GO GREEN

The following project was completed by Sustainable Services, a boutique LEED Certification company specializing in Existing Buildings.  To inquire on LEED Certifying your building, please contact Bryan Lauer at 813.349.8550 or bblauer@clwrg.com

Tampa’s tallest building just got “taller”

100 North Tampa recently received LEED Silver Certification from the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) on October 19, 2009!  The results come from a year long effort by the staff of CLW Real Estate Services Group, lead by Calvin Buikema, and Sustainable Services, lead by Bryan Lauer, LEED AP.

The LEED (Existing Building) Certification entails all aspects of building management, operations and maintenance.  The LEED process “fine-tuned” building operations and maintenance enabling a more effective and efficient building.

The following are the results of a 12-month process.

Major Highlights

• 9 pre-requisites to qualify for LEED (EBOM) Certification were attempted
• 48 out of 52 Credit points were achieved – a Silver Rating
  • 2 Sustainable Sites (SS)
  • 9 Water Efficiency (WE)
  • 13 Energy & Atmosphere (EA)
  • 7 Materials & Resources (MR)
  • 10 Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)
  • 7 Innovation in Operation (IO)
• The LEED team implemented no-cost/low-cost energy efficient strategies with very significant projected savings.
• The LEED team has developed an energy-efficient capital improvement plan for lighting retrofits and HVAC improvements.
• With building owner approval, the LEED Team retrofit – 140 toilets, 173 faucets and 14 shower-heads.
• Management improved the cooling tower operation and resulted in saving an estimated 1.1 million gallons of water and $7,300 per year!  The project cost was $11,000.
• Management discontinued irrigating the landscape as the plants are well established and native.  This will save an estimated 26,728 gallons of water per year and average savings of $102 per year over 10 years.
• Increased the property’s recycling program and now track the amount of materials leaving the building (outlined below).  The site generated 311,165 pounds of ongoing consumable waste of which 228,905 pounds (74%) were recycled during our performance period (3/1/09-5/31/09).
• The LEED Team created the following policies/procedures to ensure best management practices and the use of sustainable products:
  • Building Exterior and Hardscape Management Policy
  • Integrated Pest Management, Erosion Control, and Landscape Management Policy
  • Sustainable Purchasing Policy (Facility Alterations & Additions)
  • Solid Waste Management Policy (Ongoing Consumables, Durable Goods and Facility Alterations & Additions)
  • Light-bulb Purchasing Policy – to reduce the amount of mercury-containing light bulbs onsite
  • Green Cleaning Policy
  • Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Management procedures
  • High Performance Cleaning policy
  • Indoor Integrated Pest Management policy
• Management now has the following tracked and documented:
  • Light bulb purchases – to verify our goal of averaging 70 picograms per lumen-hour (mercury) or less
  • Ongoing Consumables – to verify and compare the amounts going to the landfill and amounts being recycled
  • Durable Goods – to verify all durable goods leaving the site are properly disposed of
  • Facility Alterations & Additions – to verify our contractor’s purchase at least 50% sustainable products and divert at least 70% of waste generated during build-outs/improvements
  • Cleaning products – to verify our goal of purchasing at least 90% sustainable products
  • Cleaning Equipment – to verify our goal of purchasing sustainable equipment from now on.  Currently, over 30% of our cleaning equipment is sustainable
  • Pest Management products – to ensure environmentally-friendly products are used within the building
• The LEED Team conducted a Waste Stream Audit to better understand the buildings waste streams.  The results conclude that building occupants, for the most part, properly dispose of “waste”.  (this credit was not earned even though attempted).
• The LEED Team conducted a 10-question Occupant Comfort Survey.  334 building occupants (30.6%) filled out the survey with over 75% either “Neutral”, “Satisfied”, “Mostly Satisfied” or “Very Satisfied” on all 10 questions.
• The LEED Team conducted a Custodial Effectiveness Assessment that audited:  office space, restrooms, corridors and lobby.  The average score was 1.18 – nearly perfect with 1 being the best and 5 being the lowest.

In conclusion, the LEED Certification process was a great success.

• The building is running efficiently and effectively
• The building occupants are satisfied
• Management implements best practices
• Vendors are utilizing environmentally-friendly products

For more detailed information, go to www.GoGreenCommercially.com and type in “100 North Tampa” in the websites search-bar at the top right of the site.

Sustainable Services is an LLC specializing in converting Existing Buildings into LEED Certified buildings.  We are a boutique firm based out of Tampa, FL.  We have the capacity to work anywhere around the country.  We are relationship driven and treat each client as if there were our only client.

Our cost-effective process produces the following benefits for building owners:

• Reduce Operating Expenses
• Increase Marketability
• Increase Occupancy Rate
• Increase Rental Rate
• Increase Sales Price
• Increase Recycling
• Improve Building Operations
• Improve Indoor Air Quality
• Improve Occupant Comfort
• Utilize “Green”, environmentally-friendly products

The first project undertaken was a 42 story, 550,000 square foot office high-rise in downtown Tampa (100 North Tampa Street).  

For more information, please contact Bryan Lauer at 813.349.8550 or blauer123@hotmail.com

This article was written by Michael Hartzog with The Murray Company.

So What Makes Green Construction?

LEED Gold Certified – Tui Marine International Headquarters

The construction process can contribute significantly to achieving points in the LEED rating system.  For the Tui Marine International Headquarters, the strategies used in the construction process were directly responsible for pursuing 14 points, which pushed the project total to 40 points and a LEED Gold certification.  Let’s take a look at these LEED credits and the strategy used to achieve them.

“Construction Activity Pollution Prevention” – The LEED intent is to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation.  For this project, an erosion and sediment control plan was created and implemented to ensure compliance with the 2003 EPA Construction General Permit.  The plan included providing a silt fence around the construction activities and providing filters around stormwater inlets.

“Fundamental Commissioning and Enhanced Commissioning of the Building Energy Systems” – The LEED intent is to verify that the building’s energy systems are installed, calibrated, and perform according to the owner’s project requirements, basis of design, and construction documents.  For this project, a commissioning authority developed and implemented a commissioning plan for the HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems.  During construction, the plan was applied to review contractor submittals, verify installation, verify performance, develop a systems manual, and verify systems training.

“Construction Waste Management” – The LEED intent is to divert construction and demolition debris from disposal in landfills and incinerators and redirect reusable materials to appropriate sites.  For this project, 83.9% of the construction debris was sent to a recycling location instead of a landfill.  The recycled construction debris included concrete, asphalt, metal, wood, cardboard, plastic, aluminum cans, and paper.  These materials were selected due to the availability of local recycling stations.  For each material, a separate container was provided for collection and storage until full.  The containers included 20-yard dumpsters, 2-yard dumpsters, and trash cans.  All containers were identified with signage to help workers with placing waste in the correct recycling container.  Once the containers were full, the appropriate recycling company was called to take the materials to the appropriate sites.

“Recycled Content” – The LEED intent is to increase demand for building products that incorporate recycled content materials, thereby reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of virgin materials.  For this project, the materials used in the building contain a total of 15.0% post-consumer recycled content and 21.9% pre-consumer recycled content.  These materials included concrete, rebar, structural steel, bar joists, metal deck, laminate, roof insulation, caulk, aluminum framing, hollow metal window frames, hollow metal door frames, wood doors, door hardware, glass, drywall, metal studs, wall insulation, sound insulation, ceiling grid, ceiling tile, carpet, floor tile, vinyl wall coverings, and toilet accessories.

“Regional Materials” – The LEED intent is to increase demand for building materials and products that are extracted and manufactured within the region, thereby supporting the use of indigenous resources and reducing the environmental impacts resulting from transportation.  For this project, 17.9% of the materials were manufactured and extracted within 500 miles of the site.  These materials included concrete, drywall, and landscaping.

“Certified Wood” – The LEED intent is to encourage environmentally responsible forest management.  For this project, 75.3% of the wood products used in the building are certified through the Forest Stewardship Council’s Principles and Criteria.  These wood products included mirror frames and solid core wood doors.

“Construction Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Management Plan” – The LEED intent is to reduce indoor air quality problems resulting from the construction process in order to help sustain the comfort and well-being of construction workers and building occupants.  For this project, a Construction IAQ Management Plan was created and implemented during construction to improve the indoor air quality.  The plan included using low-emitting materials, covering all HVAC openings with plastic, placing MERV 8 filters on return air openings, placing MERV 8 filters in HVAC units, using equipment to reduce airborne particulates, using equipment to reduce odors, and using dehumidifiers for moisture control.  The plan also did not allow food, drinks, or smoking in the building.  The plan paid off after construction – and immediately prior to occupancy – as a third party tested and confirmed the concentration levels were acceptable for formaldehyde, particulates (PM-10), total volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide.

“Low-Emitting Materials” – The LEED intent is to reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous, irritating and/or harmful to the comfort and well-being of installers and occupants.  For this project, all adhesives, sealants, paints, and coatings used in the building met the requirements for VOC levels.  All carpets met the requirements for the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Green Label Plus program.  All composite wood and agrifiber products, such as particleboard, plywood, and door cores, used inside the building did not contain added urea-formaldehyde resins.

“LEED Accredited Professional” – The LEED intent is to support and encourage the design integration required by a LEED project and streamline the application and certification process.  For this project, the project manager for the general contractor was a LEED Accredited Professional.

July 29, 2009:

LATICRETE has made specifying tile and stone installation materials for projects seeking LEED certification faster and easier than ever before with the launch of the LATICRETE LEED Project Certification Assistant, an innovative online tool that automatically generates all of the information required for LATICRETE products on a specific LEED project. This easy to use online tool quickly produces an Adobe Acrobat file for each LATICRETE product selected stating its VOC content, recycled content, manufacturing location, raw material sources, GREENGUARD for Children & Schools certification, technical data sheets, and a map showing the location of your project with a 500-mile radius circle depicting its relation to LATICRETE manufacturing facilities. The LATICRETE LEED Project Certification Assistant eliminates the time-consuming challenge of obtaining and quantifying the necessary data for LEED-compliant installation materials, producing detailed, accurate information in just a few moments. For LATICRETE product details, simply visit www.laticrete.com and click on “LEED Project Certification Assistant” on the homepage, or click on “Architects” and then “GREEN/LEED.”

“We recognized a need in the industry to provide this type of comprehensive information,” said Art Mintie, LATICRETE Director, Technical Services. “The data that’s provided is necessary for any project seeking LEED certification and we found it extremely time consuming to manually gather the required information. This was driven by a need in the industry as the green building movement continues to grow. Architects, specifiers, installers, distributors, anyone, can have this information in their hand in seconds instead of the weeks it might take otherwise. Having this type of information upfront aids all parties involved in projects seeking LEED certification.”

 LATICRETE International, Inc. is a family owned business dedicated to innovative, high quality tile and stone installation systems. Based in the USA, the 50-plus year old company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers in its field. It’s well known brands LATICRETE®, LATAPOXY® and SpectraLOCK® are manufactured and sold worldwide. USA /Canada: 1.800.243.4788, outside USA: +1.203.393.0010, www.laticrete.com.

The following link will direct you to a LEED Silver Certified (Core and Shell) Office Building that I manage in Temple Terrace, FL.

The Intellicenter is a 4 story, 200,000 square foot, brand new office building ready for lease or purchase.

Please click the following link to learn more about this awesome, energy efficient, Green building.

Intellicenter Tampa

Below will outline sustainable facts on 100 North Tampa.  100 North Tampa is a LEED (EBOM) Registered Building in Tampa, FL.  100 North Tampa is a42-story,  550,000sf, Class “A” building.  The follow facts are generated from the LEED (EBOM) Certification process.  The LEED (EBOM) Certification process has tremendously helped 100 North Tampa be more sustainable.  Go Green!

Any questions ask Bryan Lauer – bblauer@clwrg.com 813-349-8550. Go Green!

100 North Tampa Facts

Paper

100 North Tampa recycles an average 8.06 tons (70,787 pounds) of paper per month.

Recycling 1 ton of paper saves:

o 17 mature trees

o 7,000 gallons of water

o 3 cubic yards of landfill space

o 2 barrels of oil

o 4,100kw hours of electricity (enough to power a home for 5 months)

· 100 North Tampa recycles an estimated 8.65 tons of ongoing consumables every week.

· 100 North Tampa sends 3.9 Tons of “waste” to the incinerator per month

Water

· 100 North Tampa will save an estimated 3.9 million gallons of water/year with the following strategies:

o Saving 1.5 million gallons of water/year with the recent retrofit of our plumbing fixtures and fittings to high-efficiency, low-flow fixtures.

o Recycling condensate water for the HVAC chiller system saves an estimated 1.3 million gallons of water/year.

o Water softener and a TRASAR 3D system reduce the amount of water needed for the HVAC system saving an estimated 1.1 million gallons of water/year!

· If all US residential homes installed water-efficient appliances, the country would save more than 3 trillion gallons of water & more than $18 billion dollars per year!  (Environmental Protection Agency website http://www.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency/water/benefits.htm )

· Each employee uses an estimated 5.5 gallons/work day or 1,430 gallons/work year (260 days).

100 North Tampa Recycles:

· 28 pounds of aluminum/week

· 202 pounds of glass/week

· 12 pounds of plastic/week

Energy

· There are 22,457 light bulbs in our building.

· 100 North Tampa has the prestigious ENERGY STAR award.

· 100 North Tampa is in the top 25% of facilities in the country for energy performance.

· 100 North Tampa’s energy use is 30% less than the national average!

Misc.

· Average of 1,093 occupants and 325 visitors/day.

· The average American will throw away 600 times their weight (90,000lbs/47.5 Tons) in garbage over their lifetime.

· Glass can be recycled forever.

Hand Hygiene Tips

· Wash your hands at least 3 times/day for at least 20 seconds each time.

· Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

· Encourage others to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer.

· Clean your workspace often.

Reduce Pests Tips

1. Keep food service and break rooms thoroughly cleaned during the day. Our cleaning service will thoroughly clean after hours.
2. All food and waste should be kept in airtight containers.
3. Report dripping faucets or leaking pipes.
4. Rinse or isolate empty beverage containers to deter sugar-loving pests.
5. Clean all spills promptly.
6. Eliminate clutter to simplify cleaning and minimize hiding places for pests.

LEED is the national accepted benchmark for sustainable practices and a third party certification program.  LEED gives owners the tools necessary to measure your buildings performance.  To find out more go to the LEED page at the top of the site.

LEED is ever-growing today as there are many different projects striving to attain this relatively new designation.  There are 6 types of LEED projects:  LEED EB (Existing Buildings), LEED NC (New Construction), LEED CI (Commercial Interiors), LEED CS (Core & Shell), LEED for Schools, Retail & Healthcare and LEED for Homes/Neighborhood Development (in pilot).

Under the 6 LEED types, there are 6 categories:  Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation in Operations.

LEED and the USGBC are continuously growing and developing better sustainable practices to base their standards.  Please view the LEED page on this website, located at the top.

LEED Certification is the process of converting or developing a structure into a sustainable, energy efficient building by implementing best practices when compared to the norm.  The LEED process entails the entire building operations and maintenance systems.   Policies and procedures are created to evaluate performance from a whole-building operations perspective over its lifetime enabling a standard for what a green building is.

There are 5 categories under LEED:  Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources and Environmental Quality.  Innovation in Operations is another category which builds off the 5 main categories.

Under the 5 LEED Categories are certain pre-requisites and credit requirements.  All pre-requisites must be completed and a minimum number of credits must also be completed in order to become LEED certified.  There are different levels of LEED Certification:  Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.  To become LEED Certified you must obtain at least 34 points (up to 42), Silver 43-50, Gold 51-67 and Platinum is 68-92.

Benefits

LEED Certified structures significantly reduce environmental impacts through high-performance, market-leading design, construction, and operations practices.  Implementing LEED green building design has additional benefits such as reduced operating costs (energy and water use efficient), increased marketability, better indoor air quality which studies show to increase worker productivity levels, healthier environment and reduce potential liability.  LEED Certified buildings save 10-50% in electricity cost, use less water, and recycle more compared to the norm.  

LEED Certification is comprehensive in scope but simple once in-place.  To learn more go to the LEED page on this site.  If you have questions you can email me, Bryan Lauer, at blauer123@hotmail.com