Green Builder Program: A Sustainable Approach

THE PROGRAM

The Green Builder Program is the nation's first environmental building rating system. It was one of twelve winners, the only one in the United States, of the United Nations Local Government Initiatives Honours Programme at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

A Sustainable Approach

The Green Builder Program goal is to influence building practices to become sustainable:

Conserve energy, water and other natural resources.

Preserve the health of our environment.

Strengthen our local economy.

Promote a high quality of life for the citizens of Austin.

Sustainability

"Sustainability" means meeting our present needs without compromising the needs of future generations.

It means that the actions we take to provide for food, shelter, clothing, and other basic needs, must not jeopardize the natural systems that support all life. Understanding the nature of the interdependence of the human and natural environment is paramount to understanding sustainability.

It is common to look at one part of a home without considering its relationship to other parts -- for example, how heating relates to the window size or to the direction the windows face. The fact is, every major part of a house has some influence on every other part of the house. The Green Builder Program looks at the house as a system that includes four main areas: 

Water

Energy

Materials

Waste

The Green Builder Program addresses a small piece of a very large picture, yet it gives us a chance to promote the idea that nothing we do happens in isolation. Connecting building to the local, regional, and global environment allows other elements of sustainable community building (for example, where we build, how large we build) to fall into place.

PARTICIPATION

How the Program Works

The Green Builder Program offers certification of green homes on a scale of one to four stars -- the more stars, the more green features and systems found in the home. 

Building professionals such as builders, architects, engineers, trades persons, and suppliers receive technical and logistical guidance, as well as marketing assistance, in exchange for agreeing to offer and promote green building practices.

Potential homebuyers are assisted in learning about the value and availability of green homes, and are referred to Green Builder Program members.

The Homebuyer's Option

Look for the builders that are participating in the Green Builder Program.

Ask to see the items recommended in the Green Builder Program in the areas of energy, water, building materials, solid waste, and impacts on the community.

Look at the "Big Picture" when making choices for your home.

Ask questions. If your builder doesn't have the answer or you have specific questions about the Green Builder Program, contact a Green Builder Customer Service Representative at (512) 499-7827. Or write to: 

The Green Builder Program

Environmental and Conservation 

Services Department 

206 E. 9th Street, Suite 17.102 

Austin, Texas 78701

WATER

Where does our water come from?

The City of Austin gets its water from the Colorado River at Town Lake and Lake Austin. The City has "free" water rights from the State of Texas up to a total of almost 49 billion gallons of water per year.

How does it get to us?

Water is pumped from the river at three water treatment plants that have a combined rated capacity of 225 million gallons per day. The water is clarified, chlorinated, and pumped through a distribution network of 2,700 miles.

How Is It Used In Our Homes?

Toilets 9%

Drinking & cooking 9% (Potable uses)

Clothes & dishwashing 16% 

Showers & baths 20%

Lawns & gardens 36% (over 50% in summer)

Where does used water go?

Three wastewater treatment plants remove biological contaminants, separate the sludge, and return the treated water to the Colorado River.

Sludge is composted with leaves and tree trimmings. The final product is called 'Dillo Dirt' and is sold by nurseries as a soil-enhancement for ornamental plants and lawns.

Water Facts

Austin uses an average of 94 million gallons of treated water each day in the spring, winter, and fall, and 138 million gallons per day in the summer. Total water pumpage for Austin in 1994 was approximately 40 billion gallons.

For outdoor and indoor use combined, the average Austin single-family household (2.7 persons) uses 120,000 gallons of water per year. The same household in a newer home, built to meet the current plumbing code, uses about 100,000 gallons per year. A Green Builder home could reduce this to 36,000 gallons per year.

Austin's average yearly rainfall is 32 inches. A home with 2000 square feet of roof area could capture more than 31,000 gallons of rainwater annually -- almost enough to meet the needs of a superior Green Builder home!

Five billion gallons of water are flushed down the toilet each day in the U.S. We could save 3.5 billion gallons a day, if all toilets met current code.

The energy used by pumps makes the Water and Wastewater System the largest consumer of electricity in the City of Austin.

Seven Building Principles to Conserve Water

1. Install plumbing fixtures and appliances that conserve water.

2. Plant a water efficient landscape (Xeriscape).

3. If landscape watering is needed, use an efficient irrigation system.

4. Collect rainwater for irrigation and other uses.

5. Recycle wastewater or greywater for irrigation and other uses.

6. Design the landscape to prevent water from running off the property.

7. Make a water budget to better understand the amount of water you use and how you use it.

ENERGY

Where Does Our Energy Come From?

Solar less than 0.002% 

Natural Gas 21%

Nuclear 25%

Coal 54%

Regional and City power plants. Natural gas is provided by private utilities.

How Is Energy Used In Our Homes?

Space heating 20%

Space cooling 17%

Water heating 24%

Appliances, lighting, misc. 39%

Energy Facts

Austin is located in the subtropical region of Texas, with hot summers and dry winters. The average annual temperature is 67.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Austin averages almost 60% sunshine during the year, with the lowest amount (49%) in January and the highest (68%) in August.

An average all -- electric home in Austin uses 18,838 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. This releases 266 pounds of sulphur dioxide, 99 pounds of nitrogen oxide, nine pounds of particulates and 10.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

A temperature difference of 16 degrees can exist between shaded and unshaded sides of a building. This translates to a 60% increase in the insulating effect of the shaded area -- a significant benefit in cooling the house.

An average full-size deciduous tree evaporates about 100 gallons of water per day. This creates a cooling effect outside the home equal to four tons of air conditioning.

Seven Building Principles to Conserve Energy

1. Design your home to use local energy sources like solar, wind, and earth's thermal energy.

2. Design to get maximum benefit from both natural and artificial light.

3. Provide for a healthier indoor environment through effective ventilation and a carefully-planned electrical system.

4. Save energy with a tight, well-insulated structure and duct system.

5. Install energy-efficient appliances, light fixtures, and heating and cooling equipment.

6. Use "waste" heat, such as waste heat from the air conditioner to heat water.

7. Plant a landscape that reduces heating and cooling needs.

MATERIALS

What do we use?

Natural Resources

Wood for structural material, cabinets, trim, siding, and numerous other uses

Mined minerals such as copper and iron for piping, wiring, fasteners, roofing, and structural components

Earth materials including clay for bricks, sand and gravel for concrete, sand for glass, and gypsum for drywall

Hydrocarbons processed into a large assortment of plastics used in many building materials, and as important components of paints, adhesives, binders, sealers, and finishes

Recycled Resources

Paper for insulation and sheet materials

Cardboard for sub-flooring products

Aluminum for roofing

Steel for nails and framing members

Wood fiber for wall blocks

Plastic for lumber

Agricultural by-products for insulation and sheet materials

Where do Austin's building materials come from ?

Earth material products such as bricks, concrete and stone come mostly from regional sources.

Ninety percent of the nation's plastics are processed in Texas.

"White" wood lumber products come from out of state. East Texas is the primary source for Southern Yellow Pine, an extremely strong and widely used structural lumber. Some local species such as mesquite and pecan are harvested for flooring and furniture use.

Metals and glass come from a variety of state, national, and international sources.

Where does building material waste go?

Most construction and demolition building material waste ends up in landfills. Very little reuse or recycling is currently practiced, in part due to low tipping (disposal) fees in the region.

Building Material Facts

A typical 1700 sq. ft. wood frame home requires the equivalent of clear cutting one acre of forest.

Construction waste consists mainly of lumber and manufactured wood products (35%), drywall (15%), and masonry material (12%). The remainder is a mix of roofing materials, metals, plaster, plastics, textiles, glass, and, especially, cardboard packaging.

New home construction consumes two-fifths of all the lumber and plywood used in the United States.

U.S. citizens spend 80 to 90% of their time indoors where levels of potentially harmful organic chemicals in the indoor air may be much higher than the levels in outside air.

Due to its carcinogenic and mutagenic effects on animals, the National Institute of Health and Safety recommends that "formaldehyde be handled as a potential occupational carcinogen." 

Note: Green building products and practices should meet all applicable safety standards and ordinances, and should be selectively evaluated for suitability to the project.

Seven Building Principles to Conserve Materials

1. Buy lumber that comes form ecologically-managed forests.

2. Choose materials that require low amounts of energy to get from raw material to delivered product (low embodied energy).

3. Avoid materials that are toxic (during production and use) to people and the environment.

4. Select products that are engineered to save raw materials.

5. Choose products made of recycled and recyclable materials.

6. Use locally-produced materials.

7. Use durable materials.

SOLID WASTE

Where Does Solid Waste Come From?

Glass 6%

Plastic 7%

Organic (food) waste 11%

Other 11%

Yard waste 27%

Paper 34%

How is solid waste handled?

Most solid waste goes to landfills. The operating landfills in Austin receive 600 tons of residential garbage each day. Additional solid waste comes from private haulers serving multi-family residences and businesses.

A Hazardous Household Chemical Collection Facility offers regularly scheduled times to receive hazardous waste.

Approximately 24% of Austin's residential and commercial waste was being recycled in 1992. Residential recycling nearly doubled by 1995, and commercial recycling has also significantly increased.

Composted sewage sludge is made into a landscape fertilizer called 'Dillo Dirt.' 

Solid Waste Facts

Americans generate roughly twice as much garbage per person as the Western Europeans or Japanese.

Nationally, Americans throw away enough aluminum every three months (250 thousand tons) to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet.

Recycling cuts energy consumption and pollution. Paper recycling can reduce air pollutants by 75% and water pollution by 67%; using scrap steel and iron rather than ore results in an 86% reduction in water pollution. Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to produce it from ore.

A ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees and three cubic yards of landfill space.

Each U.S. citizen generates an average of 6.2 pounds of waste per day.

Seven Building Principles to Control Solid Waste

1. Design for standard-sized materials to reduce waste.

2. Estimate material quantities accurately.

3. Choose products that avoid excessive packaging.

4. Construct a secure space, ventilated with outdoor air, for household hazardous materials.

5. Build a recycling center in a convenient indoor location. 

6. Provide a composting system for organic wastes.

7. Recycle construction and demolition waste.

GREEN BUILDING ENCOURAGES SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES FOR A HEALTHIER PLANET

1. Remodel existing structures instead of building new ones.

2. Reduce building size with smarter design.

3. Build homes in town or in areas that already have an infrastructure of services, such as water and electricity, to reduce sprawl.

4. Locate homes for convenient living -- public transit, shopping, schools, workplaces, parks, civic facilities, etc.

5. Locate homes in areas that have diverse housing types and prices.

6. Select a location that encourages walking and bicycling.

7. Plan homes in areas where garden space is available -- on the site or in a nearby community garden.

The Green Builder Program recognizes homes that reflect these principles to help homebuyers make smart purchasing decisions. Get With the Program!

Green Builder Program

Environmental and Conservation Services Dept.

206 E. 9th Street, Suite 17.102

Austin, TX 78701

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