Brad Johnson THESIS PRESENTATION BARRIERS TO CERTIFICATION FOR LEED REGISTERED PROJECTS

INTRODUCTION What is Green Building Why is it needed Resource consumption Energy consumption Economics

Green Building/Sustainability Optimize Site Potential Minimize Energy Consumption Protect and Conserve Water Use Environmentally Preferable Products Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality Optimize Operational and Maintenance Practices Whole Building Design Guide

Why is it needed Resource Consumption Of the raw materials used, an estimated 40% are used by buildings In the U.S., in 1996, an estimated 136 million tons of construction and demolition waste was generated

Why is it needed Energy Consumption Buildings account for 65.2% of total U.S. electricity consumption Buildings use greater than 36% of total U.S. primary energy use

Why is it needed Economics Reduced energy costs Increased productivity

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Formed in 1993 The nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are: environmentally responsible profitable healthy places to live and work Developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system

LEED A “definitive standard” for what constitutes a green building (Rocky Mountain Institute, 2002). A point system where points are given in six different categories Differing levels of certification Projects are registered and certified through a process of documenting the points earned in each category

THE PROBLEM Current building practices Green building practices are part of the solution LEED, a “definitive standard” Several projects are registered but not certified Why are they not becoming certified? Little research has been done

LIMITATIONS Projects registered before January 1, 2002 Only early LEED projects are included LEED was new for these projects Lessons learned Limited to the accuracy of statements and opinions of respondents No inference can be made to the population

RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. What are the motivations for LEED registered projects to become registered and eventually certified? 2. What are some of the encountered barriers for LEED registered projects to become certified? 3. What are some of the observed differences between registered buildings that receive certification and those that do not?

METHODOLOGY The Population LEED contact persons for projects that were registered before January 1 st 2002

METHODOLOGY Procedures Identify projects and contact persons Develop the survey Pilot the survey Approval from CSU Human Research Committee Send survey to the population Analyze the data

Treatment of Data Multiple choice and Likert scale questions were placed into SPSS Open ended questions were coded Respondents were divided into two groups to answer research question three.

RESULTS: Characteristics of Respondents and Projects Thirty one respondents were LEED accredited professionals and 12 were not Twenty of the 43 projects were LEED certified Of the 23 non certified projects 14 indicated that certification was still a goal The owner and architect were the organizations initiating LEED certification (26 and 15 respectively)

RESULTS: Characteristics of Respondents and Projects Type of organization that the respondents worked in

RESULTS: Characteristics of Respondents and Projects

Time in daysFrequencyTime in daysFrequency Not Certified20 Time in days from completion to certification Average = 300 days

RESULTS: Characteristics of Respondents and Projects End use for projects

RESULTS: QUESTION 1- Reasons for certification Open ended question

RESULTS: QUESTION 1- Reasons for certification Likert scale question (scale from 0 to 5)

RESULTS: QUESTION 2- Barriers to Certification Likert scale question (scale from 0 to 4)

RESULTS: QUESTION 2- Barriers to Certification Open ended question

RESULTS: QUESTION 3- Differences Between Groups Likert scale question (scale from 0 to 4) CG = Certified Group NCG = Non Certified Group

RESULTS: QUESTION 3- Differences Between Groups Forty five percent of the certified group stated as a reason for certification “owner driven” none of the non certified group stated this as a reason. The non certified group mentioned cost more often as a barrier than the certified group The certified group mentioned a lack of awareness, education or experience as a barrier more often then the non certified group

CONCLUSIONS Reasons for Certification Environmental stewardship To keep green building a project priority Owner required Barriers to certification LEED documentation Lack of education Cost Communication Lack of team buy in

CONCLUSIONS continued Group differences Ranking of barriers Cost especially Reason for certification Owner driven

FUTURE RESEARCH Research the LEED documentation process Cost to benefit study concerning LEED point categories

QUESTIONS ????????