Greenhouse Effect

Starting in 2002, the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo organized by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has each year attracted a growing number of attendees and exhibitors.

The green building momentum continued rolling along in mid-November 2008 in Boston, where nearly 30,000 attendees gathered for the 2008 event to view products and services and exchange ideas related to green building and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

"This year’s Greenbuild was a great success, and we are grateful for such growth and good fellowship, especially during a time of economic uncertainty," says Kimberly Lewis, the USGBC’s vice president - conference and events. "Not only did the show prove that green building is alive and well, but it is also thriving."

The expo’s more than 800 exhibitors marked a 68 percent increase compared to the number of exhibitors at Greenbuild 2007 in Chicago, according to the USGBC.

Although Boston in mid-November introduced some sub-freezing temperatures to the event, attendees nonetheless took advantage of nearly 20 green building tours hosted in Boston and New England.

The program’s roster of educational sessions addressed a wide array of topics, including some of interest to recyclers and recycled materials producers.

Two of the four key trends in paved surfaces are helping the cause of concrete and asphalt recyclers, according to a presenter at Greenbuild.

At a session entitled "Greening the Blacktop," Meg Calkins of Ball State University, Muncie, Ind., noted that in addition to seeking pavements with increased performance and longer life, buyers are requesting pavements that offer reduced environmental impact and the use of recycled materials.

Speaking to a room with several hundred attendees, with architects and civil engineers heavily represented, Calkins gave an overview of the use of asphalt rubber, fly ash as a pavement ingredient and recycled concrete and asphalt in parking lots and other applications.

Calkins noted that rubberized asphalt can contain up to 15 or even 22 percent processed tires, while recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) can contain a much higher 30 to 50 percent recycled content.

Currently, both asphalt and concrete are far more commonly recycled than not, making recycled aggregates widely available in most regional markets. Recycled concrete is most commonly used as a base course material, although Calkins said 11 states have specifications that allow it to be used as an aggregate in paved surfaces in highway applications.

Presenter Jason Dunster of Walker Parking Consultants, Chicago, listed a variety of green building considerations from which building owners, architects and engineers can select.

In addition to using recycled aggregates, Dunster mentioned RFID systems for frequent parkers to prevent engine idling; preferred parking for hybrid vehicles; solar or photovoltaic panels to produce energy; and bins for the storage and collection of recyclables.

Steffen Turoff, also of Walker Parking Consultants, remarked that specifiers of many LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects are considering providing fewer parking spaces in favor of convenient public transportation access; bicycle storage areas and showering facilities for bicyclists; and subsidies for employees who use public transportation or other alternative means of transportation.

A 2008 survey conducted by BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association International) and other organizations seems to confirm that the interest in green building remains widespread.

Even in the face of economic difficulties, "commercial building owners are

Survey responses were received by more than 250 building owners, managers and commercial real estate investors. Among the findings:

The survey results also seemed to show that tenant demand for green building or LEED requirements is still relatively weak and has room to grow:

Mark Heisterkamp of the USGBC, which co-sponsored the study, says the results are not surprising and are encouraging—even the fact that a small number of tenants and properties have made green building a priority. "You may see 1,000 booths and 30,000 people here, but [green building] is still fundamentally new from the operations viewpoint," he commented.

Heisterkamp was also encouraged by the positive ROI experienced by building owners. It demonstrates more than just anecdotally that LEED "will be a strategy and a competitive advantage" in the market, he remarked.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative has been an effort by several groups (led by the American Society of Landscape Architects) to create a parallel scorecard, similar to LEED, to encourage sustainable practices in land development.

There are several ways within the proposed Sustainable Sites scoring system where paying attention to recycling can help developers score points, including:

In a session at Greenbuild 2008, Heather Venhaus of the University of Texas’ Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (another partner in the Sustainable Sites effort), noted that landscapes account for one-third of water use and that yards and outdoor properties generate 13 percent of municipal solid waste. "Actually, this is not a waste, but a resource," said Venhaus.

She said that changing the way properties are designed and managed on such a wide scale can be done, and pointed to such example as the phasing out of leaded gasoline and the return of peregrine falcons as similar environmental success stories.

Jose Almiñana of the ASLA added that one of the initial goals of the Initiative is to "encourage the development of brownfields and grayfield [sites]." Such a result would likely prove beneficial to demolition contractors and recyclers of demolition materials.

One of the next opportunities for people from this wide assortment of industries to gather in one place will be at Greenbuild 2009, which will take place in Phoenix, Nov. 11-13, 2009.