Environmental Law Blog
Mo Knows Green
The Lewis and Clark State Office Building, which houses the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, was completed in Jefferson City in March of 2005. This was Missouri's first "green building" to receive the highest platinum ranking awarded by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The building cost approximately $17 million to construct, but the average energy costs for the Lewis and Clark State Office Building are about half those for the average state building.
The U.S. Green Building Council founded the LEED Green Building Rating System, which is a nationally recognized third-party certification program that supports green building design, operation, and construction. The ratings consist of silver, gold, and platinum. More information about the LEED-certification program can be obtained at http://www.usgbc.org.
In September of 2005, the Alberici Corporation headquarters in St. Louis became the state's second platinum LEED-certified building. In 2007, St. Louis was ranked #7 in the US for the most LEED-certified buildings. Kansas has received a gold rating for its EPA Region 7 Office located in Kansas City, KS. Illinois is not too far ahead with one gold and two platinum LEED-certified buildings.
Currently Portland, OR and Seattle, WA are tied for the most LEED-certified and registered projects. In 2000, Seattle became the first city in the US to adopt a city-wide sustainable building policy. The policy requires all city construction projects (both new construction and remodeling) over 5,000 square feet to obtain a silver LEED-certification. The city is also encouraging the private construction sector to incorporate sustainable materials and methods into future projects.
It is estimated that green buildings cost about 0.5 to 6.5 percent more to build than a non-green building. This increase in cost can be very significant when applied to large municipal projects, but the long-term savings in energy costs have always been emphasized as the selling point for these buildings. The New Building Institute and CoStar Group both recently released studies confirming that energy savings are significant in LEED-certified and ENERGY STAR buildings. For more details about the two studies, click here.
As we are entering into what some call an "energy crisis" and the price of oil continues to rise, the cost of heating and cooling homes and business is drastically rising as well. Should Missouri's state funded building projects be required to obtain LEED certification? Is Missouri ready to be a leader in sustainable living? How can Missouri government help encourage green building?
Technorati Tags: , LEED, land, sustainable, green building, moagoenvironmentallaw, environmental law, environmental protection
Posted by on June 30, 2008 8:21 am :: Comments (1) :: Permalink
1 Response to "Mo Knows Green"
says:
July 2, 2008 5:25 pm
MO government can help to encourage "green" building by offering tax breaks or exemptions on the building sites. This, coupled with the low energy costs of "green" buildings, would attract developers, especially those who have become more cautious in today's faltering economy. Unfortunatley, i do not see MO being a leader in sustainable living, nor do i see MO state funded buildings requiring LEED certification. Our state just isn't that proactive in the "green" movement outside of our major cities (St. Louis, KC, and Columbia).
