ENERGY STAR qualified homes offer homebuyers all the features they want in a new home, plus energy-efficient improvements that deliver better performance, greater comfort, and lower utility bills.

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes.

ENERGY STAR qualified homes can include a variety of "tried-and-true" energy-efficient features that contribute to improved home quality and homeowner comfort, and to lower energy demand and reduced air pollution.

Energy Star green building guidelines,

An important tool in the effort to build greener buildings and live greener lives is the selection of products that were made using environmentally friendly processes and are used in environmentally friendly ways.

They are energy or water efficient; they use healthy, non-toxic materials; they are made from recycled or renewable sources; they make current products you use more efficient or more durable; and they are recyclable or biodegradable, among many other things.

The directories below will help you sort through the claims and find the products that best meet your needs.

• ENERGY STAR: Products in more than 50 categories are eligible for the ENERGY STAR. They use less energy, save money, and help protect the environment. ENERGY STAR is a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
• Good To Be Green: Good To Be Green is a directory of green building products, sustainable building materials and green building service providers. Products must: be made out of recycled materials; ensure a low environmental impact during the construction, operation and/or demolition of the building; conserve natural resources like energy, wood and water; and improve air quality.
• Green2Green: Green2Green.org features comprehensive information regarding green building products, materials and practices. The site offers side-by-side comparisons of products using a variety of environmental, technical and economic criteria.
• Green Building Pages: Green Building Pages is an online sustainable design and decision-making tool for building industry professionals and environmentally and socially responsible consumers.
• The Green Guide: National Geographic's Green Guide offers staff-written reviews of a host of products, ranging from appliances, home furnishings and home improvement products to personal care and pet supplies.
• GreenSpec Directory: The online GreenSpec® Directory lists product descriptions for over 2,100 environmentally preferable products. Products are chosen to be listed by BuildingGreen editors. They do not charge for listings or sell ads.
• Low Impact Living: Find environmentally friendly products and services in dozens of categories.
• Oikos: Oikos is a World Wide Web site devoted to serving professionals whose work promotes sustainable design and construction.
• PlugGREEN: PlugGREEN.com allows green businesses to create their own business profile, allowing them to network directly with other green businesses and green-minded consumers. In addition, PlugGREEN.com provides an organized and efficient way for consumers to find local green businesses and products in their area.

SOURCE: USGBC

Find more details about these retrofit suggestions at USGBC Checklist for Green Retrofits:

Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs

Program your thermostat

Plug air leaks

Tune up your heating and cooling (HVAC) system

Choose ENERGY STAR® appliances

Reduce water use

Switch to green power

Explore solar

Use low-VOC products

Plant trees to provide shade and wind protection for your house

Use native plantings

ASID which is the American Society of Interior Designers, has their own set of green guidelines for remodeling, called REGREEN.

The American Society of Interior Designers’ Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council have partnered on the development of best practice guidelines and targeted educational resources for sustainable residential improvement projects.

The REGREEN program will increase understanding of sustainable renovation project practices and benefits among homeowners, residents, design professionals, product suppliers and service providers to build both demand and industry capacity.

Whether you're a renovation professional or a savvy do-it-yourselfer, let REGREEN help green your next project. REGREEN is easy to use and chock-full of information, but if you find you have any questions, please e-mail regreenprogram@usgbc.org.

By Julie Gevrenov, environmental engineer with EPA

Recycling markets for post-consumer asphalt roofing shingles (tear-offs) are starting to gain ground. The blossoming green building movement, emphasis on environmental stewardship, increasing oil prices, aggregate shortages, efforts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, state recycling programs and regulations, local recycling ordinances, increasing tipping (disposal) fees and difficulty choosing sites for new landfills are some drivers pushing recycling of construction and demolition materials into the limelight.

In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Resource Conservation Challenge is drawing attention to reuse and recycling of construction and demolition materials.

According to the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA), an estimated 11 million tons of asphalt roofing shingles are generated annually in the U.S., and some estimates are higher. Compared with other construction and demolition materials such as metal, concrete and asphalt pavement, only a small percentage of asphalt shingle tear-offs are currently recovered, leaving significant opportunity to use recycled asphalt shingles.

The primary use for recycled asphalt shingles in the U.S. is as a road building material, particularly for use in hot-mix asphalt. Other uses of recycled asphalt shingles include cold-mix asphalt, cold patch, road base, dust control, mulch, temporary roads and fuel.

The benefits derived from using recycled asphalt shingles stem from the recovery of asphalt cement and mineral aggregate components of shingles, each of which represent about 20 to 40 percent of a shingle's weight. With the price of oil at an all-time high and aggregate shortages being experienced in some areas of the U.S., there are obvious reasons to investigate opportunities to recycle shingles.

Resources

Check out www.shinglerecycling.org, a comprehensive clearinghouse of information about the subject.

The Web site includes overviews of shingle recycling in each state (including state regulations, environmental agency contacts and all known recyclers), economics of recycling, markets for recycled shingles, pertinent environmental regulations, worker health and safety issues, a library of literature on shingle recycling and current research.

Environmental issues

Environmental Issues Associated with Asphalt Shingle Recycling discusses two main environmental concerns: asbestos, which occasionally is found in the fiberglass or felt mat of shingles, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which occur naturally in asphalt products.

Best practices

Recycling Tear-Off Asphalt Shingles: Best Practices Guide provides a starting point for shingle recyclers to plan a new operation or improve an existing one. It focuses on business planning, recycling operations, marketing strategies and compliance recommendations and identifies three major best practices, each with a number of supporting points:

1. Recyclers should implement quality-assurance and -control systems to carefully control the quality of their incoming supplies of shingle tear-off materials.
2. Recyclers' end product, recycled asphalt shingles, should meet or exceed material specifications of their end markets.
3. A recycler's business plan should include a marketing plan based on multiple outlets for recycled asphalt shingles.

Economic Issues

Shingles are heavy, making transportation a limiting factor in any recycling project. The recycling tipping fee must be cost-competitive for a roofing contractor to choose recycling instead of disposal. Likewise, a recycled asphalt shingle product must be priced competitively because end-users are more likely to choose a nontraditional or recycled product if it will save them money. And finally, preference for using recycled asphalt shingles varies among hot-mix asphalt plant operators.

Materials specifications also are critical for market development. State department of transportation (DOT) specifications often are relied on by county and local public works engineers and used on private jobs and DOT projects. However, only a handful of state DOTs (Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina) currently have specifications for using recycled asphalt shingles in hot-mix asphalt.

Other states (Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia) have specifications for the use of manufacturers' shingle scrap in hot-mix asphalt though the volume of available manufacturers' scrap is insignificant compared with the volume of shingle tear-offs generated annually.

How to Recycle Shingles in YOUR State

Recycling presents great environmental stewardship opportunities for the roofing industry. If you are interested in recycling asphalt shingles, research the resources currently available in your state, including state specifications.

You can find this information and key contacts for your state agencies at www.shinglerecycling.org under the State Experience section. Your state regulator will help you learn what can be recycled in your state and how to do it. If you want to start a recycling operation, don't learn by trial and error—you can refer to the best practices guide to glean the cumulative wisdom of the pioneers of asphalt shingle recycling.

Remember, you may be able to reduce your disposal costs by keeping asphalt shingles and other construction and demolition materials out of landfills. And substituting reused or recycled materials in place of virgin materials can result in substantial energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions reductions—and you can make that happen.

Shingle Recycling Business Opportunity

So where's the business opportunity in shingle recycling? On the front end, you obviously can save money by recycling if a recycling tipping fee compares favorably with costs of local landfill tipping fees.

But what about recyclers and end-users, particularly hot-mix asphalt producers? In general, most private companies don't want to discuss their operations, and because local conditions such as tipping fees vary widely, no single example can be representative of all operations.

But a hypothetical, conservative scenario can help reveal some information.

Assuming the asphalt shingles torn off a roof system are 20 percent asphalt, the price of liquid asphalt cement is $300 per ton and about 75 percent of the asphalt in the shingles is "available" to replace virgin asphalt cement in hot-mix asphalt, then the value of the asphalt in the recycled asphalt shingles is about $45 per ton.

If we assume a recycler and hot-mix asphalt producer split the value of the recycled asphalt shingles, $22.50 per ton is paid to the recycler less about $15 per ton for processing and transportation costs, leaving the recycler with about a $7.50 per ton profit on the processing side of the operation alone.

Profitable recycling ventures need revenue from their tipping fees as well as from the sale of recycled materials. If a recycler sets his tipping fee for asphalt shingle tear-offs at 50 to 75 percent of the landfill tipping fee, there is a financial incentive for people to recycle.

EARN:  Sale of Recycled Materials

Presorting Shingles

Recycling Tear-Off Asphalt Shingles: Best Practices Guide (which is available for FREE at www.shinglerecycling.org) explains that presorting can be done quite reasonably by roofing contractors—the goal isn't to remove every last nail from the shingles but to keep wood, plastic and other debris in separate piles.

With the price of petroleum-based products at an all-time high, this conservative, back-of-the-envelope estimate shows that shingle recycling can be quite profitable.

ROI for Roofing, Recycling and Paving

And the economic and environmental benefits are shared across the roofing, recycling and paving industries.

Julie Gevrenov is an environmental engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 5 office in Chicago.

READ MORE: Professional Roofing

Dual flush toilets have become standards in Europe and other countries concerned about their water supply.  Unfortunately, water conservation is undervalued in the US.  But that is changing, especially where drought is forcing water outages and increasing rates.  Gerber provides high efficiency toilets, sinks and certified water efficient solutions. 

Gerber offers vitreous china pedestal and drop-in lavatories designed to complement their toilets, bringing together classic looks and powerful technology. The advanced HP2 and XP3 high-performance flushing systems will virtually eliminate the aggravation and cost of warranty callbacks from second-class toilets that clog or require a “double flush.”

Abigail™ faucets, and Viper™ toilets with Gerber's HP2 flushing system, which delivers performance that’s more than double the industry standard! Gerber provides you with the style and quality you need to give homebuyers who are stepping up from their first home the sense that they’ve truly arrived.

Gerber offers water-saving, sensor-operated electronic faucets designed to prevent waste by automatically shutting off water flow. Deckmount choices include gooseneck or crescent spouts, as well as, models
equipped with an in-deck mixer, which permits user control of water temperature.

Ultra Flush® 1.1 gpf toilet models are available to deliver the ultimate in high-efficiency water conservation.
They can flush 1,000 grams of bulk waste while using 30% less water than standard 1.6 gpf toilets. In addition to Ultra Flush 1.1 gpf units, Ultra Dual- Flush™ models are also available, with a dual-action lever that permits 1.6 gpf or high-efficiency 1.1 gpf operation.

Ultra Dual-Flush™ provides professional performance while conserving natural resources. It flushes up to 1,250 grams of bulk waste per 1.6 gallon flush or 1,000 grams per 1.1 gallon flush.  1.1 gallon flush uses 30% les water over conventional 1.6 gallon toilets.  The Pressure-Assist system uses pressure from the incoming supply line to foce 1.6 gallons of work out of 1.1 gallons of water. It installs like standard gravity toilest -- no special connections are required.

Gerber products are sold exclusively to the plumbing professional.

Gerber Plumbing Fixtures corporate offices are located in Woodridge, Illinois.  Gerber has manufacturing facilities in Kokomo, IN, Laredo, TX, Montreal, Canada. Shenzhen, China and Weifang, China.

Gerber

A story in the Los Angeles Times (April 8, 2008)  made the case that Las Vegas houses are very dated if they are just 4 to 8 years old.  Plastic chandeliers, granite tile vs. granite slab in the bath, 12 inch travertine tiles vs. 20 x 20" tiles... the list of outdated styles is really mind boggling.

Can we afford this kind of fashionista thinking in today's world that is facing landfill gluts, shortage of natural materials, greenhouse warming and a recession?

About 1,000 houses are listed for sale in Las Vegas for $1 million or higher, more than 600 of them built since 2004. But unless they've been constructed in the last year or two, the properties are considered out-of-date, making them all that more difficult to sell, real estate agents say.

In other parts of the country, age is prized.  think Beverly Hills or Greenwich, Connecticut.  But Las Vegas is about NEW.

And Las Vegas is surrounded by desert land that has been seen as wide open for development -- without much thought given to the natural systems in place.  Systems such as an underground aquafer that is being drained.  Or migrating pollinators that travel from Mexico and South America to the US breadbasket. 

The question is, how do we help people with more money than sense  understand their role in the world's climate change crisis?  It's time to grow up and face the responsibilities that come with abundance.

Responsible building can be just as rewarding as plunder -- and maybe more so when you consider the genuine respect and community being part of the solution brings with it.  And it saves money -- which can be spent in more visionary ways that can leave a legacy, a truly enduring legacy that benefits the family's children and grandchildren and their community.

Waste is so....dated!

SOURCE:  LATimes.com

    

Life Cycle Assessment (LCIA)

Life cycle assessment (LCIA)  is an internationally standardized (ISO 14044) environmental accounting tool designed to accurately measure the benefits and tradeoffs of each choice.

Developed by leading scientists from 22 countries to provide a scientific bases for environmental claims and green design, Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) sets the new standard for environmental metrics.

Environmental Performance Declarations by SCS

Declarations are based on life cycle assessment (LCIA),  and the Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) "Decalaration" results are not boiled down to a summary score as in some systems. Each indicator is charted on the declaration so that areas for improvement stand out.

Results are not boiled down to a summary score as in some systems. Each indicator is charted on the declaration so that areas for improvement stand out.

Environmental Performance Declarations provide designers, architects, facility managers and product manufacturers with a new precise method of determining the environmental performance of building designs, office equipment and systems, building operations, and transportation including air travel and work commutes.

SCS Declarations are available for building design and construction, electric power systems, building materials, building products, and workforce and building operations.

Environmental Performance Building Declarations

Building Declarations provide designers and architects a new precise method of determining the environmental performance of building designs.

Declarations are based on life cycle assessment (LCIA), an internationally standardized (ISO 14044) environmental accounting tool which quantifies environmental performance based on measurable biophysical impacts.  According to SCS, "LEED-Rated buildings make improvements in some areas, but leave others unexamined. While the building on the right has a higher LEED rating, its total environmental impacts are much greater that those of the lower-rated building on the left. Only a life cycle perspective shows total impacts."

Examples of SCS Environmental Performance Declaration of LEED Rated buildings.

CONTACT:
Scientific Certification Systems
2200 Powell Street, Suite 725
Emeryville, California 94608
Phone: 510-452-8000
http://www.scscertified.com

Forest Conservation Program

SCS developed its Forest Conservation Program in 1991 and has since emerged as a leading certifier of forest management operations and wood product manufacturers. In 1996, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited SCS as a certification body, enabling it to evaluate forests according to the FSC Principles and Criteria for Forest Stewardship. Through a well-developed network of regional representatives and contractors, SCS offers timely and cost-effective certification services around the world.

Over the past 12 years, SCS has certified more than 23.8 million acres of natural forests and plantations in North, Central, and South America, Europe, Asia, and New Zealand through its Forest Management Certification division. Certified operations have ranged from small 100-hectare parcels to 2.5-million hectare forests. SCS also offers a group certification format, such as certified resource managers, to lower certification costs for small landowners. For each certification audit, an interdisciplinary evaluation team of experts in forest science and management is assembled.

Since the mid-1990s, SCS has also offered FSC certification to wood product manufacturers. Our Chain-of-Custody Certification division has audited and certified over 500 manufacturers, distributors, and retailers who make or carry certified wood products. SCS has issued chain-of-custody certificates in over 29 countries spanning 5 continents.

In addition to FSC certification, SCS offers an independent, non-aligned certification program for clients seeking an alternative to existing, potentially polarizing certification schemes. SCS also offers wood product manufacturers the option of pursuing single attribute claims (e.g., recycled, recovered, salvaged wood, etc.) certification.

As of February 4, 2008, SCS is a CCX-approved verifier for >forestry offset projects.

Chain-of-Custody Certification

Before a product may carry an FSC or SCS label, all stages of the production, distribution, and sale of the product must be independently evaluated. Wood must be tracked from the certified forest to the finished product.

Through our Chain-of-Custody Certification Division, SCS certifies wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, who handle wood coming from forests certified according to FSC standards. For FSC Chain-of-Custody certification SCS also provides group and multi-site certification. To become certified, these entities must meet six principles of chain-of-custody, such as maintaining adequate inventory control systems that allow for separation and identification of certified product.

SCS requires the tracking of certified products throughout the production process to ensure the validity of the certified claim. If a wood product carries the FSC or SCS logo, a customer can have confidence that it was made from wood harvested from an FSC-certified forest.

LINK to Forest Conservation Program CERTIFIED CLIENTS

For a searchable database of all forests and products certified according to the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council, visit the Forest Certification Resource Center.


CONTACT:
Scientific Certification Systems
2200 Powell Street, Suite 725
Emeryville, California 94608
Phone: 510-452-8000
http://www.scscertified.com/forestry/index.html

Green building and green workspace strategies include conscious design principles that reduce the load on the environment -- and people's health.  The use of non-polluting materials and manufacturing processes of basic building and manufacturing processes is the foundation of a green building.  How the building itself is constructed is the second step toward lowered lifetime impact through lower energy costs, better ventilation, lower offgassing, etc.  And the furnishings that make the building functional add the final step in the green building process by selecting furnishings that reduce virgin materials use, are high performance and long lasting, and provide ergonomic service to the people using them.

Whether you are building a new facility or retrofitting a building, finding good quality, green building materials is part of the upgrading process...and part of certification programs such as Energy Star, California standards, Federal Environmentally Preferable Purchasing or USGBC's LEED program.

Measuring Environmental Claims with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS)

Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) is one of the leading product and process certification audit providers.  They monitor, measure and certify a wide range of environmental products for industries including

• Food & Agriculture
• Eco Products (Building)
• Forestry
• Fisheries
• Floral

Online SCS Certified Products Database of Eco Building Products

The online product directory of green building products includes  broad categories, sub-categories and product types from more than  one hundred manufacturers  and classified by certification programs and conformance to the  leading  regulatory and  measurement programs. Currently certified products include office furniture systems, components, and seating, building materials, carpet and rug, hard surface flooring, paints, finishes, wood products, and cleaning products, among others.

Categories of eco products include:

• Adhesives/Sealants
• Building and Construction Products
• Flooring
• Furniture
• Home and Garden
• Paint Products
• Paints and Coatings
• Plastics
• Processes
• Reclamation Program
• Rock
• Textiles and Fiber
• Treatment

Certification Programs covered include:

• Biodegradable
• Environmentally Preferable Product
• FloorScore
• Indoor avantage
• indoor Advantage Gold
• No Added Formaldehyde
• No Added Urea Formaldehyde
• Pollution Prevention
• Reclamation Program
• Recycled or Reclaimed Content
• Salvaged Wood
• SCS Sustainable Choice

Conformance list includes:

• CA Section 01350
• CHPS EQ 2.2 (CA Section 01350)
• LEED EQ 4.2 + CHPS EQ 2.2
• LEED EQ 4.3 + CHPS EQ 2.2
• LEED EQ 4.5 (ANSI/BIFMA Furniture Emissions Standards)
• LEED EQ 4.5 +CHPS EQ 2.2 (ANSI/BIFMA Furniture Emissions Standards
• LEED MR 4.1 or 4.2