Environmental Leader

As the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo wraps up, more than 30,000 attendees are estimated to have attended the job fair or any one of more than 100 educational seminars, 800 exhibitors’ booths or green building tours of Phoenix, reports The Independent. Here are some more highlights from the show.

The conference also featured an environmental film festival, “Green Salons” for the exchange of sustainable building ideas and a Residential Summit that focused on issues in the residential green building industry, reports The Independent.

Rick Fedrizzi, founder, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), said that 27 percent of global venture capital funding was invested in green projects this year, reports the Phoenix Business Journal.

The USGBC and the Sierra Club’s Cool Cities launched their “Green Building for Cool Cities” partnership, which will leverage Cool Cities’ more than 200 local campaigns and USGBC’s national network of 80 chapters, reports E-Wire.

The new program is aimed at promoting the adoption of policies by local governments to support energy-efficient buildings. The groups also released a green building guide for communities of all sizes with recommended policies to address energy efficiency and sustainability, according to the release.

HercuWall Inc. showcased its Habitat for Humanity project that features the company’s HercuWallT concrete wall-building system. HercuWall partnered with several local contractors and suppliers to build the first concrete Habitat for Humanity home in Arizona.

According to HercuWall, the concrete home has the potential to earn the “Net Zero” energy designation by combining the HercuWallT system with attic insulation, energy-efficient windows and HVAC equipment. The project meets the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes Platinum certification with 114.5 points. Eighty out of 126 points are required to meet the certification.

Starbucks Coffee Company has started the construction phase of the USGBC LEED Volume Certification pilot. The restaurant chain expects to build or renovate a minimum of 10 stores in six regions around the world.

The coffee house chain is also implementing a LED lighting conversion program. It has already completed installations in more than 1,000 U.S. locations, targeting more than 8,000 stores globally by the end of 2010. After all installations are completed, Starbucks estimates a 7 percent per-store reduction in energy use.

Several organizations also released their new building and sustainability standards at the show. As an example, the International Living Building Institute (ILBI) released (PDF) Version 2.0 of the Living Building Challenge that addresses local food production, unrestricted access to nature and social and economic issues.

Launched in partnership with the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, the green building certification program addresses buildings as well as home remodels, community or campus-wide initiatives, and infrastructure projects such as bridges, roads and parks.

UL Environment plans to develop new sustainability standards in five categories: stone, ceramic, clay and glass building materials; glazing materials, windows and associated hardware and accessories; doors and related hardware; mineral board, fiberboard and wallboards; and suspended ceiling materials and systems. Standards will establish minimum environmental requirements.

ULE expects to announce by the end of the year the first company to complete the ULE Sustainable Product Certification (SPC) program for meeting the NSF 140-2007 sustainability standards for commercial carpet.

For architects and builders looking for the latest information on how to increase a building’s energy efficiency, acoustics and indoor quality, Trane debuted (PDF) its new Trane Architect Web site that houses resources, tools and information to help architects plan and design their buildings.

Click here for our coverage from the show GreenBuild yesterday.