Community College Facilities:
The Case for Sustainable Construction
Presenter: Kenneth C. Kempf
Manager, Engineering and Design, LEED-AP
1
St. Louis Community College
Sustainable Construction Projects
All
New
Construction
being
built –to
LEED
Standards
First
Building
of Wildwood
campus
Opened
Fall
2007
Harrison
Education
Center
– Opened
Fall
2010
as
definedLEED
by the
United States Green Building Council
Awarded
Gold
Awarded
LEED
Gold
2
The Case for Going Green
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•
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The Traditional College Student
Sustainable Education
Productivity/ Attendance Increases
The Business Case – Dollars and Cents
3
The Traditional College Student
Environmental Awareness in General
2007 Gallup Poll
• 77% of Americans worry “a great deal”
about the environment
• 83% have taken concrete steps to reduce
energy use
• 40% have donated money to an
environmental group
• 90% of Americans recycle
4
The Traditional College Student
90% of Americans Recycle – But how much?
5
The Traditional College Student
Environmental Donations are a small part of Overall Giving
6
The Traditional College Student
83% of Americans have taken concrete steps to reduce energy use?
Could that possibly be true?
Probably!
7
The Traditional College Student
Student Initiatives at StLCC
Wildwood Environmental Club
“FreeCycle
Day” Dive
– Clothing
Dumpster
TrashRecycling
Audit
8
The Traditional College Student
“Ordinary people can do a lot to help the environment, and
when people work together, they can do anything.”
Lee, 7th grade, Mechanicsburg Middle School, Pennsylvania
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The Traditional College Student
Environmental Construction Features
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Storage and Collection of Recyclables
Recycled Content
FSC Certified Wood
Alternative Transportation
Light Pollution Reduction
Brownfield Development
10
The Traditional College Student
Storage and Collection of Recyclables
Recycling is a Prerequisite for any Level of Certification
Wildwood
Harrison
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The Traditional College Student
Recycled Content & FSC Certified Wood
Only FSC Certified Wood
Used in Construction
20% + recycled content
In Building Materials
12
The Traditional College Student
Alternative Transportation
Bike Racks and Showers at
both Wildwood & Harrison
Wildwood
Charging Stations, Electric
Vehicles, Preferred Parking
Harrison
13
The Traditional College Student
Brownfield Development
Low Level of Urban Contaminants was discovered On-Site
Harrison Education Center
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Sustainable Education
 Baseline.com lists “Green Guru”, dealing with sustainable
technology and operational efficiency, as the 9th Hottest
Career Opportunity
 Pew Charitable Trusts indicates the number of jobs in clean
energy economy grew nearly 2 ½ times faster than overall
jobs in the last decade
 An EPA report indicates that “Environmental Education
enables individuals to develop critical thinking, problem
solving, and effective decision making skills”.
 The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in
Higher Education (AASHE) lists over 120 4-year
Universities with undergraduate programs in Environmental
Studies/ Environmental Science
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Sustainable Education
MCCA Members offer Degree and
Certificate Programs
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Alternative Energy
Energy Technology
Photovoltaics
Energy Efficiency
Renewable Energy Technology
Environmental Engineering Technology
Construction Management
Building Construction Technology
Architectural Design Technology
Wind Energy Technician
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Sustainable Education
St. Louis Community College Offerings
Certificate and Degree Programs
Automotive Technology and Diesel
Technology--featuring hybrid and electric
vehicle maintenance technology
Master Naturalist Certificate Programcredit and non-credit coursework that
prepares students for volunteer and
professional opportunities at nature
facilities
17
Sustainable Education
St. Louis Community College Offerings
Professional Development
Opportunities
LEED Credential Maintenance
LEED Green Associate Exam Prep
Online Course Offerings--Senior
Certified Sustainability
Professional, Solar Power
Professional, Wind Energy
Professional
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Sustainable Education
St. Louis Community College Offerings
Programs in Development
Sustainability Environmental Design
Program has courses submitted for
approval; others in development are
Sustainable Construction Technology and
Sustainable Energy Systems Technology.
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Sustainable Education
Educational Construction Features
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•
•
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Erosion and Sediment Control
Education and Outreach
Storm Water Management
Reduced Site Disturbance
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Sustainable Education
Reduced
Wastewater
Site Disturbance
Control
on Majority of Site
Retention pond,Natural
plantingPrairie
in
Bio-swales provide learning
opportunities
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Sustainable Education
Education and Outreach
Our Education Program qualified for Innovation
Points
Information Signs
Green Kiosk
Tours
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Productivity/ Attendance Increases
• Three independent studies by the Technical
University of Denmark indicated that the
performance of simulated office work improves
with air quality
• EPA reports that improved IAQ in schools can
reduce absenteeism, improve student productivity
and performance, improve student and staff
concentration
• A study published in the Journal of Indoor Air
reported a 13.7% increase in reading test scores
and a 14.7% increase in math test scores with
improved air quality.
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Productivity/ Attendance Increases
IAQ Construction Features
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Minimum IAQ Performance
Tobacco Free Campus
Ventilation Effectiveness
IAQ Management Plan
Low Emitting Materials
Thermal Comfort
Daylight and Views
24
Productivity/ Attendance Increases
Tobacco Free Site
LEED requires restrictions on smoking – Wildwood was designated
a tobacco free campus, which is now College policy for all locations
Harrison
Wildwood
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Productivity/ Attendance Increases
Harrison
Minimum IAQ Performance and
Management Plan
Walk-off Mat Control
Pre-Occupancy
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Productivity/ Attendance Increases
Ventilation Effectiveness
20 Air changes an hour at Wildwood
And Operable Windows too!
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Productivity/ Attendance Increases
Low Emitting Materials
Limitations on VOCs and Urea Formaldehyde
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Productivity/ Attendance Increases
Daylight and Views
90% of Regularly Occupied Spaces
have a View to the Outside
Wildwood
Harrison
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The Business Case
We’re now ready to go to our College Business or Chief
Financial Officer and make our case for sustainable
construction:
• Our students expect it
• We can use it as a teaching tool
• It will increase productivity and decrease absenteeism
And he’ll say…….
How Much Does it Cost?
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The Business Case
Money Saving Construction Features
• Construction Waste Recycling
• Local/ Regional Materials
• Reduction of Water Usage
• Plumbing Fixtures
• Water Efficient Landscaping
• Energy Savings Features
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The Business Case
Construction Waste Diversion
At both Wildwood and Harrison, well over 75% of construction
waste was diverted from landfills.
At Wildwood, it was 95%!
Harrison Center
Wildwood
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The Business Case
Water Efficiency
Wildwood and Harrison Center use low flow fixtures, realizing a
30% reduction in water usage, and have no landscape irrigation
systems.
At Wildwood, rainwater is captured to water the small areas
not planted in prairie
33
The Business Case
Local/ Regional Materials
At both Wildwood and Harrison, 20%+ of materials come from
within 500 miles of the site.
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The Business Case
Energy Use
40% of the Energy in America is consumed by buildings
35
The Business Case
Energy Saving Construction Features
• Building Commissioning
• Design to Energy Standard
• Optimize energy Performance
through selection of equipment
• Monitor System Operation
• Address heat island effect
• Utilize natural lighting where
possible
36
The Business Case
Building Commissioning
• Commissioning ensures that building systems and equipment
provide peak performance
• A study of 60 commercial buildings found that more than half
suffered from control problems.
• Three case studies show savings for building commissioning
• The Chattanooga State Office realized a 20-month
payback on their commissioning activities
• Parkway Fountains Office Building in Phoenix estimated
their savings after commissioning at 15% of their annual
utility costs
• Westin Hotels invested $100,000 in commissioning their
new Seattle hotel and realized a $300,000 savings over
the next eight years
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The Business Case
Design to Energy Standard
USGBC requires LEED buildings to meet ASHRAE energy
standards as a prerequisite
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The Business Case
Optimize Energy Performance
Wildwood predicted a 30% plus energy savings over conventional
buildings using DOE modeling
Harrison Education Center predicted a 30% plus energy savings over
conventional buildings using DOE modeling
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The Business Case
Energy Saving Construction Features
Paddle
Fans –and
Low Temperature
Delivery – Wildwood
Heat Pumps
Harrison
Education Center
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The Business Case
Energy Saving Construction Features
Natural Lighting – 75% of Spaces
have Daylighting at both Locations
Harrison
Wildwood
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The Business Case
Energy Saving Construction Features
Daylight Harvesting – WW
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The Business Case
Heat Island Effect
White Reflective Roof Membranes are used to reduce the summer
heat load at both locations
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Heat Island Effect
The Business Case
Energy Saving Construction Features
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The Business Case
Reducing Heat Load
At Wildwood, We have a color changing roof
It changes from Green to Brown!
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The Business Case
Optimize Energy Performance
Wildwood predicted a 30% plus energy savings over
conventional buildings using DOE modeling
And Did We Achieve That?
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The Business Case
Benchmarking against
St. Louis Higher Education Space
Sample
Average gas usage
Average electric usage
Average overall energy
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8,000,000 Square Feet
80,000 Btu/yr/sf
20.9 kWh/yr/sf
151,000 Btu/yr/sf
Wildwood 76,000 Square Feet
Gas usage
39,000 Btu/yr/sf
Electric usage 15.7 kWh/yr/sf
Overall energy 93,000 Btu/yr/sf
51% lower
25% lower
38% lower
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Tips for Pursuing Sustainable Construction
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Leadership Support
Develop a Goal
Investigate Alternatives
Consider your Stakeholders
Don’t Waste Money!.....
But Don’t Waste Opportunities Either
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A Final Thought
Save the Earth …
… It’s the only Planet with Chocolate
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Questions
Comments
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