1. Green Buildings Olof Hansen Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Special Solicitation Workshop
San Francisco Mar-23-04
Olof Hansen
U.S. EPA Region 9
Waste Management Division
Strategic Planning and Partnership Office

2. Buildings in the United States have a significant impact on the environment and account for:
Energy
37 % of primary energy use
68 % of all electricity use
Materials
60 % of non-food/fuel raw materials use
Waste
40 % of non-industrial solid waste from construction and demolition debris per year
Water
36 billion gallons of water per day
20 % loss of potable water in many urban systems due to leakage
Air Quality
35 % of CO2, 49 % of SO2, 25 % of NOx, and 10 % of PM emissions
SBIR USEPA Region 9

3. Green Buildings and EPA
Sustainable building is a priority under EPA's Resource Conservation Challenge
EPA is an active member of the U.S. Green Building Council
Federal statutes require green building practices
Agency issued Environmental Quality Guidance for Green, High Performance and Sustainable Buildings
Buildings have tremendous human health and environmental impacts
SBIR USEPA Region 9

4. Environmental Impacts of Buildings
Indoor Air/Human Health
Americans spend 90% of their time indoors
On average, indoor air is 2-10 more contaminated that outdoor air
20% of workers suffer from indoor air illnesses resulting in 11,400 premature deaths/year
Health and productivity losses associated w/indoor air quality are estimated to cost tens of billions of $ annually
SBIR USEPA Region 9

5. Environmental Impacts of Buildings
Air/Energy Impacts
Buildings consume one third of all energy
Consume 2/3 of all electricity in the U.S.
Buildings contribute
25% of all greenhouse gas emissions,
49% of sulfur dioxide emissions, and
10% of particulate matter emissions
SBIR USEPA Region 9

6. Environmental Impacts of Buildings
Waste Impacts
Worldwide construction activities consume 3 billion tons of raw materials each year
Nearly 40% million tons/year - of waste going to landfills in the US is building construction and demolition debris
More than 30% of the mercury in solid waste is from building switches, thermostats, florescent tubes, and paints
SBIR USEPA Region 9

7. Environmental Impacts of Buildings -Waste
SBIR USEPA Region 9

8. Waste from Building Construction and Demolition Debris
136 M Tons =
1.36 M Freight Cars =
15,000 Miles
SBIR USEPA Region 9

9. Federal Government Leading by Example
Owns 500,000 buildings = 3.1 billion sq. feet of floor space
Largest energy user in the country
2% of building-related greenhouse gases in US
$3.4 billion/year
23% reduction in energy (‘85-’01)
100 buildings are Energy Star labeled
10.5 million metric tons of carbon equivalent/year
SBIR USEPA Region 9

10. Federal Green Building Materials Requirements
Building insulation
Carpet & padding
Cement & concrete containing fly ash/slag
Latex paint
Floor tiles
Flowable fill
Laminated paperboard
Patio blocks
Railroad grade crossing surfaces
Restroom dividers
Structural fiberboard
Compost & mulch
Landscaping timbers
Park benches & picnic tables
Playground equipment & surfaces
SBIR USEPA Region 9

11. Federal Law: RCRA 6002 and Executive Order 13101
Requires the purchase of recycled materials - Federally funded projects
Uses Federal purchasing power to promote recycling
EPA and State inspectors enforce implementation of RCRA 6002
TOOLS:
Screened vendor lists
Specifications
SBIR USEPA Region 9

12. Why Recycled Products? Aluminum Paper
95% less air pollution
97% less water pollution
One can = energy savings of ½ a can of gasoline
Paper
74% less air pollution
35% less water pollution
One ton = 17 trees & 7,000 gallons water
Green House Gases = 25 million cars/year
SBIR USEPA Region 9

13. Additional Federal Focus Areas
Energy Star
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing
Green Janitorial Products
Biobased Products (wheatboard, soy adhesives, plastics)
Construction & Demolition Debris
Database of C&D Recyclers
Green Leasing
Waste Wise
GreenScapes
SBIR USEPA Region 9

14. The Challenge
SBIR USEPA Region 9

15. The Challenge
Increase the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use energy, water, and materials, and
Reduce building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal
Assess the complete building life cycle
SBIR USEPA Region 9

16. Green Building requires an integrated design approach:
Focusing on only one component of a building can have unintended environmental, social, or economic consequences
Examples:
Poorly designed energy efficient building envelopes can result in poor indoor environmental quality
Some recycled content latex paint could have higher volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions than other environmentally preferable paints
SBIR USEPA Region 9

17. Example of Green Building (1)
New GSA Federal Building in San Francisco
windows that open,
shared spaces between offices,
lots of natural light,
reduce energy costs by 45 percent, and
is expected to save $500,000 per year in taxpayer dollars.
SBIR USEPA Region 9

18. Example of Green Building (2) - Low Tech
Earthship
4500 used tires
Round adobe bricks
Solar Panels
Sinks
Grease & particle filter
Garden grey water
Freshwater collection
Roof/rain > 4 cisterns
40,000 gallons
Garden “gray water”
SBIR USEPA Region 9

19. SBIR R&D for Green Buildings
Impacts of buildings are so tremendous
Numerous research opportunities
on buildings’ environmental effects and interactions and
on technologies and techniques to reduce these impacts
We encourage new ideas/research
SBIR USEPA Region 9

20. Research Needs life cycle assessment (LCA) and
Water conservation and reuse,
Recharging of groundwater,
Construction runoff control,
Use of green building products,
Indoor environmental quality (e.g., day-lighting, ventilation, low emitting materials)
Design products to consider toxicity emphasizing natural, low-emitting materials
Effect on cost savings, worker productivity, and worker health
Comparable information on the environmental impacts of building products
life cycle assessment (LCA) and
building product life cycle inventories (LCI) tools and protocols
SBIR USEPA Region 9

21. Some Green Building SBIR Topics
Design techniques or equipment to promote building renovation/deconstruction instead of demolition
Design, construction practices or equipment to improve indoor air quality
Building materials development to reduce risks from persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals
Recycled content building materials development using local feedstock
Develop natural flame retardancy for building materials
Rapidly renewable/bio-based building materials development using local feedstock
Environmentally preferable building systems or materials with unique application to arid Southwest
Measurement/metering equipment for green building systems
Moisture control systems/materials/detection equipment for condensation, water intrusion, etc.
SBIR USEPA Region 9

22. EPA Resources Websites
Green Buildings:
Recycled Products
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing
Green Building Contact in Region 9: Timonie Hood
(415)
SBIR USEPA Region 9