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Zurich Soft Robotics says Solskin can reduce building energy consumption by up to 80% while producing up to 40% more electricity than comparable façade systems.
Driven by new laws, regulations, tariffs, ESG goals, and thought leaders in the industry itself, healthcare institutions are embracing decarbonization to meet 2050 goals for emissions reductions.
Minoro, an online platform to help accelerate the decarbonization of buildings, was recently launched by architecture firm Grimshaw, in collaboration with more than 20 supporting organizations including World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), RIBA, Architecture 2030, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and several national Green Building Councils from across the globe.
The international alliance of UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Alliance HQE-GBC France developed the guide, Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans, to strengthen global cooperation between the finance and real estate sectors.
Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation’s largest commercial user of electric power. Major technology companies, notably Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, and International Business Machines, are investing heavily in new data centers. HP, which acquired technology services provider EDS in 2008, announced in June that it would be closing many of its older data centers and would be building new, more highly optimized centers around the world.
Motivated by the prospect of increased property values, reduced utility bills, and an interest in jumping on the sustainability bandwagon, a noted upturn in green building upgrades is helping designers and real estate developers stay busy while waiting for the economy to recover. In fact, many of the larger property management outfits have set up teams to undertake projects seeking LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EBOM, also referred to as LEED-EB), a certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which will house the former president’s library and museum, plus the Bush Institute, is aiming for LEED Platinum. The 226,565-sf center, located at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, was designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern and landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.
Results of Honeywell's second annual “School Energy and Environment Survey” reveal that almost 90% of school leaders see a direct link between the quality and performance of school facilities, and student achievement. However, districts face several obstacles when it comes to keeping their buildings up to date and well maintained. For example, 68% of school districts have either delayed or eliminated building improvements in response to the economic downturn.
The U.S. green building market is up 50% from 2008 to 2010—from $42 billion to $55 billion-$71 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction's Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth report. Today, a third of all new nonresidential construction is green; in five years, nonresidential green building activity is expected to triple, representing $120 billion to $145 billion in new construction.
This month, the total footprint of commercial projects certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System surpassed one billion square feet. Another six billion square feet of projects are registered and currently working toward LEED certification around the world. Since 2000, more than 36,000 commercial projects and 38,000 single-family homes have participated in LEED.
