Designing for Future Generations

We support the creation of performance standards for both the public and private sector that protect the environment and conserve energy.   These standards are best created by the experts in state government, as policies and/or standards, and not piecemeal legislation.  We urge the expertise of the State Architect’s Office and the State Building Commission be incorporated into any standards under consideration.

Interesting Studies Related to Green Building

• The U.S. building sector has been shown to be the major consumer of fossil fuel and producer of greenhouse gas emissions.
• A recent study completed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the most definitive cost-benefit analysis of green buildings ever conducted, concluded that the financial benefits of green design are between $50 and $70 per square foot, more than 10 times the additional cost associated with building green.
• The large positive impact on employee productivity and health gains suggests that green building has a cost-effective impact beyond just the utility bill savings.
• Studies have indicated that student attendance and performance is higher in high performance school buildings.
• A building’s initial construction costs represents only 20-30 percent of the building’s entire costs over its 30 to 40 year life, so emphasis placed on the “life cycle costs” of a public building makes good sense, economically.