EVERETT — If you’re planning to do construction work for the state or federal government, you might want to brush up on your green skills.
“It’s getting easier to build green,” said Scott Schreffler, a project designer with Dykeman, an architecture and design firm in Everett.
Building green is in demand, participants at the Green Conference, held Tuesday in Everett, found out. Private companies and individual home buyers are looking for environmentally friendly elements in their buildings. Governments — including the city of Mukilteo and the state of Washington — increasingly are incorporating green standards into their new projects.
That means contractors and construction companies have to come up to speed on the different standards for green construction practices.
“Is this a fad?” Schreffler said. “No.”
Green construction has grown from a $10 billion industry in 2005 to an estimated $60 billion by 2010, he said. About 22 percent of new home construction in King County will meet some type of green-built standard, estimates Schreffler. Roughly 5 percent to 10 percent of new home construction in Snohomish County also aims to be green.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or the LEED, ratings system provides a standard measurement of green building. The system rates buildings on a variety of green practices including water and energy management and indoor air quality. Incorporating recycled materials in the building’s construction is encouraged, as is reducing the amount of waste created in the process.
The LEED gives points for the different categories and ranks a building’s “greenness” accordingly from simple certification to silver, gold and platinum levels. City, state and federal government agencies increasingly are requiring levels of greenness — through either LEED or their own standards.
The state of Washington requires LEED certification on all of its state-funded buildings. Its schools follow a separate standard. Among the green-built schools is Everett’s Forest View Elementary School, which Dykeman designed.
Stuart Simpson, with Washington state General Administration, is tracking 67 LEED construction projects worth an estimated $1.4 billion.
“It’s just gaining momentum,” Simpson said.
Federal construction projects also have a green component these days, due in part to decreasing costs of green construction materials.
Thomas Moore, with the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest, said that the Navy wants all of its new projects to be LEED Silver certified beginning next year. With costs for green projects dropping, Congress has added funds into the Navy’s budget to meet green standards.
“We’re looking for reasons to choose sustainable elements in our projects,” Moore said. “We’re actually asking the industry to come up with solutions.”
Industrywide, projects that meet the minimal LEED certification level typically cost 0.66 percent more than standard building projects, Dykeman’s Schreffler said. But the greenest projects — the LEED platinum ones — can drive up costs 6.8 percent above those of a standard construction project.
What can homeowners, companies or government officials hope to gain from a green building besides simply feeling good about it? Green buildings provide an 8 percent to 9 percent savings in operation costs, Schreffler said. The projects also have an average value of 7.5 percent higher than their counterparts.
In the state, roughly 350 projects have been registered to go through LEED certification and 86 already are certified. In Snohomish County, the Monroe Corrections facility has obtained LEED certification. Seven projects, including Mukilteo’s city hall, are registered for LEED consideration.
As the greening of the construction industry grows, there’s an increasing push for truly sustainable buildings — ones that create their own energy and make efficient use out of waste.
“As it becomes easier to achieve LEED, you’ll see the bar being raised,” Schreffler said.
Reporter Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454 or mdunlop@heraldnet.com.
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