Sierra College: LEED Gold, California’s First for a Community College

This U.S. Green Building Council award is a first for any Community College in California!

The first permanent building on the Sierra Community College Tahoe-Truckee Campus has received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The 28,500 square foot facility, designed by Lionakis Architects and built by contractor Rudolph and Sletten, is the first LEED Gold certified community college building in the state of California. The new facility has the capacity to serve up to 1000 students.

Key sustainable features of the facility include:

• 40% less water use due to efficient interior fixtures and dual-flush controls.
• No refrigerants used. A combination of evaporative cooling and outside air (called economizing) was incorporated, which reduces air conditioning energy use by 70%.
• Smart classroom controls regulate temperature and lighting according to the amount of daylight and number of students.
• Demand-controlled ventilation (fresh air control) reduces energy use by up to 50% when the building is vacant.
• Piping and ductwork have 50-100% thicker insulation than industry average, providing more efficient heating and cooling.
• Components in place for future solar-thermal heating systems.
• Better indoor air with humidifiers using electromagnetic water treatment instead of chemicals.
• All large fans and pumps have variable speed motors for reduced energy consumption.

Read more here.

New Certification: Existing Building Commissioning Professional

Association of Energy Engineers has established the Existing Building Commissioning Professional certification program in order to recognize qualified professionals with expertise in the area of retrofitting existing buildings into more sustainable, efficient facilities while meeting existing building commissioning creteria, as well as to raise the overall professional standards within the building commissioning field.

A prerequisite to the examination is a preparatory training seminar Fundamentals of Existing Building Commissioning. Find out more here.

Building Operator Certification

Building Operator Certification (BOC®) is a nationally recognized training and certification program for building operators offering improved job skills and more comfortable, energy-efficient facilities.

Overview of Building Operator Certification

Building Operator Certification (BOC) is a competency-based training and certification for building operators offering improved job skills and more comfortable, efficient facilities. Operators earn certification by attending training and completing project assignments in their facilities. Training topics include facility electrical, HVAC and lighting systems, indoor air quality, environmental health and safety, and energy conservation.

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Sustainable Community Conference: Finland

22.-24.9.2010 Dipoli, Espoo, Finland

The Conference topics are grouped into six principal themes:

1) Sustainability Assessment of Buildings and Cities Environmental, economic and social assessment emphasizing

• the use of Building Information Models – buildingSMART
• assessment methods and tools towards LCA based Carbon Footprint calculation
• indicators and rating tools
• case studies

2) Managing Life Cycle Performance The focus is at facilities including immediate neighbourhood with the following priority areas

• indoor environment
• usability, adaptability, accessibility, safety and security
• positive stimulation and value creation
• benchmarking systems and schemes

3) Sustainable Processes Life cycle processes in the built environment covering

• sustainable renovation/retrofit/ refurbishment
• sustainable business models, risk management
• process models, new tasks and actor roles, integrated methods and tools
• incentives, barriers; process innovation, systemic innovation

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City prepares for green-building conference in 2012

By Diane Mastrull

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

As many as 30,000 green-building advocates from around the world will convene in Philadelphia for an industry conference three years from now.

And already, the worrying has begun about the spotlight such this high-profile, November 2012 event – sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council, a driving force in the sustainable-construction movement – will focus on this region.

“If you invite 30,000 sustainability/green-building advocates to your city, you better hope you have some good news for them,” said Heather Shayne Blakeslee, programs and advocacy director at the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, the national group’s only Pennsylvania chapter.

Even the most enthusiastic supporters acknowledge that getting to the point where building green is more the norm than the exception will be a rigorous road.

They cite the need to change state and local building codes and policies to specifically require green amenities, and convert skeptics who doubt such construction is worth the investment.

Read the full article

Mainstreaming Retrocommissioning in a Utility Program

National Conference on Building Commissioning: April 22 – 24, 2008

Steven Long, Eliot Crowe – Mainstreaming RCx in a Utility Program – Lessons Learned 1

Mainstreaming Retrocommissioning in a Utility Program:

Lessons Learned

Steven Long, P.E.

Southern California Edison

Eliot Crowe,

Portland Energy Conservation, Inc.

Synopsis

Retrocommissioning (RCx) commercial buildings is gaining recognition in the utility industry

as a cost-effective means of achieving energy savings. Realizing “installed” savings from these

programs has been difficult for a variety of reasons, including the difficulty and the effort

required in quantifying savings and the persistence of measures. The design of recent programs

has tried to address these issues and has also incorporated other related functions such as

benchmarking. In some cases, the program design features have worked well, while in others,

the design features inadvertently caused unforeseen problems.

This paper explores specific aspects of the 2006-2008 Southern California Edison (SCE) RCx

program and summarizes program design, results to date, lessons learned, and how problems

were addressed. The topics discussed include marketing, screening, benchmarking, owner

commitments and timeline, qualification of providers, incentives/offer, baseline data and

calculations, grocery store RCx, and peak demand reduction.

Some general information about the program results to date is also presented.

National Conference on Building Commissioning: April 22 – 24, 2008

Mainstreaming RCx in a Utility Program – Lessons Learned 1

Steven Long, P.E., Southern California Edison and Eliot Crowe, Portland Energy Conservation, Inc.

Synopsis

Retrocommissioning (RCx) commercial buildings is gaining recognition in the utility industry as a cost-effective means of achieving energy savings. Realizing “installed” savings from these programs has been difficult for a variety of reasons, including the difficulty and the effort required in quantifying savings and the persistence of measures. The design of recent programs has tried to address these issues and has also incorporated other related functions such as benchmarking. In some cases, the program design features have worked well, while in others, the design features inadvertently caused unforeseen problems.

This paper explores specific aspects of the 2006-2008 Southern California Edison (SCE) RCx program and summarizes program design, results to date, lessons learned, and how problems were addressed. The topics discussed include marketing, screening, benchmarking, owner commitments and timeline, qualification of providers, incentives/offer, baseline data and calculations, grocery store RCx, and peak demand reduction.

Some general information about the program results to date is also presented.

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Irvine schools find it isn’t easy going green

District wants students to compete to cut energy costs, but first needs to get utility on board.

By SEAN EMERY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

IRVINE Educators say a race to cut back energy usage among local schools could teach students about the cost of wasted electricity, but only if utility companies speed up their own “green” efforts.

The idea for a friendly competition among students to see who can reduce energy use at their respective schools is the latest in an ambitious Irvine Unified campaign to “go green.” But Irvine Unified officials still need Southern California Edison’s help to get the up-to-date energy usage info needed to get the effort under way.

“The idea is to create some level of healthy competition to see who is conserving their energy better, and to get kids involved to show them how little changes can go a long way to save costs,” Irvine Unified School Board member Mike Parham said.

Read more.

Berkeley Lab Analysis Finds Reduced HVAC May Improve Health

Buildings Substantially Overcooled in Summer

In winter, the researchers found, the buildings were kept mostly within the recommended temperature comfort range for winter, but in summer building temperatures were, on average, below the comfort range for summer. Surprisingly, buildings were, on average, kept even cooler in the summer than in the winter, by almost 1°F (0.5°C), even though people are more comfortable with warmer temperatures in summer.

These low temperatures in summer suggest that many occupants would be too cold in their offices, and this overcooling by the air conditioning systems also indicates wasted energy.

Some Building Temperatures Associated with Increased Symptoms in Office Workers

Furthermore, in summer, a variety of building-related symptoms such as headache, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating were increased by over 50 percent in the buildings kept below 73.4°F (23°C). These buildings, kept too cold for comfort in summer, included almost half the buildings measured in summer. These symptoms thus might be expected to decrease if buildings were air-conditioned less and kept warmer in the summer.

In winter, buildings with higher indoor temperatures (above 73.4°F, even though that is near the middle of the recommended temperature range) were associated with approximately 30 to 80 percent increases in building-related nose, eye, and skin symptoms, as well as headache. This included more than half the buildings measured in winter. These symptoms thus might decrease if buildings were kept cooler in the winter.

Simply put, avoiding overcooled buildings in the summer, and keeping buildings at the cooler end of the recommended temperature range in the winter, may result in a substantial decrease in building-related symptoms. This should still maintain thermal comfort in the buildings in winter and should actually improve comfort in the summer.

Benefits Seen for Both Energy Efficiency and Occupant Health

Keeping air-conditioned buildings warmer in summer will save energy, and keeping buildings cooler in the winter will in many cases also save energy, through reduced heating. However, many of the buildings studied in winter, especially those with moderate outdoor temperatures at the time, may have been in “cooling” mode to handle internally generated heat from occupants, lights, and equipment. For these buildings, lowering indoor temperatures in the winter to decrease occupant symptoms would not be expected to provide energy savings, and in some cases might increase energy use.

“As we look for ways to save energy, these results suggest a potential win-win situation,” says Mendell. “Our findings suggest that energy efficiency and keeping buildings healthy and comfortable for the occupants are not necessarily in conflict. Less summer cooling in air-conditioned buildings and less winter heating in heated buildings might reduce energy use in buildings substantially, yet have health benefits for the occupants that we did not expect, and still keep occupants as comfortable as before or even more comfortable.”

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Data Center & Clean Room Commissioning: Resources

Data Centers

• EMC Engineers. No Date. “Case Study: HVAC Assessment/Retro-Commissioning: NOAA Weather Forecasting Office, Honolulu.”
• Hydeman, M., R. Seidl, and C. Shalley. 2005. “Staying On-Line: Data Center Commissioning.”ASHRAE Journal, April.
• Hydeman, M. no date. “Data Center CX.” Presentation at the UC/CSU Data Center Energy Efficiency Training workshop.
• Lundstrom, C.E. 2004. “Retro-Commissioning a NOAA Weather Forecasting Office.” Proceedings of the National Conference on Building Commissioning, May 18-20.
• Nodal, G. 2008 “Data Center Optimization: Review of Current Program Results.” QuEST Consulting, presentation at the National Conference on Building Commissioning.
• Rafter, E.P. 2007. “The Data Center Tier Performance Standards and Their Importance of the Owner’s Project Requirements,” Proceedings of the National Conference on Building Commissioning, May 2-4.

Cleanrooms

• Jaisinghani, R. 2006. “Overview: Design/Build for Pharmaceutical, Biotech, Medical Devices and Life Sciences Cleanrooms.” Technovation Systems, Inc. Presentation.
• Sellers, D. and L. Irvine. 2001. “Commissioning to Meet Space Qualification Criteria vs. Energy Consumption Optimization Focused Commissioning.” Proceedings of the 2001 International Conference on Enhanced Building Operations. [PDF]
• Sellers, D. no date. “The AHU from Hell.” Presentation to ASHRAE Inland Empire Chapter. [PDF]
• Sellers, D. 2007. “A Mechanical Engineer’s Perspective on Electrical Systems Engineering.” Presentation at the 15^th National Conference on Building Commissioning. [PDF]

(From Lawrence Berkeley National Labs website)

San Francisco Green Building Ordinance – and Cx

The Board of Supervisors passed the San Francisco Green Building Ordinance unanimously. There has been no industrial backlash and the only reported concern with the Ordinance has to do with some procedural liability issues at the DBI. The one issue expressed by both Robert Baum and Laurence Kornfield was that the LEED system has not sufficiently addressed the buildings operational efficiency. What this means is that measuring the buildings performance can’t occur until the building has been operation for at least a year. LEED has only addressed building operational efficiency in a section headed “Optimize Energy Performance” that allows up to 10 points for more efficient mechanical systems (USGBC, “LEED Green”). That less then 7% of the LEED Rating/Certification rewards the buildings operational efficiency indicates that the focus of the LEED rating is not properly weighted. This problem is currently being addressed by both the USGBC and through a new task force that the Mayor conveyed in February 2009, aptly named the “Existing Buildings Efficiency Initiative Task Force.” The task force is scheduled to deliver its recommendations by June 15, 2009 (SFenviron, “Mayor”). Kornfield, for his part at the DBI considers projects that propose alternative approaches to LEED and are geared toward increasing the buildings “durability” which will reduce the buildings operational cost.

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World Energy Congress, Washington DC

November 4-6, 2009
Washington Convention Center
Washington, DC

Now in its 32nd year, the WEEC is well-recognized as the most important energy event of national scope for end users and energy professional in all areas of the energy field. It is the one truly comprehensive forum where you can fully assess the “big picture” – and see exactly how the economic and market forces, new technologies, regulatory developments and industry trends all merge to shape your critical decisions on your organization’s energy and economic future.

The WEEC features a large, multi-track conference agenda, a full line-up of seminars on a variety of current topics and a comprehensive exposition of the market’s most promising new technologies.

The WEEC conference and expo target the complete spectrum of technologies and services of greatest importance to our delegates in attendance, including, but not limited to:

• Energy efficiency and energy management
• Renewable, green and alternative energy
• Combined heat & power / cogeneration / distributed generation
• Integrated building automation & energy management
• Lighting efficiency
• HVAC systems and controls
• Thermal storage and load management
• Boilers and combustion controls
• Geoexchange technologies
• Solar and fuel cell technologies
• Applications specific to federal energy management programs
• Energy services and project financing

http://www.energycongress.com/

CIBSE

CIBSE Certification Ltd
222 Balham High Road
London
SW12 9BS

If you need to get an Energy Performance Certificate or Display Energy Certificate for your building then access our client area to find out how CIBSE Certification can help you and why you should use an accredited Low Carbon Energy Assessor.

Also find out all the background on the law relating to energy certificates and search our assessor database…read more

• How to get an Energy Certificate
• Energy Certificates – the law

Training and accreditation for qualified and unqualified Commercial Energy Assessors.  Become an accredited Low Carbon Energy Assessor with CIBSE Certification.   Qualified energy assessors can lodge Energy Performance Certificates and Display Energy Certificates here…read more

• How to become an Energy Assessor
• Training

Building Commissioning: The Stealth Energy Efficiency Strategy

The following post is written Evan Mills, a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whom I have known for almost two decades.  He recently authored a cost-benefit analysis of energy efficiency measures entitled Building Commissioning: A Golden Opportunity for Reducing Energy Costs and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions.  In the figure below, the overlaid orange “step” is derived from the analysis in the new LBNL report and superimposed for reference over McKinsey’s 2007 green carbon “abatement curve.”  The full abatement curve indicates the potential emissions savings potential for a set of measures, ranked by the annualized net cost per ton of emissions reductions (y-axis), i.e., the cost of commissioning minus the value of the resulting energy savings over the measure life. The horizontal width of each step is the potential emissions reduction attributed to each measure.

One particularly potent form of energy efficiency is an emerging practice known as building commissioning. Although commissioning has earned increased respect in recent years it remains an enigmatic practice whose visibility severely lags its potential. Fortunately, a massive database on commissioning experience in the U.S. provides a potent antidote to those who poo-poo the notion that major greenhouse-gas reductions can be had at negative cost.

Read the full article

Commissioning for Nonresidential Mechanical and Lighting Systems

18 page publication on Seattle Energy Code Requirements for Completion and Commmissioning

Commissioning is a systematic process of verification and documentation to ensure that the building owner’s design intent and operational requirements are delivered. Since 1997, the Seattle Energy Code has contained commissioning and completion requirements for building mechanical systems (Section 1416) and for lighting controls (Section 1513.7). For mechanical systems, the requirements include a commissioning plan, air and hydronic system balancing, functional performance testing, operational and maintenance materials, record drawings, systems operational training, and preliminary and final commissioning reports. For lighting, the commissioning requirements are limited to lighting controls. Drawing notes for both mechanical and lighting systems require commissioning and Final Commissioning Reports to be filed with the owner.

The code states that the construction documents shall require certain documentation or action. The owner receives commissioning documentation, not the building official. The building official checks to be sure that the construction documents include the appropriate requirements. The building official does not review the commissioning documents themselves, nor witness any tests. However, for complex mechanical systems, a preliminary commissioning report is to be completed prior to the building official issuing a final certificate of occupancy. Before the final inspection is signed off, the mechanical inspector will review the preliminary commissioning report to verify compliance with code requirements.

Read the full article.

BUILDING COMMISSIONING A Golden Opportunity for Reducing Energy Costs and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions

SUMMARY OF THE 2009 ASSESSMENT

• Evan Mills. 2009. “Building Commissioning: A Golden Opportunity for Reducing Energy Costs and Greenhouse-gas Emissions”
  • Full Report [PDF]
  • Summary presentation [PPT - 22mb] [PDF - 5mb]
    • Data Call
    • Data collection instrument
    • Engineering and economic assumptions

This report provides the world’s largest database of commissioning case studies for new and existing buildings. It represents a major update and expansion of a study initially published in 2004, with roughly three-times as many projects. We gathered and analyzed data on 643 buildings, representing 99 million square feet of floor space from 26 states. The database incorporates the work of 37 commissioning providers.

Commissioning maximizes the quality and persistence of energy, cost, and emissions reductions. The process ensures that building owners get what they pay for when constructing or retrofitting buildings, provides risk-management and “insurance” for policymakers and program managers enabling their initiatives to actually meet targets, and detects and corrects problems that would eventually surface as far more costly maintenance or safety issues.

This report responds to a widely held concern that end-users do not have confidence in the nature and level of energy savings that can be achieved through the commissioning process. It addresses this issue by assembling diverse case studies and previously unpublished data, and developing performance benchmarks using standardized assumptions. The results demonstrate that commissioning is arguably the single-most cost-effective strategy for reducing energy, costs, and greenhouse-gas emissions in buildings today.

Key findings:

• Median commissioning costs: $0.30 and $1.16 per square foot for existing buildings and new construction, respectively (and 0.4% of total construction costs for new buildings)
• Median whole-building energy savings: 16% and 13%
• Median payback times: 1.1 and 4.2 years
• Median benefit-cost ratios: 4.5 and 1.1
• Cash-on-cash returns: 91% and 23%
• Very considerable reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions were achieved, at a negative cost of -$110 and -$25/tonne CO2-equivalent.
• High-tech buildings are particularly cost-effective, and saved large amounts of energy and emissions due to their energy-intensiveness.
• Projects employing a comprehensive approach to commissioning attained nearly twice the overall median level of savings, and five-times the savings of projects with a constrained approach.
• Non-energy benefits are extensive and often offset part or all of the commissioning cost.
• Limited multi-year post-commissioning data indicate that savings often persistent for a period of at least five years.
• Uniformly applying our median whole-building energy-savings value to the stock of U.S. non-residential buildings yields an energy-savings potential of $30 billion by the year 2030, and annual greenhouse gas emissions reductions of about 340 megatons of CO2 each year. An industry equipped to deliver these benefits would have a sales volume of $4 billion per year and support approximately 24,000 jobs.

“Commissioning America” in a decade is an ambitious goal, but achievable and consistent with this country’s aspirations to simultaneously address energy and environmental issues while creating jobs and stimulating sustainable economic activity.

Source

Great Britain: Commercial Energy Performance Certificates

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s) are now required for all Domestic and Commercial property either for sale, lease and rental. An Energy Performance Certificate is issued by a qualified and accredited independent energy assessor. For home sellers the Energy Certificate is included in the Home Information Pack as part of the home sale process.

Exemptions

There are some Commercial Buildings which are exempt from having an EPC:

• Places of Worship (e.g a church, mosque, chapel etc)
• Temporary Buildings In Use For Less Than 2 Years (Portable Buildings and Site Buildings used for construction purposes)
• Low Energy Demand Buildings (example Farm Outbuildings, Barns and Sheds)
• Buildings Less Than 50 sq m. (Small outbuildings like Sheds or Summer Houses), In general, commercial premises are exempt that are less than 50 sq m Internal Area.

More recently the EPC requirement has been extended to the commercial property market. This website can help a home seller, landlord or commercial valuation companies locate inspectors, surveyors and EPC Providers in your local area.

More Info
More Info

Site Safety for Commissioning Engineers

This Guidance Note was compiled for the CSA Technical

Committee by R.J. Oughton. Published by the:

Commissioning Specialists Association, July 1997

Copyright CSA 1997

SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR COMMISSIONING

This Guidance Note was compiled for the CSA Technical Committee by R.J. Oughton. Published by the: Commissioning Specialists Association, July 1997. Copyright CSA 1997.

Download the document here

Commissioning Resource: Great Britain

The Commissioning Specialists Association (CSA) is at the forefront of career development and training for the Building Services, Commissioning and HVAC industries.

Specialising in Distance Learning, the CSA offer modular courses which allow you to study at your own pace. The CSA will provide you with professionally developed learning materials and the support of expert tutors to help guide you through grades 1-6. These qualifications ensure a consistent and uniform standard for the Commissioning industry.

The CSA also publish the Commissioning Engineers Compendium, a comprehensive and useful site reference manual.

More Info

Shades of the Green Workforce: The Need for Green Professionals in the New Energy Economy

Buildings, Energy Efficiency and Green Professionals

The demand for high performance energy-efficient buildings is increasing with the enactment of aggressive climate change and economic recovery policies and initiatives.

Energy Use in Buildings

•

72% of electricity consumption

•

39% of energy use

•

38% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions

(According to the U.S. Green

Building Council)

But simply installing retrofits in existing buildings will not solve the problem. Energy efficient equipment must be tested, calibrated, controlled, verified and maintained to ensure efficiency is actually achieved.

Combining retrofits with efficient operations and maintenance of building systems is the answer to meeting the long-term goals for energy efficient buildings

High performance, energy-efficient facilities are designed and delivered by skilled professionals:

•

Architects and engineers design and oversee the construction of new energy-efficient buildings.

•

Energy conservation consultants and engineers work with building owners, operators and service technicians to develop and implement strategies for energy efficient buildings.

•

Commissioning consultants are building systems integration experts who work on both new construction projects and in existing buildings to test, verify and monitor systems to ensure they are operating efficiently.

Currently, this workforce segment is made up of a small class of senior practitioners, few experienced practitioners at mid-career, and many young people entering the field.

California Commissioning Collaborative

Green Professionals in the New Energy Economy 3

Aggressive market drivers are increasing the demand for these Green Professionals:

•

Federal and State Mandates

o

Energy independence and security

o

Economic recovery

o

Climate change actions

•

State and Local Building Codes and Standards

•

Consumer Demand

o

Owner/Occupant Preference for Green Buildings

o

Market value of LEED®, Energy Star® and other building certifications

While it is expected that demand for Green Professionals will exceed the current available workforce, this critical need has drawn little attention amidst the highly visible and vocal voices advocating for Green-Collar workforce development.

The Green Workforce depends on the health and vibrancy of both Green-Collar and Green Professional jobs.

Defining the Green Workforce

The 2009 California Green Innovation Index1 characterized green jobs as those that provide products and services leveraging renewable energy resources, reducing pollution, conserving energy and natural resources, and repurposing waste. The breadth of the green workforce is vast, with no consensus on its definition.

A Small Sample of

“Green Jobs”

Construction worker

Power plant operator

Carpenter

Energy engineers and analyst

Computer technician

Soil and plant scientist

Mechanical and civil engineer

Plumber

Pipefitter and steamfitter

Hydrologist

Administrative personnel

Maintenance technician

Building Operator

Commissioning Consultant

Landscapers and groundskeeper

Equipment installer

Cost estimator

Pollution Control Technician

Ecologist

Toxicologist

Economist

Manufacturing Line Worker

Forester

Community Affairs Manager

Landscape Architect

Urban and Regional Planner

Wastewater Operator

Environmental Chemist

What is clear is that a number of “shades of green” make up the Green Workforce.

Published by the California Commissioning Collaborative, 2009, By Phil Welker, Executive Director

Buildings, Energy Efficiency and Green Professionals

The demand for high performance energy-efficient buildings is increasing with the enactment of aggressive climate change and economic recovery policies and initiatives.

But simply installing retrofits in existing buildings will not solve the problem. Energy efficient equipment must be tested, calibrated, controlled, verified and maintained to ensure efficiency is actually achieved.

Combining retrofits with efficient operations and maintenance of building systems is the answer to meeting the long-term goals for energy efficient buildings

High performance, energy-efficient facilities are designed and delivered by skilled professionals:

• Architects and engineers design and oversee the construction of new energy-efficient buildings.
• Energy conservation consultants and engineers work with building owners, operators and service technicians to develop and implement strategies for energy efficient buildings.
• Commissioning consultants are building systems integration experts who work on both new construction projects and in existing buildings to test, verify and monitor systems to ensure they are operating efficiently.

Currently, this workforce segment is made up of a small class of senior practitioners, few experienced practitioners at mid-career, and many young people entering the field.

Aggressive market drivers are increasing the demand for these Green Professionals:

Federal and State Mandates

• Energy independence and security
• Economic recovery
• Climate change actions

State and Local Building Codes and Standards

Consumer Demand

• Owner/Occupant Preference for Green Buildings
• Market value of LEED®, Energy Star® and other building certifications

While it is expected that demand for Green Professionals will exceed the current available workforce, this critical need has drawn little attention amidst the highly visible and vocal voices advocating for Green-Collar workforce development.

The Green Workforce depends on the health and vibrancy of both Green-Collar and Green Professional jobs.

Defining the Green Workforce

The 2009 California Green Innovation Index1 characterized green jobs as those that provide products and services leveraging renewable energy resources, reducing pollution, conserving energy and natural resources, and repurposing waste. The breadth of the green workforce is vast, with no consensus on its definition.

A Small Sample of “Green Jobs”

• Construction worker
• Power plant operator
• Carpenter
• Energy engineers and analyst
• Computer technician
• Soil and plant scientist
• Mechanical and civil engineer
• Plumber
• Pipefitter and steamfitter
• Hydrologist
• Administrative personnel
• Maintenance technician
• Building Operator
• Commissioning Consultant
• Landscapers and groundskeeper
• Equipment installer
• Cost estimator
• Pollution Control Technician
• Ecologist
• Toxicologist
• Economist
• Manufacturing Line Worker
• Forester
• Community Affairs Manager
• Landscape Architect
• Urban and Regional Planner
• Wastewater Operator
• Environmental Chemist

What is clear is that a number of “shades of green” make up the Green Workforce.

Read the full article here, or upload it from the CCC’s Resource Library

International Conference on Sustainable School Buildings

A sustainable school incorporates the values of economic viability, social justice and ecological preservation in all stages of the planning, design, construction and maintenance.

This international conference addresses the challenges in achieving sustainable school buildings from their initial planning through to their use.

In striving to create sustainable school facilities, policymakers, educators and facility planners are charged with the responsibility to not only ensure that schools are safe, healthy and accessible, but also that they are ‘green’. The challenge in guaranteeing sustainability in schools rests in co-ordinating conflicting governmental policies, design philosophies and dynamic pedagogies. Facilitating progress in the provision of sustainable schools at the pre-primary, primary and secondary levels necessitates a collective response and enacting more integrated and coherent reforms.

More Info