Building Green Initiative

November 19, 2014

Rebecca Decenzo
Megan Dunn
Dylan Farley-Chrust
Garrett Kellar
Christina Lopez
Dr. Tobienne
Professional Writing
White Paper Project
17 November 2014

The Green Building Initiative:

Renovating and Retrofitting
University of South Florida St.
Petersburg

140 7th Ave S,

St Petersburg, FL 33701
November 19, 2014

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Table of Contents
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.

Executive Summary Page 3

Introduction Page 4
How to go Green Page 4
LEED system, what is it? What does it mean? Page 5
The Solar Panel Project Page 8
The Costs Page 10
Public Perception and Support Page 13
Conclusion Page 15
Works Cited Page 16
Annotated Bibliography Page 17
Glossary of Terms Page 21

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I.

Executive Summary

As USFSP continues to add to its ever-growing student body, the need for energy for the University
is growing. With new buildings being developed and constructed, the need for renewable energy
projects is undeniable. The University is setting an example for Universities all over the country
by utilizing modern energy saving procedures, which help reduce overall energy consumption and
provide cost savings. As we continue to look deeper into this green movement, its apparent that
USFSP is taking a strong stance on making sure they educate students and faculty, along with the
surrounding community, about the possible benefits of going green. Currently, USFSP has been
Gold certified with LEED, (an energy efficient building qualification system and company,) and
is working on a second qualification. We will also note that USFSP has several projects working
towards the same goal, one specifically mentioned in detail within this paper is the Solar Panel
Project. This project serves as a compliment to the Green Building Project. Some specific things
we will look into are the advantages, along with any possible disadvantages USF has faced, or
could face, by going green; such as, when do the rewards outweigh the costs. A modern and longterm view is needed when considering green buildings, as the initial price can be significantly
higher than that of a basic building. The most important thing to consider is the long-term benefits
that come with such buildings. We will explore, in detail, how USFSP is participating in the green
movement.

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II.

Introduction

The University of South Florida of St. Petersburg, or otherwise known as and referenced
throughout this paper as USFSP, has encompassed a new idea, a new goal and a future achievement
to set the new standard for the ultimate going green initiative. This new endeavor is beyond the
typical going green initiatives universities tend to partake in, such as recycling, planting trees,
disposing of old computer hardware correctly, etc.. This new endeavor the school has partaken in
is an attempt to fulfill one of its top initiatives and push towards a better method of sustainability,
and a long lasting future as one of the top leading universities in the United States. As stated on
the universitys undergraduate green page, USF St. Petersburg is committed to environmental
stewardship and sustainability. As one of the universitys six core strategic goals, environmental
stewardship helps frame our objectives". Going green is an initiative every school aims to
participate in, however, this school takes it to another level and we will discuss "building green"
in general terms, and how this applies to the universities efforts toward a truly green future for its
students and staff.
III.

How To Go Green

In order to get a good idea of what building green really means it is best to start by discussing
ways in which to accomplish it. Now of course, when you consider green, sustainable water and
energy efficient lighting probably come to mind right away, but, when really putting in the effort
to build green, there is so much more to it. A good web resource entitled American Schools and
Universities, Shaping Facilities and Building Decisions tells us that there is more to building
green than just sustainable water and energy efficient lighting. It goes beyond that to include things
such as, the materials and resources used in building the energy efficient building, indoor
environment quality, and believe it or not, innovation and design. All these things can make or
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break a green building project. We will discuss several items in the following pages that include
how all these factors affect the green building project, costs of building green compared to cost of
building standard, and the short- term and long- term benefits of building green for USFSP.
USFSP is not only concerned with building a completely green building from top to bottom,
but with updating current buildings on campus to meet the those green standards. USFSP is already
undergoing the process of renovating and retrofitting other buildings on campus to make them part
of the going green initiative. They have accomplished this by enforcing a clean air act by putting
in place strict no smoking policies on university grounds. Recycle bins have been put in and around
every building on campus, and most of the buildings use Energy Star products which are energy
efficient appliances and electronics. Some buildings also use WaterSense toilets for water
efficiency in bathrooms, and Design for the Environment (DfE) cleaning products. Now these
buildings may not have been built from start to finish as green buildings, but they have been
retrofitted and renovated to have green products and elements in them. When it comes to building
green, the aim is to build with clean, energy efficient and sustainable products that will help the
building last longer and leave less of a carbon foot print on the earth while the building is in use.
Now, lets look at what it takes to build a Green Building from start to finish.
IV.

LEED system, what is it? What does it mean?

The term green gets used frequently when it comes to the environment. We have green
automobiles and buildings, along with green landscapes and urban developments. But what exactly
does this mean? The answer to this question isnt as concrete as some would think. Instead, the
term green is a loose definition pertaining to multiple different areas and lifestyles. In general,
green is something that is environmentally friendly and does little harm on its ecosystem and

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environment. A green building is one that is built in a way with causing the least amount of
environmental damage. An ideal building will even help maintain itself and its surrounding habitat.
Initially, environmentally friendly buildings cost more to construct because of their elaborate
designs and quality materials, but eventually make up for this cost in the long run by saving money
from a number of different aspects. Green buildings use less energy and water, and require less
maintenance and upkeep. They also provide social benefits along with the environmental and
financial benefits. With technology where it is today, its understandable why there is a green
building movement occurring here in the U.S. The benefits are self-evident. Architects and
contractors now consider the environmental impact buildings have, whereas years ago, buildings
were viewed solely on their price. There are some qualifications needed for professional
commercial buildings to be considered green. The system used here in the United States is the
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. The LEED system is a qualification
system based off of points awarded to a building. There are four levels in the LEED system;
certified, silver, gold, and platinum, with platinum being the highest rated and most energy
efficient type of building. The U.S. Green Building Council, who oversees all reviews and
certifications, runs LEED. USFSP currently has one gold certified building with a second awaiting
the official certification. The Science and Technology building was the first building on campus
to receive the certification, and the Student Center, having undergone renovation in the past two
years, is expected to become the second certified building. Both have met the qualification
standards set by the LEED system.
Included in this writing sample is a flowchart explaining the necessary steps one needs to
complete to become a LEED certified professional. This encompasses all the research USFSP
had to complete in order to become knowledgeable on LEED and to eventually become LEED
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certified. The images below are the points required to obtain a LEED certification and a flow
chart on how to learn more about being a LEED certification professional.

What is LEED? U.S. Green Building Council. Photograph. 2011. 18 November 2014.

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LEED AP FLOWCHART. PTL Exam Prep. Photograph. Webshots. 2011. Web. 18 November 2014.

V.

The Solar Panel Project

As mentioned, USFSP is involved in an abundance of projects, one of which is working hand

in hand in a continuous effort to fulfill the Green Building Project. USFSP goes beyond building
the green building itself to include a green way to sustain the parking garage on campus by adding
solar panels on the roof. At the beginning of this fall semester, it was announced that Duke Energy,
the largest energy company in Florida, would be awarding USFSP with a $1 million grant to install
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solar panels on top of the roof of the six-story parking garage, along with a new battery holding
system inside the garage itself. The project is meant to be a topic of research for the university
along with Duke Energy. In an interview conducted with Jennifer Winter, the sustainability
coordinator on campus, it was learned that USFSP is attempting to eventually take the parking
garage off the grid completely. Along with the panels, they are installing a 100 kW holding battery
on the bottom floor of the garage. The panels will be installed in such a way that will still allow
parking on the top floor of the garage. The Universitys hope is to make the parking garage selfsustainable and be completely off the grid. Winter went on to explain how they had also replaced
all parking garage light bulbs with dimmable LED bulbs that reduce energy consumption by 70%.
This could potentially end up saving the University up to $20,000 a year in energy costs. The LEDs
also have a longer life span than regular incandescent bulbs, which will cut down on maintenance
costs.
The research aspect of this project has to do with how the energy data is viewed and used by
the University. According to Winter, there will be onsite kiosks which will display all information
about the system. The data being shown will include read outs of the energy consumption of the
garage, how much energy is stored in the battery, how long the garage can continue to run on the
battery at that time, and other detailed information. This database will be linked to the entire USF
system, allowing it to be accessed by faculty and students in classrooms, who will be able to
conduct their own private research. This innovative plan is something the University hopes will
bring an abundance of solar energy knowledge to its students. This vision of having students be
able to physically see how a sustainable building operates is the motivation behind completing a
project such as this. Professional research teams from USF and Duke Energy will be constantly

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monitoring this system in order to study solar power and develop similar projects on all USF
campuses and in the city of St. Petersburg.
One of the most innovative things happening at the USF campus is the group called the
Clean Energy Research Center, or CERC. This center is based out of the USF Tampa campus, and
is committed to researching and developing the most advanced forms of renewable energy in the
state of Florida. Their focus is primarily on solar; as its the most abundant natural resource the
state has to offer. They also have an interest in hydrogen and biofuels, along with an emphasis on
the storage of such energy. According to a passage on their home website, CERC is a nationally
recognized research center, having developed the first 20,000 watt solar-electric charging station
for electric cars in the United States. CERC has since branched out into the USFSP campus, where
a small group meets weekly to discuss certain matters on campus. Their focus is more on the
surrounding campus environment, such as planting gardens and keeping a clean, trash-free
waterfront and campus grounds. Their overall effort is part of the entire green movement the
University is involved with. The group has developed a master plan to eventually install only
LED light bulbs in all the buildings to reduce energy consumption. Plans are already underway to
start this project in the Lewell E. Davis Memorial Hall and Coquina Hall buildings, according to
sustainability coordinator Jennifer Winter. The USFSP CERC group hopes their efforts will add
buildings to the campus list of certified LEED buildings.
VI.

The Costs

As USFSP enters a new era of education, an emphasis is being put on the research of green
buildings and what avenues the University should take with future building plans. USFSP must
examine the costs, benefits, and long-term effects of constructing green buildings on campus.
There is no debate that Green Building practices can and will cost more. The common perception
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according to Eric Glover of the website The Green Scene Returns, most people perceive that
building Green can add as much as 15% extra cost per square foot. The truth of the matter is that
the perceived extra cost is actually double the current highest premium of Green Building.
So how can one determine the premium cost of Green Building? By using the LEED rating
system it is actually quite easy to estimate how much extra cost ones project will incur if one
decides to build green. Using the United States Green Building Councils (USGBC) checklist for
projects one can see that there are four levels of green building. They are from lowest to highest
certified, silver, gold, and platinum. The LEED rating system uses a point system, for each green
building decision chosen the project receives a point. When a project is at certified level the
project is expected to incur a premium of about 0.66%. At silver level a premium of 2.11%, gold
will be 1.82%, and platinum will be a rather large increase of 6.50%. This information is taken
from an article by Gregory H. Kats called Green Building Costs and Financial Benefits. It is
important to note that this is based on a per square foot basis. So if a building is going to be about
100,000/ft2 and try to reach the gold LEED rating then they can expect to pay an extra $3-$5/ft2
or an extra $300,000-$500,000.
It is important to keep two things in mind. First, costs of green building have been declining
over the years as the process of green building becomes more prevalent and more understood.
According to Green Building Costs and Financial Benefits a survey of buildings of Silver LEED
rating in 1995, 1997, and 2000 incur premiums of 2%, 1%, and 0% respectively. So it is clear that
as the technology of Green Building becomes more commonplace that the premium could
potentially diminish to nothing, in essence becoming no different than not building Green. So it
seems that the question is not whether one should build green but when should one build green.
Secondly, all the information gathered on green building is relatively green, that is there is not a
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whole lot of it and what is there relatively new. This is primarily due to the fact that Green Building
has not been around very long. Because the design idea is new the data on savings and costs are
based on shallow time averages the data could be considered not as strong as other data based on
longer time periods.
So where does this extra cost come from? Despite what the common perception it is not from
more expensive building materials. According to Gregory Kats this comes from the increased
architectural and engineering (A&E) design time. This means that the architects and engineers
need to spend more time coming up with sustainable building practices and integrating them into
the project. It is important to note that one should not just add green building ideas to a project
that is not designed to receive them. The major factor in Green Building is that A&E design the
project to specifically take advantage of the green building ideas. By adding these ideas piecemeal
and without a plan to take advantage of them the premium could actually increase without
providing the benefits of building green in the first place.
Where does USF get the money to accommodate for such expensive projects? It is important
to know that USFSPs ideas for renovating and retrofitted buildings to accomplish their Green
Building Initiative does not come with a more expensive tuition price tag for students. USFSP does
not increase tuition costs to students in order to pay for these projects. Where does the money come
from then? Well, for USFSPs many advancements and achievements, it has received many grants
and scholarships, such as the Duke Energy grant of $1 million for example. Not only grants and
scholarships aid in minimizing the expense of building green but monetary donations from
students, parents and staff, as well as donation of time and effort help drastically cut the costs. The
students and staff are incredibly supportive of the Green Building Initiative as one will come to
read about later on in the following section. Also, the long- term savings that occurs with building
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green eventually aids in eliminating any extra cost accrued at the beginning of the initiative. There
is also a tax break for building green in Florida, and it is currently $1.85 per square foot, and
rumored to go up in the future to a total of $3 per square foot. Thats a huge savings and expense
cut right there. Below is an image of the cost that was saved from 2005-2008 from building green.

Financing an Urban Future The New York Academy of Sciences. Photograph. 2014. 18 November 2014.

VII.

Public Perception and Support

Building green is a project that many companies, schools and even individuals have
undertaken. They are working on trying to make the world a better place by minimizing damage
to the environment, such as pollution and harmful waste elimination into waters and streams, and
looking for ways to naturally sustain our buildings and the habitat surrounding it. USFSP
understands how important their role in that is and have built multiple green buildings on campus
to help support it. The general perception of this is positive. It was so positive in fact that back in
2011, when the University was planning the new green student center, the students were the ones
that helped raise funds to build it. They gave a portion of the money they earned for their time and
services rendered. They were the ones who helped the school reach the requirements set for a
LEED certificate. This wouldnt have been possible if it had not been for the students who took it
upon themselves to raise such a tremendous amount. The students kept in their forefront of their
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mind the importance of green buildings and its benefits towards their own personal goals of saving
the planet. The students are all for replenishing Earths resources, not using them up. Not only did
building this student center help with the overall project of going green but it also aided the school
in allowing for more students to live on campus. It added the potential for 200 more to live in the
dorms of the school. It is incredible to note how supportive the students and staff were and continue
to be of USFSPs green building initiative being that not many people find being green
important. Included below is an image demonstrating the results of a poll done in order to gain
knowledge on the publics opinion of the importance of going green.

Robinson, Peggy. Importance of Green Building Practices Kingsley Associates. Photograph. 2012. Web. 18
November 2014.

The student and staff support has been there from the very beginning. The Science and
Technology Building renovation project got support from the Progress Energy Foundation and the
state Courtelis Capital Facilities Match Program. USF had not only the school behind them during
this project but the community and the state. With the generous grant they received from them it
was possible to create the Science and Technology Building. After having this building done it
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allowed for students to have a better education and hands on experience in labs for pre-medical
and pre-health degrees. Undergraduate students were now able to have the opportunity to work
with more advanced education requirements in place by professional and graduate programs. The
school is still working on more projects every year to continue to turn this school into a green
campus. The perception of their effort has not changed from when they started in 2010. Students
and faculty alike are proud to say that they attend or work for USF and they are in complete support
of what their school is doing to enhance their world. This opportunity that USF is grabbing onto
is not only giving the university grounds for better buildings that run more efficiently but its also
giving students more opportunities for success in education right on their own campus.
VIII. Conclusion
Since 2010 the University of South Florida St. Petersburg has been remodeling their campus
to make it better for the environment. They have put into place many green buildings and even
have multiple green projects ongoing right now. They have earned LEED certificates to put these
projects into place and the respect of the public and the entire school. The costs of building green
are not exactly inexpensive but the community, the state and the student body have helped USF
with those costs by fundraising and awarding them grants to make their green projects a reality.
They realize how important building green is to our society and how it makes a better educational
experience for the privileged students who attend this university. There are also smaller steps that
the college is taking to keep the environment around their campus a cleaner and better place to be
in. The costs that have been discussed are not only for schools, but for people who want to follow
the universitys example in making an impact on their environment a healthier one. Making it
known how everyone can do their part to go green is going to have a positive effect on the future,
not only for todays generation, but the many future generations yet to come.
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Works Cited
Fedrizzi, Rick. The Business Case for Green Building. 2014. Web. 12 November 2014.
Choose Which LEED System Best Suits Your Project. 2014. Web. 12 November 2014.
Green Initiatives. USFSP. 2013. Web. 12 November 2014.
Blais, Jessica. Duke Energy to Invest $1 Million in USFSP Research Project. USFSP. 18
September 2014. Web. 12 November 2014.
Kennedy, Mike. "The Green Movement." The Green Movement. N.p., 06 June 2006. Web. 18
Nov. 2014.
"Tips for Going Green." USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal. The U.S
Government, 14 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
"Green Initiatives." Undergraduate Admissions. USFSP, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
Clean Energy Research Center. USFSP. 2012. Web. 17 November 2014.
Kats, Gregory H. Green Building Costs and Financial Benefits. 2003. Web. 6 November
2014.
Kats, Gregory H. The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Building. October 2003. Web. 6
November 2014.
LEED for New Construction v 2.2 Registered Project Checklist. May 2008. Web. 6
November 2014.
Zerbe, Dean. 179D Tax Break for Energy Efficient Buildings Forbes. 19 August 2013.
Web. 6 November 2014.
Average Energy Prices, Miami Fort Lauderdale September 2014. BLS Bureau of Labor
Statistics U.S. Department of Labor. 22 October 2014. Web. 6 November 2014.
Annual Average Electricity Price Comparison by State. Official Nebraska Government
Website. 12 November 2014. Web. 19 November 2014.
Glover, Eric. Welcome to the Green Scene Returns! The Green Scene Returns. Web. 6
November 2014.
What is a Green Building? Building Green in Pennsylvania. Web. 6 November 2014.
What do Voters Think about Green Buildings? Sustaianability 2030 Toolkit. Web. 6
November 2014.
Marquez, Melanie. Science & Technology Building Earns LEED Certification. USFSP. 22
January 2010. Web. 18 November 2014.
Hale, Mike. University Breaks Ground on University Student Center. USFSP. 29 March
2011. Web. 18 November 2014.
LEED AP FLOWCHART. PTL Exam Prep. Photograph. Webshots. 2011. Web. 18
November 2014.
Robinson, Peggy. Importance of Green Building Practices Kingsley Associates.
Photograph. 2012. Web. 18 November 2014.
Financing an Urban Future The New York Academy of Sciences. Photograph. 2014. 18
November 2014.
What is LEED? U.S. Green Building Council. Photograph. 2011. 18 November 2014.

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Annotated Bibliography
United States Green Building Council (n.d.) usgbc.org.
Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.usgbc.org/
The home page of the United States Green Building Council, this website holds a cornucopia of
data and information much of which is cited in the other website listed here. Contained within is
not only the hard data on costs and pricing but it also contains news about the Green movement.
Stories like a community project in San Diego, opinion pieces, news about laws and various
other stories related to the green way of thinking are readily available. This website has acted as
a hub of sorts for finding useful information.

Kats, G (2003). Green Building Costs and Financial Benefits. Dnr.sc.gov

Retrieved November 6, 2014, from
https://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/NERR/present/highperf/Green%20Building%20Costs_Kats.pdf
This is an article about the financial benefits of green building. Unlike the next article the
information provided from it is easy to digest. Most of the hard data provided within is taken
from the USGBC website. The important take-away from here is the extra cost of building green.
According to the article the average premium for green building is $3-5/ft2. This does not sound
like much but the average square footage of an American home is 2,800/ft2 which is comes to
$8,400 to $14,000 extra when building a new home. The average Wal-Mart store is 102,000/ft2
to further make the point.

Kats, G (October 2003) The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Building. Usgbc.org
Retrieved November 6, 2014, from
http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/Resources/CA_report_GBbenefits.pdf
This article appears to have been written by the same person as the previous article. Unlike the
previous articles 10 pages this one is a staggering 134. The article touts itself as the most
definitive cost benefit analysis ever conducted. While I certainly do not have the expertise or
knowledge to judge it as such if length is any indicator of something being definitive then I am
certainly convinced. While I would like to say I read every page of the article, I did not. I
focused on the Cost of Green Building and Energy Use sections of the report. The cost
information was a bit more detailed in this report but basically said the same thing as the
previous article. With regards to energy use however I got some very interesting information.
The paper says that in Massachusetts energy costs for buildings are $2.00/ft2 but that green
buildings reduce these costs by 30% so a 100,000/ft2 building will have energy costs of
$140,000 versus $200,000. The main take-away was The Leadership in Energy and
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Environmental Designs (LEED) rating system of how green a project is. The ratings are
certified (the lowest), silver, gold, and platinum (the highest).

The Business Case for Green Building (2013). World.gbc.org.

Retrieved November 6, 2014, from
http://www.worldgbc.org/files/8313/6324/2676/Business_Case_For_Green_Building_Report_W
EB_2013-03-13.pdf
This is another article about the cost and energy savings of green building. While most of the
information in this paper is covered in the other articles the one major item of import is the
decreasing costs for green building over time graph on page 27. This graph shows how the
four levels of LEED rating can reduce the premiums associated with green building. This graph
shows two very important things; first, that gold rating is clearly the most expensive rating to
achieve but also that there is not that much data on the subject. In fact several articles this one
included make that point abundantly clear. It seems that green building is still a relatively new
school of thought and thus data is a little hard to come by.

LEED for New Construction v 2.2 Registered Project Checklist (May 2008). Usgbc.org.
Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/Archive/General/Docs3998.pdf
This a checklist one can use when applying for LEED Certification. The form is selfexplanatory. You simply put a yes, a no, or a ? in the required field. The form itself is only
serves as a checklist of things one can do to earn LEED certification. The actual site needs to be
reviewed by a USGBC member in order to verify the site. While nothing more than a checklist it
serves as a very important guide as to what one could do for their construction project. Things
like if the site will support public transportation, reusing 75%-95% of the existing walls, floors,
and roof and using renewable energy sources for power. All of these things carry a numerical
value which when added up equals a site LEED rating. 26-32 points is certified, 33-38 is a silver
rating, and 39-51 is a gold, and 52 69 is a platinum rating.

Zerbe, D. (August 19, 2013) 179D Tax Break for Energy Efficient Buildings Update.
Forbes.com
Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/deanzerbe/2013/08/19/a-littleknown-tax-break-for-building-green/
This is an article about the 179D tax break. The 179D is a tax break that green buildings can
apply for if they meet the LEED certification requirements. The maximum deduction available is
$1.80/ft2. In fact there is even talk about raising the break to $3.00/ft2. That means a 100,000/ft2
building could potential have a tax break of $300,000. The requirements for that tax break are
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that the contractor gets a letter of tax benefit and that the energy savings that the building will
have must be independently verified. In fact considering the necessary green standards that
buildings have to meet these days not getting the tax break is actually quite hard. In fact the only
real way to not qualify is to not send in the letter.

BLS (October 22, 2014) AVERAGE ENERGY PRICES, MIAMI-FORT LAUDERDALE

SEPTEMBER 2014. Bls.gov
Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.bls.gov/ro4/aepmia.pdf
This is a report on the between prices of gasoline, electricity, and natural gas in the Miami-Fort
Lauderdale area and the United States as a whole for the month of September 2014. The
information I was interested in is the price of electricity. According to the report the price was
14.1 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) on the national level. Considering that the estimated savings
on energy are said to be up to 30% that would be quite the savings.

Energy Information Administration (June 26, 2013) Annual Average Electricity Price
Comparison by State. Neo.ne.gov.
Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/204.htm
This is another chart on the price of electricity but for each state and from the year 2011. This
chart says that the national price per kilowatt hour was 9.90 cents while the price in Florida
specifically was 10.61 cents. While the report is from Nebraska and a little out of date the data
from within is still useful as it confirms that the 30% reduction would be quite the savings and
that pursuing this avenue of green building could be a worthwhile expense if the long term
savings are as advertised.

Glover, E. (n.d.) thegreenscenereturns.com.

Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.thegreenscenereturns.com/
This is the home page for a website known as The Green Scene, a website that holds a large
collection of information on the green building movement. The website is quite large with
several pages worth of information on green building. Rather than a simple depository of facts
this website acts more as a library of newsletters written by Eric Glover the website proprietor.
Although it is not as serious as the other papers in this list but it is still full of important but
separate articles. An important piece of information in these articles is that the average person
believes that green building adds about 15% extra cost to a project. Based on the information
already gathered it is clear that this perception is very wrong as even the highest premium is only
as high as 6% extra. It is clear that despite the positive outlook that people have for green
building they think that it is far more expensive than it actually is.
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EPA, (n.d.), What is a Green Building? Fundamental Principles of Green Building and
Sustainable Site Design. Epa.gov.
Retrieved November 6, 2014, from
http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/documents/pdf/12_8_what_is_green_GGGC.pdf
This is a paper put out by the EPA that defines the fundamental ideas of green building, site
design, water quality and conservation, energy and environment, and indoor environmental
quality. The first part of the paper sets out the definition, goal setting, design of green building,
and materials and resources. The second part is the list aforementioned fundamental ideas. The
sustainable site design section is the primary point of interest for this paper. This section defines
the key principles and strategies that a project should aim to reach. There are points like
minimize urban sprawl, make more efficient use of space in existing buildings, and optimize use
of on-site storm water treatment. The materials and resources section is also of interest as it
contains information on the types of materials a contractor could use in their green project.

American Institute of Architects (n.d.) What Do Voters Think About Green Buildings?.
Info.aia.org.
Retrieved November 6, 2014, from https://info.aia.org/toolkit2030/advocacy/public.html
This is a report from the AIA about what the voters of America think about the Green Building
movement. While the actually percentages do not need to be listed here as there are many it is
very clear that the American public have a very high opinion of Green Buildings. In fact about
90 percent of polled voters said that people who design and build houses and commercial
buildings should try to convince property owners to use construction materials that protect the
environment and building standards that reduce energy consumption even if it costs a little more
to do so. Such sentiments echo throughout the report. If contractor was worried about how the
public would look upon their decision to build green they would certainly worry for naught.

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Building Green Initiative

November 19, 2014

Glossary of Terms

Clean Energy Research Center (CERC): A research center based out of The University of South
Florida Tampa campus. Its primary goal is the scientific research, technical development,
infrastructure development, and information transfer, of clean energy.
Design for the Environment (DfE): An EPA program that attempts to curb pollution and inform
the public of the risk of pollution to humans and the environment. Its three main goals are;
promote green cleaning, define Best Practices, that prompt green product use and disposal, and
identify safer chemicals.
Duke Energy: The largest electric power company in the United States.
Going Green Initiative: Is a mission that gives centers of education the knowledge of saving and
preserving the environment to its many students. They work on saving the natural properties of
the Earth for generations to come.
Green Building: Is a way of constructing a building that is efficient in every aspect that helps to
support a healthy environment.
Green Movement: Also known as the Environmental Movement, is exemplified by many
establishments, most being non-profit. They aid in reducing societys carbon foot print on the
world by supporting projects that keep the Earth a less polluted and cleaner place to live.
LEED Certification System: The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
certification system is a qualification classification based off of points awarded to a building.
There are four levels in the LEED system; certified, silver, gold, and platinum, with platinum
being the highest rated and most energy efficient type of building.
U.S. Green Building Council: Is a non-profit organization that directly helps with building and
maintaining green structures. These members created the LEED certification system.
Watersense: An EPA program meant to increase water efficiency in the United States via a
labeling WaterSense Certified, products.

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