If you've ever visited a construction site in California over the past decade, you'll have noticed a degree of commitment to sustainable building practices. This isn't surprising to those in the California construction industry. Not only has the California government historically focused on environmental issues like fuel efficiency and energy conservation, but the state has also been a leader in green building practices: 15% of all buildings in the U.S. that meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards are located in California, a system certified by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2009. However, with the landmark new California Green Building Standard introduced this January, California has taken another significant step towards greater sustainability. It now boasts the most environmentally friendly building standards of any state (previous green building standards were only implemented in cities across the U.S., this is the first time they've been extended statewide). Crucially, it's mandatory. Now that California has taken action, will other states follow suit and introduce similar mandatory standards? Will California's example encourage other countries to prioritize environmental protection in their construction practices? The California Green Building Standards establish a series of sustainability measures for new buildings constructed in the state. The standards include mandatory water reductions—20% lower than previous California building standards—and the use of lower-emission paints, carpets, flooring, and other materials. It also requires a 50% reduction in construction waste in landfills, and local officials must monitor energy management systems to ensure heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems meet energy efficiency standards. Since buildings account for 40% of the nation's energy consumption, and the building materials industry consumes 12% more, California officials hope that the newly implemented standards will help them achieve their goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to pre-1990 levels by 2020 and to 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. They also hope the new standards will reduce construction waste in landfills; currently, it is estimated that each household generates 2.5 to 4 tons of construction waste in landfills. The California Green Building Standards are similar to LEED to some extent, the world's most well-known green building assessment mechanism, but there is a key difference. LEED is voluntary, rewarding outstanding examples, while California's new system is mandatory: green standards are explicitly incorporated into the state's building codes. Architect and Green Cities Project Director at the environmental NGO Global Green, Walker Wells, stated, "The California Green Building Standards have a huge impact; they've made these previously foreign concepts official regulations… It stipulates that green building practices are an integral part of the design and construction of buildings in California, setting a national precedent." David Wells, Executive Director of the California Building Standards Commission, the organization that implemented the California Green Building Standards project, revealed that the standards have become a milestone in sustainable building engineering. He said, "Other states or cities haven't implemented or adopted green building standards. Some have taken some LEED-based measures, but they haven't broken through or developed specific requirements like we have. Many people say this is a big step in the right direction." Many hope this "step" will extend beyond California's borders in the coming years. "People have become accustomed to LEED and taken it for granted," said Abshek Lar, project manager at a Washington-based building energy company. "The California Green Building Standard changes things and challenges the business. I think the California Green Building Standard redefines the goals of the green building industry in a way that hasn't been done elsewhere in the United States." The California Green Building Standard can also provide a blueprint for other countries. Internationally, cities like Dubai and Singapore have introduced mandatory standards, but most regions still rely on resource certification systems to promote green building projects. Besides LEED, there are various complex, overlapping, and sometimes contradictory building standards, such as the Building Research Organisation's (BREEAM) Environmental Assessment Act, designed in the UK in 1990 and now widely used in Europe; and Australia's Green Star, etc. In China, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MoHURD) established a three-star rating system in 2006. This is another voluntary project where buildings are rated one, two, or three stars based on six aspects: land use efficiency, energy efficiency, water use efficiency, resource use efficiency, environmental quality, and operation and management. "China's green building industry is developing rapidly," said Zhai Chaoqin, Technical Director of EMSI Asia Green Building Consulting. "The certification market mainly has two assessment systems: the China Green Building Design Label (three-star) and LEED, while other systems such as the Green Label have only a few projects approved." Zhai Chaoqin explained that as a newcomer to the green building certification field, the three-star rating system has rapidly entered the Chinese market since its implementation. As of October 2010, it already had 54 certification projects. However, officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development warned that the widespread use of the three-star rating system is still constrained by several factors: a lack of technical integration; the standard should be promoted in more public buildings; and potential conflicts between local and national green building standards. One way for countries like China to make their fragmented green building markets operate more efficiently might be to introduce independently developed standards like the California Green Building Standard, although this goal is still some time away. "So far, I haven't seen any intention from relevant departments to draft green building standards. The relevant industries in China are still unaware of the California Green Building Standard," said Zhai Chaoqin. Currently, LEED remains the de facto standard for green building practitioners in China, especially since many green buildings in China are often key projects located in major cities and involve international designers and consultants. For example, the recently completed Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou is hailed as one of the world's most energy-efficient skyscrapers, using integrated wind turbine generators for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems; it was designed by the Chicago-based architectural firm SOM. "We see LEED gaining recognition in China in areas such as evaluating building designs, and our current project clients require us to meet LEED standards to a certain extent. They see the green innovations we've already made in the US, including LEED-related matters," said Mark Sakichan, Structural Engineering Manager at SOM's San Francisco office. He added that sustainable building is an important issue in China, and many of SOM's Chinese clients and local authorities are committed to aligning their designs with LEED standards. "We will be taking on some urban planning work in China, which will involve sustainability issues on a larger scale," he said. In addition to the development of China's three-star standard, collaboration with international design and consulting firms will raise China's green building standards in the coming years. "We see progress and future development. China has a great opportunity to develop a high-standard green building assessment system," Sakizhan said. "Some American companies have seen this opportunity and are actively working on it, and I believe this will happen. The scale of this development is huge. If Chinese and foreign design firms continue to promote these sustainable building concepts, it will have a significant impact on the built environment." If the United States can make mandatory green building standards the norm, it could greatly enhance the effectiveness of this effort.
— Source: Environmental Information Centre
