The Defenition of Sustainability, LEED - Assignment Example

Sustainability Final Exam Questions Question Sustainability is well defined as the art of living in the confines of what the immediate environment can provide. In addition it can be defined as that ability of an individual to comprehend the interrelationship between the economy, environment and the society. Another definition that adequately fits the term sustainability is the aspect of equal share with regards to how opportunities and resources are distributed. It is categorized as either tradition criteria where it is defined by cost, quality and performance and sustainability criteria in which it is used to refer to; an environment that is health, depletion of resources and degradation of the environment. Sustainable construction is on the other hand defined as: that aspect of concern with social, environmental and economic impact when building useful structures. In other words, the building established should have minimal negative effects to the environment surrounding them. Their design ought to be energy efficient. They should also provide ultimate health to the people working or living in them, by minimizing pollution. Question 2 Sustainable construction is also referred to as Green construction or green building; which is defined as progress within the society, which is aware of the needs of people of this particular society. It is also described as that concept of protecting the environment effectively. It is also the art of utilizing the available natural resources prudently while at the same time maintaining a stable and high status employment and economic growth. Natural building is another synonym for sustainable construction. It refers to use of naturally available raw material in the construction industry. Finally, it is also known as green design or sustainable architecture. Both terms are known to refer to that concept of structural establishment to cater for the present needs while at the same time preventing compromise of the future generation. Question 3 Triple bottom line is framework of accounting that involves three performance dimensions, that is financial, social and environmental. The difference between the TBL and the traditional framework of reporting is that, both social and ecological measures are included, despite the difficulty experienced in assigning of the measurement means to the two aspects. Profits, people and the planets are defines the three dimensions of TBL and are abbreviated as Ps. However, the three Ps have no common measurement unit. Though profits may be evaluated in terms of dollars, it loses meaning the instance it has to be compared with the rest of the two Ps since both environment and social aspects have no monetary value. The crucial role of TBL is that, a wide geographical area is covered and explored, by inclusion of the three Ps. Question 4 LEED credit rating depends on a number of factors. Each LEED credit falls within one of the five core categories; sustainability, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, building materials and resources, indoor environment and quality (Bond & Sosnowchik, 293). Credits promote efficient use of water to manage water consumption. The system focus on minimizing, material usage and using environmental friendly materials and proper waste management, credit rating promote strategies that minimize the impact on the environment. The credit promotes better building energy and atmosphere through an innovative strategy, this ensures that proper energy and efficient management. Question 5 LEED-NC emphasis on the design and construction procedure of new buildings and renovation of current buildings. The construction manager has the responsibility of earning credit in; water efficiency during the new construction, sustainable sites; building sites should focus on location issues such as land use and management to reduce or minimize the impact of the construction on the environment. Waste management; CMs are in of managing from the construction process. A principle of natural systems that have been proposed to curb the waste concept. This concept views that all materials are continuously valuable, flowing in closed loops of manufacturing, use and recycling. Materials and resources used should be environmental friendly with less ecosystem impact (Bond & Sosnowchik, 294). Question 6 The LEED is the world’s best recognized green building certification system developed in 2000 and managed by the US Green Building Council. The German certification program (DGNB)was developed in 2009and is managed by the German Sustainable Building Council. Both certification programs facilitate the construction of green buildings in total regard of energy saving measures, water conservation, carbon gas emission reduction and maximum and responsible utilization if available resources. They ensure that new buildings are with ecologically sustainable concepts. LEED is based on a rating system where specific issues such as transportation, recycling contents are. Furthermore, LEED provides construction owners and managers a framework for the identification and practical implementation and measurable design, construction and maintenance of green building (Bond & Sosnowchik, 294). DGNB focuses on several criteria based on 6 issues; the ecological quality (utilizes LCA data), economic and technical quality. The system uses the environment product declarations (epds) as a basis for data communication. Question 7 LEED-NC, LEED for New construction: It is one of the six LEED Green Building Rating Systems. LEED-NC focuses on the design and building process for new building construction and reconstruction of the existing buildings (Bond & Sosnowchik, 294). The green globes system was developed in 1996 and adopted from the BREEAM system. It has been used in Canada and run by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada (BOMA) and the Energy and Environment Canada Ltd (ECD) and in the U.S where it is run by the Green Building Initiative. The Green Globes system is the first internet enabled and fully interactive green building assessment program. In this system, the designs of new constructions are given in the resource center. The Green global system facilitates a more effective way to promote the entire environmental performance and sustainability of commercial buildings. The green globes for living buildings are a web application that is user friendly and aids building owners and managers in the evaluation, recording and improvement of the ecosystem performance of the structures. The tool facilitates the owners and managers to focus on sustainability and provides options when considering capital adjustments and improvements or implementation of best strategies. Question 8 LEED O+M, LEED for operations and maintenance, the rating system is useful for existing buildings that necessarily do not initially serve k-12 educational, data centers, retail, houses and distribution centers, it guides existing retail space (showrooms and storage areas), existing hotels and entire hospitality industry, existing buildings particularly designed to meet the requirements of high density web equipment such as server racks and existing buildings used in the storage of manufactured and finished goods, merchandise and raw materials. Green star system was initiated by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and was adapted from the LEED and BREEAM. It is in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The system evaluates project environmental performance against nine environmental impact categories. Question 9 LEED for schools is based on the CHPS and LEED for new building; the LEED for school identifies and recognizes the uniqueness in the design and construction of K-12 institutions. It focuses on issues such as classroom acoustics, master planning and mold prevention. Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) represent a national movement to improve student performance and experience by constructing best possible designed and healthier institutions that can improve student productivity. Question 10 LEED for hospitals rating system focuses on the patient’s healthcare and that of the environment. The significance of green health facilities lies in their ability to improve the health of the inpatients. Research has indicated that green health centers facilitate faster healing and patients make less return to the centers. The Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC)is a document that outlines the sustainable, heath care center construction. The GGHC outlines the best practices and has been adopted by the LEED-HC. Question 11 The LEED encompasses a four-staged process to get the certification successfully. The first stage involves registering the project if at all you have met the minimum project requirements. One has to choose a team of his choice, fill the key forms thoroughly and make the necessary payments. Taking note of the deadline for registration is necessary to avoid lack of certification. The second stage requires one to verify the project on course and accomplish certain milestones through the on-site identification method. After verifying the project, your Green Rater is on course to submit the needed materials and calculations for quality assessment by GBCI. Payment occurs once the LEED project is submitted to the GBCI, and then the review process can kick off. When the review has taken place, one receives the decision whether to certify the project. Question 12 The LEED accreditation process encompasses sitting and passing an exam plus meeting some requirements related to one of the credential levels. The LEED AP is the only credential that existed before 2009. Now, it incorporates three levels of credentials, and they are the LEED Green Associate, LEED AP with specialty and the LEED AP Fellow. The LEED Green Associate has a modern understanding and is dedicated to their forthcoming future. The LEED AP With specialty offers you progressive awareness in green building as well as knowledge in the LEED rating scheme. Lastly, the LEED AP Fellow defines the most outstanding experts in Green Building, and it is the most important designation awarded by the GBCI. Question 13 The LCA process encompasses four major steps. The first step involves defining the goal and scope of the product. It has to be well defined and in line with the projected application. It consists of the technical details, such as whether a study reflects end-of-life management. The second step embroils compiling the life cycle portfolio that contains meticulous account of all inflows and outflows that take place in each of the stages of the life- cycle setting under review. A conduct of the life- cycle influence valuation of the product takes place. Several assessment methods back translating emissions into one or more impacts such as global warming and health effects and lastly, interpretation, analyzing and communication of the results is done. This step should clearly define the setbacks and worries accompanied with the LCA effects. The LCA process assists in achieving sustainable construction through a number of ways. It helps in achieving sustainable construction processes, design, and guidance. Moreover, it offers sustainable solutions for technical and economic valuations and lastly, the LCA enhances the growth of technical readings for sustainable construction. Question 14 The first step of LCCA is having clear objectives that are well suited to address. LCCA captures cost variations and show the option with the overall cost between alternatives. After that, determination of the total and payback costs is done. It calculates the time value of money by considering total costs and the duration taken to recover the initial investment cost. The next process involves identifying the base case and evolving alternate designs. The design group should create alternatives to evaluate against the initial case. After evaluating the base case, cost information is then gathered. Different places such as from contractors, designers, and dealers can help in providing such information. The last step involves executing life cycle calculations. Testing between the alternatives occurs against the two metrics and a recommendation on which to use on the design follows. The LCCA achieves sustainable construction through cost saving concepts, which direct the ultimate design of a venture. It also helps in the study of new construction projects and scrutinizes preservation approaches for prevailing assets. Question 15 Davis Langdon examined the building costs of 26 LEED-certified buildings and found the cost-per-square-foot ranging from $13 to $425. He further compared the costs of LEED looking for convectional designs and constructed equivalents. There were selected 83 LEED seeking buildings, and 138 constructed equals for the study totaling from 221 buildings and facilities. When the green design is incorporated in the mid- projects, added costs may occur due to redesigning. Green design introduced in the early stages reduces construction costs. Ten percent of construction costs reduce in the design stage if an additional three percent of project costs are used in the investment. Question 16 An owner may choose green building due to a number of reasons. They have a better resale cost as long as they include viable design components. Buyers value the green buildings from having lower maintenance costs that outperform non-green buildings. Moreover, there are tax provisions from the building of green buildings. Many Governments encourage the building of energy- efficient buildings whether residential or commercials, by creating tax provisions. Green buildings also reduce electric, gas and water demand. Green buildings help on saving energy for the consumer as they feed electricity back into the utility grid thus they are no energy costs incurred annually. Green building also betters the living conditions of the owner, as they are affordable and easy to build. Question 17 However, efficient and effective green buildings are there are some barriers that they face. Many organizations have green building plans, but they do not have the knowledge there exists many resources that can assist them in their building endeavors. Another hurdle that faces green building is myths. Most people perceive green building is an expensive venture, and it does not match the quality of traditional buildings. Still, some bodies have long-standing buildings that may be very costly to refurbish. Moreover, institutions that have decided to construct green buildings have faced lack of LEED certification. Lastly, some institutions are unable to afford the education curve that can emerge due to lack of technical knowhow and suffer from inadequate building experts. Question 18 Greenwashing is a form of deceiving people, and it describes the operations that involve the utilization of the green technology by a company but in reality, the company takes no efforts. BM is an example of such companies. It is famous for the worst destructive oil spill of all times yet it claims itself as a principal green technology. Another company is Shell. It is an oil company but prefers to name itself as an energy company. Its involvement gives it a place in the green technology through its involvement in making a healthier environment has been demeaning. They diminish the natural resources by drilling oil increasingly. Lexus also contends to be in line with green technology by claiming their cars emit the least carbon (IV) oxide but also their cars have the worst fuel consumption. Works Cited Bonds P., & Sosnowchik K., (2007), Sustainable Commercial Interiors. John Wiley & Sons Pp. 293-294 Davis Langdon. The Cost of Green Revisited: Reexamining the Feasibility and Cost Impact of Sustainable Design in the Light of Increased Market Adoption. (July 2007): 1-25 Read More