Green Project Marketing Services

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a federal government agency charged with the nation's environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)The EPA works to develop and enforce regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress. EPA is responsible for researching and setting national standards for a variety of environmental programs, and delegates to states and tribes the responsibility for issuing permits and for monitoring and enforcing compliance. Where national standards are not met, EPA can issue sanctions and take other steps to assist the states and tribes in reaching the desired levels of environmental quality.

The EPA provides direct support through grants to state environmental programs. EPA research grants to states, non-profits and educational institutions aim to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its goals. The Agency works with volunteer partners for research and education efforts. Partners set voluntary pollution-management goals; examples include conserving water and energy, minimizing greenhouse gases, slashing toxic emissions, re-using solid waste, controlling indoor air pollution, and getting a handle on pesticide risks.

Energy StarFrom a green building standpoint, the EPA and ENERGY STAR program offers a wealth of information, policy and regulation to support green builders.

Why Build Green?

In the United States, buildings account for:

  • 39 percent of total energy use
  • 12 percent of the total water consumption
  • 68 percent of total electricity consumption
  • 38 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions

The built environment has a vast impact on the natural environment, human health, and the economy. By adopting green building strategies, we can maximize both economic and environmental performance. Green construction methods can be integrated into buildings at any stage, from design and construction, to renovation and deconstruction. However, the most significant benefits can be obtained if the design and construction team takes an integrated approach from the earliest stages of a building project.

Potential Benefits of Green Building Can Include:

Environmental Benefits

  • Enhance and protect biodiversity and ecosystems
  • Improve air and water quality
  • Reduce waste streams
  • Conserve and restore natural resources

Economic Benefits

  • Reduce operating costs
  • Create, expand, and shape markets for green product and services
  • Improve occupant productivity
  • Optimize life-cycle economic performance

Social Benefits

  • Enhance occupant comfort and health
  • Heighten aesthetic qualities
  • Minimize strain on local infrastructure
  • Improve overall quality of life

Source: EPA, 2011

 

ENERGY STAR and Green Commercial Building

Designing commercial building projects to achieve the ENERGY STAR helps architects and their clients save money, save energy, prevent carbon emissions, and answer EPA's call to fight global warming.

ENERGY STAR provides a guide, a start-to-finish framework for setting and achieving superior energy efficiency. Architects and building owners can use the guide to learn how to:

  • Set energy targets for design projects
  • Determine if projects achieve the desired energy goal
  • Close the loop by verifying the actual energy performance of completed buildings

A growing number of architects and building owners are taking the lead in establishing targets for superior energy performance—from design through building operation—to save energy, reduce operating costs, increase asset value, and earn EPA recognition. This guide summarizes the process and benefits of using EPA resources and tools to design the nation's leading commercial buildings intended to operate at superior energy efficiency—and earn the ENERGY STAR.

Energy Design Guidance is a management approach for commercial new construction projects. It is a set of suggested actions for building owners and design professionals to establish energy efficiency goals and to ensure that energy is addressed at all levels of the project. This guide was designed to supplement technical design references for incorporating energy efficiency strategies and technologies. EPA encourages the following best practices for energy design as part of the overall design, construction, and operations process to translate design intent into buildings that perform and earn the ENERGY STAR.

Following is a chart on how to incorporate energy targets, analysis, and tracking during design and operating phases of the building process:

Set Energy Use Targets

Architects are required to design buildings to meet the mandated code. But beyond that, EPA recommends that designers also establish energy use targets—based on energy consumption data from actual buildings—by using Target Finder. This target accounts for how activities, people, and systems will affect energy use and enables the design team to make decisions that support the function and optimum energy efficiency of the building.

For more information, please visit www.energystar.gov.

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Contact Green Project Marketing

To discuss how your company and project can benefit from our services as well if there are representation opportunities, please contact Michel (Michael) Stevens, President, at (800) 260-6008 ext. 301 PST or mstevens[at]greenprojectmarketing[dot]com. Skype ID: GreenProjMktg.