Transcript section home - Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation

Green Certification as the Path to
Sustainability?
Douglas Crawford-Brown
Professor Emeritus, UNC-Chapel Hill
Executive Director, Cambridge Centre for Climate
Change Mitigation Research
Claim: Careful design and execution of a community
can significantly reduce its energy use, energy costs
and climate change impacts
Remember, sustainability must consider...
Whether we build
How we build
How we provide power
How we link to the grid
How we travel
Where we locate it
How we live in it
So, is green certification by LEED, BREEAM,
CSH, CEEQUAL the path to sustainability?
They organize your thinking about sustainability
BREEAM: 197 Questions…
BREEAM: 197 Questions…
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Management
Energy
Land Use and Ecology
Pollution
Materials Waste
Water
Health and Well-being
Transport
Each with
weightings
Energy and Carbon Dioxide Emissions
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Dwelling emission rate
Fabric energy efficiency
Energy display devices
Drying space
Energy labelled white goods
External lighting
Low and zero carbon (energy) technologies
Cycle storage
Home office
Code for Sustainable Homes
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Energy and Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Water
Materials
Surface Water Run-off
Waste
Pollution
Health and Well-being
Management
Ecology
A challenge: quantifying sustainability
metrics across project phases
Fraction of CO2 emissions by project phase. The same figure
applies for total emissions, annual emissions and per capita annual
emissions,
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Design
Construction
Operation
Demolition
Multiple solutions with one intervention
Green Roofs
Reducing urban heat island
effect
Sustainable Urban Drainage
System (SUDS)
Carbon capture (a bit)
Social amenity
Insulation (a bit)
Habitat formation
Claims by BREEAM about green buildings
Operating costs down 9%
Building value up 8%
Occupancy up 4%
Rents up 3%
LEED, BREEAM, CSH, CEEQUAL certifications
guarantee sustainability?
No: LEED, BREEAM, CSH, CEEQUAL certifications move
towards sustainability
With these principles, we can…
• Reduce the environmental footprints of buildings
• Reduce the occupancy costs of buildings
• Satisfy planning authorities
• Satisfy clients interested in green credentials
• Optimize the chance of a building being green certified