The First Facility Management Blog

Allsteel Inc. has become the first U.S. manufacturer to partner with Green Solutions North America, Inc. The newly formed alliance allows Allsteel to connect its clients with Green Solutions’ Revive program, which removes unwanted assets—including office furnishings and equipment—and repurposes the useable materials, either donating them to nonprofit organizations, schools and healthcare facilities, or recycling them locally.

“The Green Solutions Revive concept is simple yet brilliant, and we are enormously proud to be a partner because it offers our clients a cost-effective and environmentally responsible solution for disposing of everything from unwanted desks and carpeting to computers and copy machines,” said Mike Veal, Allsteel’s vice president of sustainability and alliance partnerships. “It has the potential to reduce tons of waste from landfills as renovated or new facilities are developed. And, in managing the entire divestiture process, Green Solutions also provides us with a complete stream analysis, ensuring accountability on each project.”

Based in Nova Scotia, Green Solutions began operations in 2006. This year the company had 300 furniture removal projects that benefitted 160 schools and 300 charities throughout Canada. In expanding its activities to the U.S., it has opened offices in Atlanta and Minneapolis. There are plans to open another 16 locations in 2009, including in New York, Chicago, and Houston.

“When we first met with Allsteel, we were immediately impressed with its absolute commitment to sustainability and knew it would be a perfect fit with our Revive program,” said Green Solutions chief executive Jim Reid. “We live in a throw away culture and this has to change. It’s no longer acceptable business practice.  Allsteel is showing great support for this change by partnering with us”

According to Veal, Green Solutions also will be an integral part of Allsteel’s own Take Back program, which guarantees that if Allsteel cannot repair its lifetime-guaranteed products or if they are at the end of their use, it will remove and recycle them locally at no cost. Green Solutions will manage this removal process.

To read TFM’s recent coverage of asset reuse, see “Quality, Cost, Sustainability” from the October 2008 issue.

What do facility managers (fms) for hotels, dormitories, prisons, and hospitals all have in common? Mattresses, of course! And now, fms with an excess of used mattresses can transform this massive burden on the waste stream into something positive, thanks to a design competition sponsored by Architecture for Humanity and Rubicon National Social Innovations.

Discarded Dreams: Used Mattress Design Competition answers the question: What can you do with a million mattresses? Every year in the U.S. 40 million mattresses end up in landfills because they cannot be broken down and their component parts are hard to utilize. Until now.

In this competition, entrants are invited to create innovative ways of converting used mattresses into useful consumer products that can be manufactured on a larger scale. Entrants must create designs that take into account the volume of mattress waste generated each year. Prizes are $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place. Third place winners will receive Rubicon Bakery baked goods delivered to their door.

The winner/winners will also be invited to collaborate with Rubicon to design and execute a method of collecting and converting the mattresses into their value-added product, and potentially distributed for commercial use. This would be a unique opportunity to help an emerging social enterprise develop a product line with 100% reclaimed materials, create green-collar jobs, and support individuals in moving out of poverty.

The competition is open from now until December 5, 2008, which is the deadline for registration and submission. Winners will be announced in February 2009.

How many times has your lobby or reception area been populated with guests searching for something a bit more enlightening to read than an outdated issue of People magazine? Graduate student Laura Cahill has presented a clever idea that could surely serve this purpose.

Based in London, Cahill has collected unwanted books and turned them into pieces of furniture with an unusual sense of beauty and purpose. She has also discovered a creative way to reuse an item typically rejected from recycling programs due to its glue content.

To fashion the vases (pictured at the top of this post), “Cahill cuts profiles from the books using a band saw, then wraps the spines around test tubes to form waterproof receptacles.” Her technique for other items is captured in this interview featured in the Blog, Dezeen:

My idea of using second hand books came around after doing research into common unwanted objects. One of the most common unwanted objects that can be found at either charity shops, car boot sales and sometimes on the streets are books. I discovered that the glue in old books make them extremely difficult to recycle. Aware of this I challenged myself to turn the second hand books that I had been collecting, into desirable objects such as furniture, lighting, and ornaments.

I took a hands-on approach and started experimenting with the possibilities in which books can be used in other ways; I developed a number of delicate yet practical designs. Using traditional methods of book binding I transformed them into valued objects. My designs transform local waste, not only by adding value but also by creating art forms which are aesthetically pleasing.

I first made a stool called ‘Heavy Read’ (pictured at left, directly above) by fixing a lot of old books together. Continuing with the book theme I developed a way of creating 3D forms by profiling the edge of the whole thickness of a book, so when opened, the shape follows around into a cylinder shape. I designed a range of ‘book vases,’ using test tubes as the central water container, and then stretched the concept to form the upright of this floor standing lamp. In the ‘Reading Light’ I have used traditional elegant curvaceous shapes on the base of the light creating a soft and ghostly effect, which is relatively durable.

 

 

Until recently, green building litigation has been the subject of idle talk outside a handful of environmentally related claims. However, in response to the nation’s first state-level green building code adopted by the California Building Standards Commission earlier this year, developers are increasingly aware of the nature of these regulations as well as their potential legal pitfalls. The California Green Building Code targets all new construction—commercial and residential, public and private—and aims to reduce water consumption and set standards for energy efficiency, waste reduction, and environmentally sensitive construction and design.

“While California may be the first to have adopted formal, green building standards, some local governing bodies across the country have similar requirements and others are rapidly moving in the same direction,” notes Gregory McClintock, Akerman Senterfitt Shareholder and a senior environmental attorney in the firm’s Los Angeles office. “Developers nationwide will be watching to see how this new Code fares.”

Compliance with the standards set by the new Code may be difficult to determine. For instance, the Code sets forth percentage reductions for energy and water use, but does not provide guidance on how achievement of those requirements is to be measured or what type of materials and approaches are to be used to reach the reductions. “The uncertainties created by the new Code will undoubtedly lead to legal disputes over compliance, in particular litigation over the marketing of residential or commercial property that uses the term ‘green’ too loosely,” McClintock adds.

Real estate blogs are also buzzing about the nation’s first green building litigation. The suit involved the construction of a $7.5 million, 23-unit condominium project in Crisfield, Maryland called The Captain’s Galley. The project was designed to comply with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(R)) Silver certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), but did not achieve this certification.

A dispute over claimed losses in green building tax credits between the owner and contractor of The Captain’s Galley demonstrated the degree of risk involved with green building projects. A lack of clarity in the formal construction agreements resulted in a dispute concerning who was responsible for submitting the application to obtain tax credits. The case revealed the danger for contractors, owners, and design professionals who simply rely on “standard form” construction agreements when dealing with green projects.

“The Captain’s Galley case demonstrates that projects involving green building regulations require clear contract language,” says Cecelia Bonifay, Chair of Akerman’s Green and Sustainable Development Practice Group. “Otherwise, there is a real risk of exposure to unanticipated liability for everyone involved.”

The surge of green building interest and concern regarding compliance with new laws and regulations is creating demand for law firms with distinguished, accredited green building practices. Retaining counsel that understands the evolving regulatory landscape surrounding green and sustainable development and that assists stakeholders in managing associated risks, is now particularly important.

“Green building is still an emerging field and developers and building operators are looking for knowledgeable legal assistance. They appreciate that qualified green building attorneys are now just as important to a green project as an experienced architect, engineer or contractor,” Bonifay added.

To support the needs of its clients, Akerman last year launched a firm-wide initiative to build one of the nation’s largest teams of green building attorneys. The firm looked to its nationally recognized construction practice, identifying senior attorneys with extensive experience in construction litigation and dispute resolution. “We knew that our clients would need attorneys with green building knowledge as well as actual experience working on the more complex national and regional construction projects,” noted Bonifay.

Akerman also rolled out study groups, seminars and office-wide conference calls to encourage participation in accreditation programs such as the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) examination program. “Dozens of attorneys instantly joined the effort,” said Bonifay. “We now have a team of more than 35 top-notch attorneys who are helping clients avoid the legal pitfalls associated with these new standards, and if necessary, get clients out of trouble.”

Attorneys in Akerman’s Green and Sustainable Development Practice Group are well equipped to help clients avoid potential pitfalls while also assisting in identifying and attaining green building incentives, where applicable. Akerman offers assistance with virtually every aspect of a green project including: acquisition, environmental and transactional due diligence, design, construction, contracting issues, financing, leasing and even sale of green assets. In fact, Akerman is one of the few law firms with multiple attorneys named LEED® Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) by the USGBC.

“We are very confident in the ability of our attorneys and in-house consultants to bring exceptional green building, construction, environmental, land use and general real estate knowledge to our client engagements,” adds Bonifay. “We are also thrilled by the success of our efforts to grow the number of LEED accredited attorneys in our Green and Sustainable Development Group. Expanding our green building practice is timely and necessary and provides a truly valuable service to our clients.”

Akerman’s Green and Sustainable Development attorneys are currently representing private and public sector clients, both nationally and regionally, on a range of green building matters. Clients include commercial and residential developers, real estate investment funds, and non-profit and governmental organizations.

An international firm comprised of scientists, horticulturists, and designers is going back to its roots—literally—in its quest to create structures that are truly “one with nature.” Headed up by three pioneers with a single vision, Plantware is taking the idea of eco-building to a new level.

A Plantware bus stop creates its own shade and shelter.

By controlling the shape in which trees grow, Plantware creates products that are made of living trees. Modern design styles combined with advanced horticultural techniques allow the company to produce elegant products that are also eco-positive. Today the company’s leaders, Gordon E. Glaze, Yael Stav, and Yaniv Naftaly, are shaping trees into useful, practical structures like street lamps, bus stops, and playgrounds through the latest engineering and scientific modeling techniques. 

Eventually, the long-term goal is to create dwellings and other larger structures that are inherently “storm proof,” useful, and self sustaining since they will be made out of pliable tree roots.  Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience reporter for MSNBC.com writes:

A home built from trees, the researchers said, would be a natural storm protector. “After earthquakes and after tsunamis the only structures that still survive are trees,” said Yaniv Naftaly, director of operations at Plantware, a company founded in 2002. Naftaly told LiveScience the same sturdiness should apply to tree-made homes.

How does it work? Bryner explains,

The team found that certain tree species grown aeroponically (in air instead of soil and water) have roots that don’t harden. Once the malleable, so-called soft roots grow long enough in the lab, they are molded around metal frames in the shape of a playground or park bench.

Then the root tips get tucked into the ground, a process that triggers so-called lignification in which the roots start to harden and grow thicker and thicker. The leafy buds supported by the roots begin to grow taller and bushier.

Plantware’s vision is to turn living trees into a new building material, making effective contributions to the ecosystem. The hope is that the company will influence initiatives for global warming prevention and eco-living.

The KinderForest from Plantware gives children real trees to play with, gives parents a natural alternative for their children, and gives earth urban reforestation that is functional, enjoyable, and green. Creating structures from living trees means that ~95% of the playground’s mass is taken from the air using local sunlight and rain. No gasoline-burning chainsaws, trucks, ships, or waste. Such structures can live for 700 years and are self repairing, earthquake safe, oxygen producing, and provide a habitat for wildlife coinciding with their purpose for humans.

In an exclusive interview with CarbonInsider.com, the director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Change Division indicated that the agency is anticipating widespread carbon regulatory restrictions on business. EPA is moving ahead with preparations that could well include imposing on industry mandatory reductions in greenhouse gas emissions which experts have said lead to global warming. Investors and corporations are watching closely to see how regulations are eventually structured.

In her interview with Carbon Insider, Dina Kruger, Director of the EPA’S Climate Change Division noted that as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision, the agency is studying how to proceed with regulating greenhouse gas emissions under a mandate from the Clean Air Act. But the agency insists it has not developed a preferred regulatory framework for dealing with climate change regulation, even as investors and corporations expect some kind of cap-and-trade approach to be legislated.

“We have not developed a position on the best way to regulate greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kruger. “What we are doing is trying to proceed in a very measured way…A lot of people are looking to Congress for thoughts on how to do this through legislation.”

Still, Kruger commented EPA has become a major source of information on the cap-and-trade strategy currently in use in Europe for regulating carbon reduction. “EPA has expertise in the design and running of cap-and-trade programs,” Kruger told Carbon Insider. “We get a lot of questions from members of Congress and others about how it could work — what the issues are, what are the lessons learned from the European system and we are doing our best to answer them. But again we look to Congress to establish such a program.”

Added Kruger, “The next Administration will be coming in and they are going to be looking across climate policy and providing their own direction and guidance.”

To help bring transparency to the fast-growing voluntary carbon offset market to combat climate change, Environmental Defense Fund has announced the launch of CarbonOffsetList.org, an online resource that will help businesses identify and purchase carbon offsets that represent real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsets allow buyers to offset, or neutralize, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced from their own activities by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere. Developed through a rigorous review process in collaboration with a committee of external experts in the fields of science and policy, the Web site identifies 11 pre-screened, independently verified offset projects that meet Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) criteria for high quality carbon offsets.

EDF’s evaluation focused on the environmental integrity of the projects and whether projects could show verifiable and measurable proof of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The approach focused on finding high quality emissions reductions regardless of project type, technology, or supplier.

“Companies increasingly see the value in incorporating carbon offsets into their overall climate action strategies, but until now, buyers had to do their own homework to determine which projects were most credible,” said Thomas Murray, managing director of corporate partnerships for EDF. “CarbonOffsetList.org eliminates the guesswork and offers buyers direct access to a list of thoroughly vetted projects that meet Environmental Defense Fund’s high-quality criteria.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that in the near term (through 2025) nearly one-third of the needed U.S. emissions reductions could be met by offsets. Voluntary action by businesses and individuals to reduce their emissions through on-site reductions and carbon offsets plays an important role. By connecting offset purchasers to high-quality projects, CarbonOffsetList.org will help ensure that money spent on offsets makes a real contribution to combat climate change.

“While most experts are convinced that there is a role for carbon offsets, the subject often prompts more questions than answers,” said Bill Chameides, dean of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and member of the independent expert review committee. “EDF’s site should give purchasers confidence that the offsets they buy result in real greenhouse gas reductions to help meet their environmental goals.”

In response to numerous inquiries from companies seeking guidance on using carbon offsets as part of a comprehensive sustainability strategy, EDF developed the current list through a request-for- proposal and project-by-project review process. EDF received more than 70 project proposals from dozens of suppliers, with a wide ranging diversity of project types and approaches. In order to be considered for inclusion, providers submitted project documentation for review, including project design documents and third-party verification reports.

CarbonOffsetList.org features 11 emissions reduction projects ranging from capturing and destroying methane from landfills and dairy farms to reducing emissions at truck stops across the country. They are:

• Greater New Bedford LFG Utilization, Dartmouth, MA, offered by CommonWealth Resource Management Corp. and Carbonfund.org
• North Country LFG Utilization, Bethlehem, NH, offered by CommonWealth Resource Management Corp.
• Development Authority of the North Country Solid Waste Management Facility, Rodman, NY, offered by Carbonfund.org
• Upper Rock Island Landfill, East Moline, IL, offered by Renewable Choice Energy
• Newton-McDonald County Landfill, Neosho, MO, offered by 3Degrees
• Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority Landfill, Lebanon, PA, offered by Terrapass
• Greenville County Landfill, Greer, S.C., offered by Sterling Planet
• Inland Empire Dairy Methane, Chino, Calif., offered by Carbonfund.org
• IdleAire Technologies Corporation Advanced Truckstop Electrification, Nationwide, offered by Carbonfund.org
• Integrated Gas Recovery Systems (IGRS) Landfill, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada, offered by GreenLife
• Irani Wastewater Methane, Santa Catarina, Brazil, offered by EcoSecurities

EDF expects this list to continue to grow as additional information about the projects under consideration is received.

Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology, according to a new report by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN). But existing information about the impact of silver on the environment offers a starting point for some assessments of nanosilver, the report argues.

The issue of assessing the risks posed by nanoscale silver was highlighted after the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) San Francisco office earlier this year imposed a landmark fine of over $200,000 on a California company selling computer keyboards and mouses coated with nanosilver. EPA issued the fine on the grounds that the products should have been registered under federal pesticide law because of the company’s germ-killing claims.

Similar fines have not been imposed since, but the action is increasing attention on the potential risks posed by nanoscale silver and oversight of nanotechnology as a whole. There currently are more than 200 manufacturer-identified nanosilver products on the market and contained in the online nanotechnology consumer products inventory maintained by PEN –everything from baby carriages and air filters to athletic socks and coin-operated washing machines.

Silver itself is classified as an environmental hazard by EPA, because it is more toxic to aquatic plants and animals than any metal except mercury. Even if a nanoparticle itself is not especially toxic, silver nanoparticles increase the effectiveness of delivering toxic silver ions to locations where they can cause toxicity.

“We need not assume that because nano is new, we have no scientific basis for managing risks,” says Dr. Samuel N. Luoma, the author of the PEN report Silver Nanotechnologies and The Environment: Old Problems or New Challenges?, which also offers a dozen lessons concerning silver in general that can be followed for managing the potential environmental risks posed by nanosilver. “Our existing knowledge of silver in the environment provides a starting point for some assessments, and points toward some of the new questions raised by the unique properties for nanoparticles that need to be addressed through new research.”

The mass of silver dispersed to the environment from new products could be substantial if one product, or a combination of such products, becomes widespread.

“The silver that went into wastewaters when millions of people had their photographs developed taught us that small additions of silver to the environment make a big difference,” says Dr. Luoma, a former senior researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey who now leads science policy coordination for the John Muir Institute of the Environment at the University of California, Davis. “Perhaps more significant, we have no means of detecting nanosilver in the environment once it is released, even if concentrations rise to levels that are toxic to aquatic ecosystems.”

The U.S. federal government has invested only a small percentage of its overall nanotechnology research funding in understanding the risks posed by nanomaterials, according to an analysis conducted earlier this year by PEN, further highlighting the need for more research on the potential risks posed by nanomaterials. In addition, laws and institutions shaped in the mid-20th century are not likely to succeed in addressing 21st century problems.

“Silver is an old problem, and nanosilver is a new challenge. The scope of the new challenge is not yet clear because it is uncertain how much nanosilver is now used as an antimicrobial in commercial and consumer products, and because new uses are likely to be discovered in the future,” says J. Clarence Davies, a PEN senior adviser and a former EPA policy official. “Regardless of the scope of the nanosilver problem, it underscores the need for more risk research and new approaches to oversight to deal with new technologies and problems of the new century.”

At its second annual Green Apple Awards luncheon, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) recognized four school programs for their contributions to the high performance buildings. The Green Apple Awards are being awarded this week in Sacramento, CA for the categories of climate change, high performance school policy, and existing schools.

“The commitment of these exceptional leaders to building high performance schools is creating healthier, more engaging, more environmentally friendly learning environments nationwide, and CHPS is delighted to honor their work,” said Charles Eley, executive director of CHPS. “We look forward to further collaborations with the award winners to ensure a new generation of green schools is built.”

Climate Category Winners

State Architect David Thorman was on hand to present the winners in the Climate Change Category.

The Natomas Unified School District received a Green Apple Award for excellence in reducing the district’s impact on climate change. In 2006, the Natomas Unified School District was designated a “Climate Action Leader” by the CA Climate Action Registry, making them the only K-12 School district in CA to receive this designation. The most recent school in the district, the H. Allen Hight Learning Center, is a CHPS designed elementary and middle school that will open its doors this fall. The buildings of this school showcase the latest in high performance school design, including the first green roof on a public school in Northern California.

Chevron Energy Solutions received a Green Apple in the climate change category for helping more than 80 school districts across the nation to implement alternative energy and improve the energy efficiency of their facilities. For a recent project, Chevron Energy Solutions is designing, building and maintaining 5.5 megawatts of solar photovoltaic arrays at the San Jose Unified School District. By reducing the district’s purchase of utility power, the project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 37,500 tons, equivalent to planting 400 acres of trees.

School Policy Winner

The Green Apple award for high performance school policy goes to the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP) High Performance Schools Exchange, a regional project based in New England working to make all new and renovated school buildings built using high performance school principles. To support and encourage construction of high performance schools, the Exchange provides training and technical assistance as well as a database of research and case studies of high performance schools. In 2007, NEEP developed a Northeast CHPS program based on the CHPS programs already in place in California, New York and Massachusetts. The Exchange collaborates with state departments, education departments, and other stakeholders in the Northeast to promote and facilitate the construction of high performance schools and has been a leading force in the NE high performance schools movement.

Existing Schools Work Winner

The Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) California Schools Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program is this year’s Green Apple awardee in the category of existing school operations. The IPM program helps schools to develop a safe effective method of pest control that lowers occupant exposure to pesticides. DPR works with school districts to establish IPM policies and teaches district coordinators about IPM principles and techniques. This program, which has trained officials from approximately 70% of California’s school districts, is changing the way that schools confront pest management problems and improving the indoor environmentally quality of existing schools. IPM practices, coupled with minimizing exposure to toxic chemicals, lower the risks that pest management can pose to people, property and environmental quality.

About CHPS

The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) is a green building rating program developed especially for school learning environments. The mission of CHPS is to improve the quality of education for schoolchildren by facilitating the design of a new generation of high performance schools: places of learning that are environmentally sustainable, healthy and comfortable. 

Earlier this summer, a major new attraction was grabbing headlines at Mount Rainier National Park in Ashford, WA. What was it? You guessed it…a toilet.

Whether it was the highly publicized ribbon-cutting ceremony, the price tag ($70,000), or the fact that the toilet was donated by its manufacturer (Toyo Kogyo) and a popular Mount Rainier drink producer (Morinaga Milk Company), the celebrity composting commode has been doo-ing doing its sister toilet in Mount Fuji proud since early June. Representatives from Mount Rainier National Park and the Japanese non-profit organization Groundwork Mishima activated the new “bio toilet” at Cougar Rock Campground on Monday, June 9, 2008.

The high-tech toilet was donated to the park last fall by Groundwork Mishima, which works with citizens, local governments, and businesses to address environmental issues and promote volunteerism in Japan. The group is active at Mount Fuji, which has a “Sister Mountain” relationship with Mount Rainier National Park.

“We are pleased to continue our long standing relationship with the people of Japan,” said Superintendent Dave Uberuaga (pictured above, along with representatives from Groundwork Mishima and the Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association). “This bio toilet will be a practical contribution toward our goals of environmental stewardship and sustainable design in Mount Rainier National Park.”

The toilet was installed in late August of last year with the help of students from the Japanese Volunteers-in-Parks Association, who have been contributing volunteer services at Mount Rainier since 1993. Due to the lateness of the season, the toilet was not activated last fall. Its unique design uses cedar chips and natural composting techniques to operate efficiently with very little water and with no odor.

Photo courtesy of Mount Rainier Volunteers.

(Apologies for the potty puns in this post. It’s a Friday Funny, after all, isn’t it?)