Page 157 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

SUMMARY OF COST INFLUENCES 133

using local utility incentives, state tax breaks, and federal tax credits. The key message
from these projects is that integrated design also needs to look at “integrated costing,”
that is, considering the entire project budget or the construction budget.
While it is often possible to get a LEED-certified (and sometimes LEED Silver)
building at no additional cost, as building teams try to make a building more sustain-
able, cost increments often accrue. This is especially true when the building owner or
developer wants to showcase their green building with more expensive (but visible)
measures such as green roofs or photovoltaics for onsite power production, or where
there is a strong commitment to using green materials such as certified wood.

Summary of Cost Influences

Chapter 6 discussed the many business case benefits of green buildings, and made the
points that costs are real, occur first, and must be justified to various stakeholders.
Benefits are generally long-term, and costs are immediate, so many people tend to shy
away from anything that will add costs, no matter what the potential benefits.
Table 7.2 shows some of the elements of green building design and construction deci-
sions that may influence project cost. From this table of “cost influencers,” you can see

TABLE 7.2 COST INFLUENCERS FOR GREEN BUILDING PROJECTS

COST INFLUENCER POSSIBLE COST INCREASES
1. Level of LEED certification sought Zero for LEED-certified to 1–2 percent for LEED
Silver, up to 4 percent for LEED Gold
2. Stage of the project when the decision After 50 percent completion of design development,
is made to seek LEED certification things get a lot more costly to change
3. Project type With certain project types, such as science and
technology labs, it can be costly to change
established design approaches; designs for office
buildings are easier to change
4. Experience of the design and Every organization has a “learning curve” for green
construction teams in sustainable buildings; costs decrease as teams learn more
design and green buildings about the process
5. Specific “green” technologies added to Photovoltaics and green roofs are going to add
a project, without full integration with costs, no matter what; it’s possible to design a
other components LEED Gold building without them
6. Lack of clear priorities for green Each design team member considers strategies in
measures and lack of a strategy for isolation, in the absence of clear direction from the
including them owner, resulting in higher costs overall and less
systems integration
7. Geographic location and climate Climate can make certain levels of LEED
certification harder and costlier for project types
such as labs and even office buildings.