The other day, Luis Fortuño spoke to SJ Rotary about his economic plans for Energy when he is elected Governor of Puerto Rico. Several members of the audience later told me they were watching my face as he spoke. Granted, I am a lousy poker player, so I imagine I was beaming! His speech was a Sustainability-in-Business presentation through and through and gloriously GREEN. He said a lot of spot-on things about renewable energy sources (sun and wind) and recycling and still more on how “he’d act by example”. In other words, he noted that our local Government is the largest consumer of Energy on the island and he was going to start there first- by making it more efficient through LEED. I wondered if everyone knew what he meant.
Unfortunately, commercial Buildings are notoriously inefficient. Statistics compiled by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit organization founded in 1993, show that American (and Puerto Rican) buildings consume 40% of the total energy. [5% is consumed during the building’s construction; 83% is consumed during its lifetime!] Buildings suck up 62% of the electricity and guzzle 12% of the drinking water while producing TONS of garbage and 30% of total Greenhouse Gas [GHG]) or CO² emissions. Indeed, inefficient buildings are more to blame for Global Warming than cars!
LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” and is the defacto GREEN standard for High Performance Buildings developed by the USGBC. The LEED system rates buildings by points achieved through implementing and documenting sustainable choices in 6 areas including: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, indoor environmental air quality, material selection and innovation. The rating system covers design and New Construction (LEED NC) and well as Operations and Maintenance of Existing Buildings (LEED EB) and others. LEED establishes a common measurable yardstick for healthy, efficient and cost saving practices and GREEN buildings don’t have to be new. Statistics show that the Existing Building (EB) market is 80 times larger than the New Construction (NC) market and its potential for energy and water savings is enormous. A 2006 USGBC study found that by retrofitting older buildings with GREEN changes, owners saved (on average) $.90/ft² annually in energy and other costs and paid back their investment in 2-2½ years. Converting Existing Buildings to High performance GREEN buildings promises to have a huge impact on Global Warming.
Today, the USGBC, based in Washington DC, has 7,500+ members and 75+ local chapters including one in the Caribbean, based in Puerto Rico. Spearheaded by Architect Fernando Abuñas in 2005, the local chapter is continuous evolving and now meets the first Thursday of each month in the School of Architecture on the UPR Santurce campus. The chapter, however, is very diversified and welcomes engineers, builders, interior designers, landscape designers, energy consultants, real estate planners, commissioning providers, environmentalists and Green Business Strategists (such as myself) in addition to practicing architects and emerging Green builders (students). Locally, the Chapter has already hosted numerous learning seminars as well as its 1ST Symposium on Green Building and Annual Assembly on Dec. 7, 2007 at the PR Convention Center. Bill Weinaug, a USGBC member- mechanical engineer and Convention’s opening speaker-referred to Carbon Neutral Caribbean as a huge opportunity in sustainable luxury living. Currently involved in 20 GREEN projects throughout the islands, he summed up his strategy as a combination of Good Design (the right thing to do), Good Value (good payback) and Good Ideas (involving a plethora of New Technology). He commented that every minute enough energy reaches the Earth from the Sun to meet the World’s energy demands for one year…and that the Caribbean is a prime spot for sustainably harvesting energy from the sun, wind and deep sea.
This weekend, (March 14-15, 2008), the Green Building Trade Show and Conference Corporation (GBTS), will also be hosting it’s first FERIA VERDE at the Puerto Rico Convention Center. Both Free and open to the public from 9 AM to 5 P.M., it promises to be a showcase for ecologically friendly product and service providers involved in the local sustainability movement. As far as I know, this is the first time all the major GREEN players on the island will be under the same roof and available for questions and answers! I can’t wait to see what Green Solutions are available here.
