Page 228 - Alternative Energy Systems in Building Design

204 ENERGY CONSERVATION

reduce environmental pollution resulting from construction projects. There are many
ways to analyze the benefits of LEED building projects. In summary, green building
design is about productivity. A number of studies, most notably a study by Greg Kats
of Capital-E, have validated the productivity value.
There are also a number of factors that make up this analysis. The basic concept is
that if employees are happy in their workspace, such as having an outside view and
daylight in their office environment and a healthy environmental quality, they become
more productive.

State of California Green Building

Action Plan

The following is adapted from the detailed directions that accompany the California
governor’s executive order regarding the Green Building Action Plan, also referred to
as Executive Order S-20-04. The original publication, which is a public-domain doc-
ument, can be found on the CEC Web site.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS
State buildings All employees and all state entities under the governor’s jurisdic-
tion must immediately and expeditiously take all practical and cost-effective measures
to implement the following goals specific to facilities owned, funded, or leased by the
state.

Green buildings The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has developed green
building rating systems that advance energy and material efficiency and sustainability,
known as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction and
Major Renovations (LEED-NC) and the LEED Rating System for Existing Buildings
(LEED-EB).
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All new state buildings and major renovations of 10,000 ft and over and subject to
Title 24 must be designed, constructed, and certified by LEED-NC silver or higher, as
described below.
Life-cycle cost assessments, defined later in this section, must be used in determin-
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ing cost-effective criteria. Building projects of less than 10,000 ft must use the same
design standard, but certification is not required.
The California Sustainable Building Task Force (SBTF) in consultation with the
Department of General Services (DGS), Department of Finance (DoF), and the CEC
is responsible for defining a life-cycle cost-assessment methodology that must be used
to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of building design and construction decisions and
their impact over a facility’s life cycle.
Each new building or large renovation project initiated by the state is also subject to a
clean on-site power-generation requirement. All existing state buildings over 50,000 ft 2