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LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is an internationally recognized green building certification system providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts (information courtesy of USGBC web site). |
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Energy Star: A joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Using a tool known as Portfolio Manager (http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evaluate_performance.bus_portfoliomanager), for many facilities, you can rate their energy performance on a scale of 1-100 relative to similar buildings nationwide. Your building is not compared to the other buildings entered into Portfolio Manager to determine your ENERGY STAR rating. Instead, statistically representative models are used to compare your building against similar buildings from a national survey conducted by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration. This national survey, known as the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), is conducted every four years, and gathers data on building characteristics and energy use from thousands of buildings across the United States. Your buildingÕs peer group of comparison is those buildings in the CBECS survey that have similar building and operating characteristics. A rating of 50 indicates that the building, from an energy consumption standpoint, performs better than 50 percent of all similar buildings nationwide, while a rating of 75 indicates that the building performs better than 75 percent of all similar buildings nationwide. |
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Green Globes: A revolutionary green building guidance and assessment program that offers an effective, practical and affordable way to advance the overall environmental performance and sustainability of commercial buildings. Essential elements of the Green Globes system include:
- Comprehensive environmental assessment protocol
- Software tools that speed and simplify online assessment
- Best practices guidance for green construction and operations
- Qualified assessors with green building expertise
- Rating/certification system
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