scope • How Much Does it Cost to Build Green… It Depends.

16. Cost of Green Building and LEED • Studies show a 0-3% average premium on total project costs for LEEDbuildings with <5 year payback • Costs are generally attributed to increased design time, modeling and commissioning • Studies show that costs associated with LEED are reduced / eliminated with team experience • From a life-cycle perspective (costs over time) green building and LEED are generally considered a good investment

17. RFP Language to Avoid Inflated Bid Costs • “Contractor shall….” • “…Deliver a finished work product that assists the owner in achieving a LEED Certification for the building” • NOT • “…Ensure that the building achieves LEED Certification”

18. Other Rating System Tools • EPA Energy Star Portfolio Manager • Addresses opportunities related to energy only • Limited to specific building types within existing database • GreenGlobes • On-line questionnaire • Linked to EPA Target Finder (with limited database) • 150 yes / no / NA questions in 7 category areas • Not consensus based • Not science based

19. LEED in the Marketplace ~ 5% of Commercial Buildings in U.S. ~ 250 Certified Projects (NC, EB and CI) ~ 2000 Registered Projects (NC, EB and CI) USGBC is targeting a 25% market penetration with LEED As of 5.05

20. LEED-NCMarket TransformationRegistered Projects by Building Type As of 12.08.04

21. LEED-NCMarket TransformationRegistered Projects by Owner Type As of 12.08.04

22. LEED Users by State Every State in the U.S. has LEED Registered Project(s)

23. LEED-NC Users State Municipal • California • Maryland • Massachusetts • New Jersey • New York • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Washington • Austin, TX • Boston, MA • Boulder, CO • Chicago, IL • Los Angeles, CA • Portland, OR • San Jose, CA • San Francisco, CA • Seattle, WA *Not limited to these examples

24. LEED Application for Municipalities • Portland, OR • Requires that all city owned new construction projects meet LEED-NC Gold • Requires that all tenant improvements to city owned facilities meet LEED-CI Silver • Requires that all city operations and maintenance meet local guidelines which are designed to meet LEED-EB • Cook County, IL • All county projects must meet LEED certification including 8 LEED EAc1 Energy Optimization credits (50% cost reduction compared to ASHRAE)

25. LEED Application • Atlanta, GA • All city funded projects over 5k SF or • $2 million must meet LEED Silver. Exempt projects must complete LEED checklist. • Arlington, VA • All site plan applications must include a completed LEED scorecard and have a LEED-AP on the team • Projects that earn LEED Silver can develop at a higher density • All projects contribute to a green building fund which is refunded if project earns LEED certification

26. LEED Application • Calabasas, CA • All non-residential city and privately owned buildings between 500-5,000 SF must meet LEED Certified level • Building over 5,000 SF must meet LEED Silver • Frisco, TX • All non-single family residential developments must submit a LEED checklist completed by a LEED-AP and with a cost estimate for each point • Issaquah, WA • Developers intending to use LEED receive free consultation (provided by City) and are placed at head of permit review line

27. Application of Green Building Programs: Factors • City structure • City leadership • Funding • Departments • Education • Incentives • Cities have different frameworks and challenges to enable innovative and effective programs

28. Colorado’s Building Climate • No State adopted building and energy code • “Home rule” State • Supports voluntary compliance • Supports energy and resource efficiency • Supports early adopters

29. LEED Certified Projects in Colorado • CH2M Hill (3 buildings) • Belmar 2M3 • Boulder Recreation Center • Boulder Community Hospital • Denver Place • Russell T. Tutt Science Center • U.S. Department of Transportation • Snowmass Golf Clubhouse • Aspen Sundeck • Colorado Springs Utilities Laboratory Additionally there are over 35 registered projects 7.05

30. The Boulder Story: Background • Conscious History of Land Use Planning • Guiding Documents • Supporting Policies • Community Involvement

31. The Boulder Story: • City Departments and Funding • Invested departments • Interdepartmental partnerships • State funding • Departments’ funding allocation • Business process • Long-term budget process

32. The Boulder Story • LEED Consultant and Local Developerteam up • Cross-education (what is LEED? What isn’t LEED?) • Building and Land Use Code / LEED Comparison • Barriers • Local Climate/ Cultural Considerations • Implementation Considerations • Charrettes with City staff to review thoughts and findings along the way How can we use LEED to inform Boulder codes and support better commercial building practices?

33. The Boulder Story: Evaluation • LEED / Green Building strategies were evaluated with • regards to: • Cost Impact • To the Builder • Environmental and Community Benefit • Overall • Implementation Difficulty • For the City

34. The Boulder Story: Requiring LEED? • Initiated process with goal of making code equivalent to LEED certified level • Difficult to codify enough LEED credits that all commercial buildings meet LEED (26 points) • Focused on eliminating barriers to pursuing LEED • Focused on meeting the intent of LEED with regards to the effectiveness of green building

35. The Boulder Story: Requiring LEED? • Showers in Boulder? • Require operable windows? • Reduced development footprint? • Required material and product specifications? • Paints? • Carpet? • Composite wood? • Recycled content? LEED is not a code, it is an effective and integrated benchmarking tool. LEED can be used to frame opportunities for resource and cost effective building.

36. The Boulder Story: Code Recommendations • Require bike racks and carpool parking for 5% of occupants or 1 rack / 2,000 SF • Require light colored / shaded paving and roofing • Limit irrigation water availability / require xeriscaping • Eliminate barriers to waterless urinals and composting toilets • Require independent building commissioning > 10k SF • Require energy analysis > 20k SF • Require job site recycling • Require CO2 monitoring • Require air quality management plan/ implementation • *Not limited to these examples

37. The Boulder Story: Recommended Incentives • How to support building specific applications of effective green strategies? Green Building Fund • All projects pay into fund - Refunded if certified Valuation Exemption • Green products excepted from permit valuation Density Bonus • Site density allowance bonuses for certification Fast Track Review • LEED projects “move to the head of the line” Energy Efficiency Certification • License private professionals to review and verify energy requirements, streamlining City process

38. The Boulder Story: Challenges to Implementation Department ownership & prioritization Business process Staff resources Budget cycle Staff education & training Integration of existing process vs. new process

39. The Boulder Story: Next Steps • Internal City prioritization – Goal Committee • Stakeholder sessions to gather input, strengthen plan, & solicit recommendations • Stakeholder review of proposed changes • Internal City budget & funding • Internal City staff education / training • Workshops & fact sheets for public • Community educational events / training

40. Greening the City: Action Steps • Understand what it is costing to NOT build green • Examine zoning, permits, codes and procedures for barriers to building green • Set short and long term goals • Identify champions and track implementation • Integrate team upfront • Adopt standards • Identify and implement low hanging fruit • Provide incentives • Measure benefits • Ongoing education

41. www.usgbc.org/chapters/colorado • Learn about green building • Advocacy support • Gain recognition as a green professional • Local materials database • Guidelines for selecting green professionals

42. For more information contact: • Elizabeth Vasatka, City of Boulder • 303-441-1964 / Vasatkae@ci.boulder.co.us • Lauren Yarmuth Denner, DOMANI • 303-232-0193 / Lauren.denner@domani-llc.com