The First Facility Management Blog

ASHRAE has always prided itself on providing the gold standard in research, standards writing, publishing, and continuing education. However, when it came to energy efficiency and sustainability, gold just wasn’t good enough. That’s why the ASHRAE Headquarters has gone a step further and has been awarded a LEED Platinum Certification in the New Construction 2.2 rating system.

The Society’s office building in Atlanta, GA, which underwent a major renovation in 2008, is one of only six buildings in the state of Georgia to receive a LEED Platinum rating, the highest certification the program offers. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a program of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit which seeks to promote green building practices.

“While our first objective was to provide a healthy, comfortable, and productive environment for our staff, we also wanted to set an example of what can be done to renovate existing buildings,” ASHRAE President Gordon Holness said. “Given that 75% to 80% of all existing buildings will still be around in 2030, our greatest opportunity for a sustainable future is through the upgrade and retrofit of these buildings. It is extremely gratifying to achieve the USGBC’s highest rating and confirm ASHRAE’s leadership and commitment to supporting a sustainable built environment.”

LEED takes into account five key measurements when evaluating new construction: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. Bonus points may be obtained through innovation in design and regional priority.

In order to qualify for the highly sought-after Platinum certification, ASHRAE took into consideration a number of concerns such as energy use, heat island reduction, water efficient landscaping, material reuse and water use reduction, to name just few.

ASHRAE addressed these issues, among others, by installing a cool, white reflective roof membrane to minimize heat island effects; updating the landscaping and eliminating the need for landscaping irrigation; retaining more than 75% of the existing building structure as part of this renovation; and reducing its estimated overall annual water consumption per year by almost 50% by using low-flow fixtures throughout building. Additionally, the ASHRAE headquarters received bonus points for innovation and design.

As a leader in energy efficient technology, ASHRAE viewed its headquarters renovation as the perfect way to “walk the talk.” The 34,500 square foot office building, built originally in 1965, now acts as a showcase of energy efficiency and sustainability through its living lab—which provides recourses on building, system and equipment performance—and learning center.

The LEED Platinum Certification acts as third-party verification of ASHRAE’s efforts to create an environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, sustainable workplace.

Starbucks Coffee Company, the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world, recently announced the opening of its state-of-the-art roasting plant located in Calhoun County in central South Carolina. The facility employs 100 full-time Starbucks partners (employees) and supplies coffee to the company’s southeastern U.S. stores. The facility is also is an example of the company’s global commitment to green design and has been awarded LEED Silver certification for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

“During these challenging economic times, I’m proud we are creating jobs by building something special here in South Carolina,” Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and ceo said. “In this business climate, it’s more important than ever that we make the right investments in our business, while making sure we do it in ways that support our business, the communities we work in, the environment and our people.”

Schultz was joined at today’s ribbon cutting ceremony by state, local and community leaders key to the effort including South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor, Calhoun County Council Chairman David Summers and Mike Briggs, president and ceo of the Central South Carolina Alliance.

“The state of South Carolina is thrilled to welcome Starbucks as the newest major employer in this community,” said Secretary Taylor. “This is the kind of corporate investment that will help strengthen our economy for the future by bringing the right kind of jobs and the right kind of companies to our great state.”

Using green design components certified by a third-party organization is part of the company’s strategy to help achieve the Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ goal to significantly reduce its environmental footprint by 2015. Starbucks invested in a variety of green design elements to help reduce the energy and waste generated by both the construction and operation of the facility. A significant amount – 20 percent – of building materials were from recycled content and over 75 percent of construction waste was recycled. The facility features efficient, state of the art lighting and water fixtures, drought tolerant landscape and a portion of the power used for operations will be green power supplied by wind energy.

“The strength of USGBC has always been the collective strength of our leaders in the building and related industries,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, ceo & founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “Given the extraordinary importance of climate protection and the increasing role of the retail industry in that effort, Starbucks demonstrates their leadership not only through their LEED certification of this roasting plant, but their commitment to seek LEED certification for stores across the globe.”

Many of the green design elements utilized for the project are also being integrated into the company’s other roasting plants and retail stores. Starbucks has committed to LEED certification for all new company-operated stores by the end of 2010, doing so within standard store construction budgets.

The New Buildings Institute (NBI), a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Washington State, published an interesting report last year that unfortunately didn’t get very much attention.  It documented a study attempting to quantify the actual performance of all 552 buildings that had earned formal certification under LEED-NC v.2 through 2006.

While the executive summary of the report states, “…on average, LEED buildings are saving energy,” this conclusion was based on a VERY UNIMPRESSIVE number of buildings for which actual performance data was obtained. According to the NBI study, ONLY 121 of the 552 LEED-NC v.2 certified buildings (22%) responded to the invitation to participate in the study.

The figure above (taken from the full study) reveals another VERY UNIMPRESSIVE trend: the number of buildings whose actual performance does not resemble the design performance and a disturbing number of buildings whose actual performance falls WELL BELOW the design expectations.

This study begs the following critical questions:

• Why didn’t 431 out of 552 LEED-NC v.2 buildings respond to an invitation that simply requested one full year of measured post-occupancy energy usage data?
• Did the non-responders not have access to this data? Or were they unwilling to expose their actual performance?
• From among these 552 buildings, how many fawning press releases were issued about their decisions to seek LEED certification and their commitments to “going green”?
• Should NBI have drawn any meaningful performance conclusions based on a dismal 22% response rate? 
• Should LEED-NC certification requirements include one full year of operational performance documentation?
• Could architects, engineers, LEED consultants or USGBC end up on the witness stand when facility managers and owners realize their LEED certified buildings lack the superior performance that was promised when justifying a 2% construction price premium?

The industry should petition NBI or USGBC to follow up with the non-responders and attempt to quantify the actual performance of the other 78 % of LEED-NC certified facilities.

Poor Richard

To request a PDF of the study, send an e-mail to tfm@groupc.com with the words “LEED NC Study” in the subject line of your e-mail.

ASHRAE Headquarters Renovation Committee during ribbon cutting: (from l to r) Ron Jarnagin, Darryl Boyce, Bill Harrison, Gordon Holness, Damon Gowan, and Mike Vaughn and Jeff Littleton, both members of ASHRAE staff

The 33,434 square foot building in Atlanta, last renovated in 1991, will serve as a “living laboratory” for energy efficiency and other sustainable strategies. Some 200 people gathered yesterday, October 23, for the dedication ceremony, which began with Bill Harrison, ASHRAE president performing the ribbon cutting just outside the front entrance. Attendees then moved inside into the newly constructed ASHRAE Learning Foundation (approximately 4,000 square feet) to hear about the project background and the various donors involved.

“None of this would have been possible without the hard work and commitment from many volunteers and staff involved in the renewal for the last three years,” said Harrison during his speech. “More importantly, generous donations by companies and firms have ensured that not only our building will be here for a long time to come but that ASHRAE can continue to provide the sustainable building technology guidance that we are known for.”

Among the guests at the event were industry partners who donated nearly $1.65 million in equipment and services for the $7.65 million renovation.

Major contributors include the ASHRAE Foundation, Carrier Corp., Automated Logic Corp./Automated Logic Georgia, ClimateMaster Inc., Daikin Industries Ltd., Southern Company/Georgia Power Company, and Trane.

A garden roof sits atop the new ASHRAE Learning Foundation. Weston Solutions installed the system.

Partners also include Aircuity Inc. and Interface FLOR. Also donating were Allsteel®/Ivan Allen; Mark H. Brandli/design principal for Richard Wittschiebe Hand; CxGBS; Dynamic Air Quality Solutions; EBTRON Inc.; GE Power; Bill and Margaret Harrison; Bruce Hunn, ASHRAE’s director of strategic technical programs; ITT/Bell & Gossett/James M. Pleasants Co.; NorthWrite Inc.; PolyCon Manufacturing; Thermal Gas Systems Inc.; U.S. Green Building Council; and VFA Inc.

“Not only is the renovation a technology and productivity showcase, it also exemplifies the incredible potential of determined ASHRAE members and the greater ASHRAE community working toward a common goal,” Jeff Littleton, ASHRAE executive vice president said. “This renovation represents the largest capital investment in ASHRAE history at $7.65 million.”

ASHRAE applied for LEED for New Construction (NC) Gold from the U.S. Green Building Council for the building, and certification is pending.

Information about the ASHRAE Headquarters Renewal can be found here…

The coffee and baked goods franchise marked the opening of its first LEED certified location last week in St. Petersburg, FL. The store, which broke ground in May 2008, will serve as a prototype for future green construction projects as well as enhance future building models.

The St. Petersburg restaurant is built in the Dunkin’ Donuts flagship model design and features include: energy-efficient insulated concrete foam walls to reduce air conditioning usage by approximately 40%, energy-efficient lighting, including motion sensors for restrooms and offices, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, low-flush toilets, and the usage of well water rather than potable water for all irrigation.

Marking the company’s foray into building and operating environmentally friendly facilities, the location’s green initiatives include recycling programs involving worm casting and food donations to the local food bank. Green cleaning is also being practiced at the store.

First LEED Certified Dunkin' Donuts Store In St. Petersburg, FL

On October 17, 2008 Dunkin’ Donuts president & chief brand officer Will Kussell joined St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, the U.S. Green Building Council (which administers the LEED program), and the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the store opening by planting a tree on-site, located at the corner of 4th Street North and 76th Avenue North.

“At Dunkin’ Donuts we are committed to growing our business in a way that is both achievable and sustainable for our company, our franchisees, the communities we proudly serve, and the environment, said Kussell. “With the opening of our first LEED certified store in St. Petersburg we look forward not only to playing an important role in the daily lives of the people who live and work here, but also applying what we learn in this store to Dunkin’ Donuts overall, as we continue to evolve the brand.”

“We are proud to have Dunkin’ Donuts’ first ever LEED certified store in St. Petersburg,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker. “We have the first city in Florida to be designated a Green City, and I salute Dunkin’ Donuts for embracing our efforts to create a sustainable future for our families.”

It looks like Starbucks is in for some competition in the green image arena. While that company has a history of sustainable actions, earlier this month U.K. newspaper The Sun reported that the purveyor of coffee was wasting up to 6 million gallons of water each day in its stores. The company has since stated that it has changed policies–water used to rinse utensils will now be turned off between rinsings, rather than constantly running during business hours as had previously been done.