| Green Building Task Force - Background and Resources |
Glossary of Green Building terms
Links to resource materials, guides, reports:
Green Building
General
| Green Building Annual Report |
2007 Report on the City of Seattle's Green Building Program, including technical assistance, code updates, and conservation achieved. |
| Playbook for Green Buildings + Neighborhoods |
The Playbook provides local governments with guidance and resources to rapidly advance green buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructure. |
| King County GreenTools |
The GreenTools program is designed to help all King County stakeholders green their built environment while addressing critical environmental issues, such as global warming, critical habitat restoration and solid waste reduction. GreenTools provides technical assistance, grants and hands-on training to help users create green projects efficiently and effectively. |
| Cascadia Green Building Council |
The Cascadia Region Green Building Council is one of three original chapters of the US Green Building Council, and covers Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaksa, but also includes members from Montana and Idaho. The Council was established to help the US and Canada Green Building Councils meet their goals in the Pacific Northwest. |
| Cascadia GBC Costs and Benefits |
Studies and case studies on costs and benefits of green building in the Pacific Northwest. |
| US Green Building Council (USGBC) |
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization composed of more than 15,000 organizations from across the building industry that are working to advance structures that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. The USGBC's Mission is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. |
| USGBC LEED Rating Systems |
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. |
| USGBC Research and Publications |
General research database on green building and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. |
| USGBC Economic Analysis Research |
List of studies aimed at quantifying the costs and benefits of green building. |
| USGBC Tools for Government and Schools |
Best practices and other resources specific to government and institutional adoption of green building. |
| USGBC LEED Initiatives in Government and Schools |
List of LEED/Green Building Policies in place in cities, states and school districts across the country. |
| USGBC Buildings and Climate Change |
Document produced by the US Green Building Council identifying the link between the residential and commercial building sectors and climate change. |
| US Department of Energy High Performance Buildings Database |
Information from buildings around the world, ranging from homes and commercial interiors to large buildings and even whole campuses and neighborhoods. These may be certified green projects, or simply projects that have one or more notable environmental features. |
| Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Market Research Reports |
Reports commissioned by NEEA on the new and existing, residential and non-residential building stock in the Northwest. |
| Buildings and Climate Change: Status, Challenges and Opportunities |
This report, from the Sustainable Buildings and Construction Initiative of UNEP, finds that significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions can be made using existing technologies and building materials. |
| Local Leaders in Sustainability |
A Study of Green Building Programs in Our Nation's Communities
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| Seattle Energy Code Overview |
Residential and commercial energy codes on Department of Planning & Development's site. |
| Reducing US Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost |
Report completed by McKinsey & Co. which includes a detailed cost-benefit analysis of policy options available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the US over a 25-year period.
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Residential
| City Green Building Residential Case Studies |
These single family residential case studies demonstrate how smart technologies, eco-friendly materials, energy-efficiency and other green features combine to make a great living environment. |
| City Green Building Multi-Family Residential Case Studies |
These residential case studies demonstrate how smart technologies, eco-friendly materials, energy-efficiency and other green features combine to make a great living environment. |
| Green Home Guides |
City Green Home Remodel Guide series covers common remodeling topics, giving helpful hints on materials and strategies to create a home that's healthy, saves money, and is easy on the environment. |
| Built Green |
Built Green™ is a non-profit, residential green building program developed by the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. While contractors in Seattle already build to some of the toughest energy, air quality, stormwater management, and water efficiency standards in the nation, Built Green goes beyond these standards. Built Green promotes best known practices and is responsive to regional environmental issues to give homeowners added value and peace of mind. |
| Seattle Housing Inventory |
An analysis of housing data citywide and for four geographic areas of the City, prepared in response to City Council's 2006 request for a detailed inventory of four geographic areas' housing: University District, Center City, Central Area, and Southeast Seattle. |
| SeaGreen |
Program to promote energy conservation, operational savings and sustainable building practices in affordable multifamily housing projects. |
| Seattle Office of Housing Homewise Program |
City of Seattle's HomeWise Weatherization program provides grants to eligible households for weatherization, free of charge. Using state of the art equipment, a HomeWise Property Rehabilitation Specialist conducts an energy analysis, recommends and installes a conservation package. HomeWise Weatherization grants are available to eligible Seattle homeowners with any heat source. |
| Seattle City Light Residential Conservation |
Conservation programs, services and incentives for homeowners. |
| Seattle City Light Business Conservation |
Conservation programs, services and incentives to help businesses reduce electricity costs while enhancing productivity. |
| Puget Sound Energy: For Your Home |
Residential conservation programs and services. |
| Puget Sound Energy: For Your Business |
Energy efficiency progams and rebates for businesses. |
| Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA): Residential New Construction (Single and Multi-Family) Billing Analysis |
Report commissioned by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) to characterize the overall energy usage of residential buildings. |
| Single-Family Residential Existing Construction Stock Assessment |
Report commissioned by NEEA to characterize single-family residential existing construction using a sample of buildings surveyed in 2004 through 2006 as part of NEEA’s Distribution Efficiency Initiative program. |
| Multifamily Residential New Construction Characteristics and Practices Study |
Report commissioned by the NEEA to characterize multifamily residential new construction using a representative sample of buildings constructed in 2004 and 2005. |
| Existing Multifamily Tenant Appliance Efficiency Saturation Study |
Report commissioned by NEEA to summarize the saturation levels of lighting and appliances in the common area and tenant spaces in multifamily residential complexes. |
| Report: 2004 Multifamily Building Stock Survey |
Report commissioned by NEAA to characterize multifamily residences and common areas for a sample of complexes in the Pacific Northwest. |
| Baseline Characteristics Of the Multi-Family Sectors in Oregon and Washington |
Study commissioned by NEEA to establish the current practices and attitudes of building professionals in the muiltfamily residential building sector.
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Non-Residential
| City Green Building Commercial Case Studies |
Case studies show how green building can increase project market value, lower operating costs over the life of the building, and provide tenants with a healthier and more productive working environment. |
| City Green Building Municipal Building Case Studies |
The case studies on City of Seattle capital improvement projects offered below highlight a variety of green building approaches, design strategies, materials, and lessons learned that can help with your next project. |
| Assessment of the Technical Potential for Achieving Net Zero-Energy Buildings in the Commercial Sector |
This report summarizes the findings from research conducted at NREL to assess the technical potential
for zero-energy building (ZEB) technologies and practices to reduce the impact of commercial buildings
on the U.S. energy system. |
| Energy Performance of LEED for New Construction Buildings |
This study analyzes measured energy performance for 121 LEED New Construction (NC) buildings. The results show that projects certified by the USGBC LEED program average substantial energy performance improvement over non-LEED building stock. |
| Commercial Buildings Operations and Maintenance Market Assessment |
Report commissioned by Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance to examine the Operations & Maintenance market operating in the Pacific Northwest and a prospective assessment of the implications of those findings for a potential energy efficiency program offering. |
| Seattle Steam Service Area |
The Seattle Steam Company is a privately owned district heating public utility that provides steam (generated by burning natural gas, diesel oil, and recycled wood) to over 175 business in downtown Seattle and on First Hill via 18 miles of steam pipeline. Its plants are located on Western Avenue at Union Street, just west of the Pike Place Market, and on Post Avenue at Yesler Way, in Pioneer Square. Seattle Steam was founded in 1893 as the Seattle Steam Heat and Power Co. It owns 18 miles of pipes under the streets of Downtown. Its average winter output is 250,000 to 300,000 lbs of steam per hour; this drops to less than 100,000 pounds in the summer. Seattle Steam's biggest customers are Swedish Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, and Virginia Mason Medical Center, which use the steam for heat and sterilization. Other big customers include hotels, which use the steam for heat and for generating hot water, Seattle Public Library, which uses it for heat and the Seattle Art Museum, which uses it for heat and humidity control. |
| Seattle Steam "Benefits of District Energy" |
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| ASHRAE/USGBC/IESNA Standard 189 on High-Performance Green Buildings |
Article in Building Safety Journal, August 2007 |
| ASHRAE/USGBC/IESNA Std 189: Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings |
This is a PowerPoint presentation by John Hogan (June 2007). |
| 2006 Washington and Seattle Energy Codes (and relationship to Std 90.1 & LEED) |
PowerPoint presentation by John Hogan to Seattle Chapter AIA codeGREEN (September 2007) |
| L2A: Conservation of fuel and power in new buildings other than dwellings [UK] |
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| Energy Performance of Buildings: Application of Energy Performance Regulations to Existing Buildings [EU] |
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| Towards Energy Efficient Buildings in Europe
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| Energy Performance of LEED for New Construction |
This study, performed by the New Buildings Institute, found that on average, LEED-NC buildings are delivering anticipated savings. LEED energy use is similar to predictions--25-30% better than the national average. Average savings increase for the higher LEED levels, with Gold/Platinum buildings approaching the interim goal of Architecture 2030. Results for individual buildings, of course, continue to vary, which calls for further research and areas of improvement for LEED. |
| Carbon Feebate Structure (graphic representation) |
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| Portland Green Building Policy with feebate structure prose |
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| New Buildings Institute studies |
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| NBI "A Market-Friendly Post-Occupancy Evaluation: Building Performance Report" |
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| Green Building Incentives that Work: A Look at How Local Governments Are Incentivizing Green Development |
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| Cost of Green Revisited: Reexamining the Feasibility and Cost Impact of Sustainable Design in the Light of Increased Market Adoption |
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Green Technology
Climate Change
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General
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide independent scientific advice on the complex and important issue of climate change. The Panel was asked to prepare, based on available scientific information, a report on all aspects relevant to climate change and its impacts and to formulate realistic response strategies. The first assessment report of the IPCC served as the basis for negotiating the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The most recent, fourth assessment report, was released in 2007. |
| IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 |
The main activity of the IPCC is to provide in regular intervals Assessment Reports of the state of knowledge on climate change. The latest one is "Climate Change 2007", the Fourth IPCC Assessment Report. |
| University of Washington Climate Impacts Group |
Interdisciplinary research group studying the impacts of natural climate variability and global climate change (“global warming”) on the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW). Through research and interaction with regional stakeholders, the CIG works to increase the resilience of the Pacific Northwest to fluctuations in climate.The CIG's research focuses on four key sectors of the PNW environment: water resources, aquatic ecosystems, forests, and coasts. |
| Washington State Department of Ecology Climate Portal |
Landing page for climate policy at the state level. Includes links to the Governor's Climate Action Team, as well as working groups on Growth Management, Mandatory Reporting, Forestry and Agriculture, and the Green Economy. |
| Washington State Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Reference Case Projections, 1990-2020 |
Estimate of Washington state’s anthropogenic GHG emissions and sinks (carbon storage) for the period from 1990 to 2020. |
| Governor's Climate Action Team |
The primary purpose of the 2008 Climate Action Team work will be to transform the comprehensive recommendations developed in 2007 into a small number of focused, refined, and effective set of actions that Governor Gregoire and the Washington Legislature can implement in order to take the critical next steps to address climate change. |
| Energy Efficiency and Green Building Implementation Working Group |
The goal of the Energy Efficiency and Green Buildings IWG is to identify actions that can result in significant emission reductions in Washington’s built environment, both directly through reduced use of fossil fuel based energy as well as indirectly by reducing the use of greenhouse gas-intensive products. |
| An Overview of the State Environmental Policy Act |
SEPA 101 Overview, PDF of PowerPoint |
| SEPA Implementation Working Group |
The goal of the SEPA IWG is to develop recommendations to ensure that consideration of climate change is included in the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). |
| Western Climate Initiative |
The Western Climate Initiative is a collaboration which was launched in February 2007 by the Governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington to develop regional strategies to address climate change. WCI is identifying, evaluating and implementing collective and cooperative ways to reduce greenhouse gases in the region. In particular, the WCI released a draft design for a regional cap and trade system on July 23, 2008. |
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Seattle Climate Action Plan
| Seattle Climate Action Plan homepage |
Seattle’s Climate Action Plan is a robust call to action for the entire community. A “greenprint” for a climate-friendly Seattle, the plan calls for new climate protection investments, the formation of diverse and strategic partnerships and action from businesses, government and citizens. |
| Mayor's Green Ribbon Commission on Climate Protection |
To meet the Kyoto goal locally and to provide a “green-print” for others to use elsewhere, the Mayor appointed the Green Ribbon Commission on Climate Protection. The Commission — which includes 18 leaders from Seattle 's business, labor, non-profit, government and academic communities — was specifically charged with developing local solutions to global climate disruption and beginning development of a Climate Action Plan. |
| Green Ribbon Commission Report and Recommendations |
Executive Summary, Full Report and Recommendations, Technical Appendix |
| Seattle’s Community Carbon Footprint: an Update |
City of Seattle Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory Summary Report |
| 2005 Inventory of Seattle Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Community & Corporate |
City of Seattle Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory Full Report |
| Seattle Climate Action Plan |
The Seattle Climate Action Plan implements the 18 recommendations that the Green Ribbon Commission delivered in March, 2006. Its purpose is to provide common-sense steps that people, businesses and the City can take to make a real difference in the battle against climate change. |
| Climate Action Plan Progress Report |
Published October 2007, this report provides an overview of key strategies and highlights some significant accomplishments of its Climate Action Plan, a comprehensive roadmap released by Mayor Nickels in 2006. |
| Seattle Climate Action Now |
Seattle Climate Action Now is an exciting effort to give everyone in Seattle the tools needed to start making a real difference at home, at work, and on the road. It will bring you together with people across the street and across town to take action to protect the climate for all of us and for future generations. |
| Seattle Climate Partnership |
A voluntary commitment among Seattle-area employers to take action to reduce their own emissions, and to work together to help meet the community-wide goal. City supports the partnership by developing tools and resources to enable partners to meet their goals. |
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US Conference of Mayors
| US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement Homepage |
On February 16, 2005 the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement to address climate disruption, became law for the 141 countries that have ratified it to date. On that day, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels launched the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to advance the goals of the Kyoto Protocol through leadership and action. To date, 850 cities have signed on to meet this ambitious target. |
| US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement |
The Mayors agreement, as endorsed by the 73rd Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting, Chicago, 2005. |
| US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Center |
Launched on February 20, 2007 in recognition of an increasingly urgent need to provide mayors with the guidance and assistance they need to lead their cities’ efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are linked to climate change. |
| USCM Resolution Endorsing the US Mayors Federal Climate Policy Framework |
Resolution establishing need for a strong federal regulatory and policy framework, substantial research and development on climate-friendly technologies, and funding for cities striving both to reduce emissions and to manage the impacts of climate disruption on our infrastructure and communities. |
| USCM Resolution on City Priorities for Cap and Trade System |
Resolution adopted at the June 2008 meeting of the USCM establishing city priorities in a federal cap and trade design. |
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