Constructing and operating buildings requires enormous amounts of energy, water, and materials and creates large amounts of waste. Where and how they are built affects the ecosystems around us in countless ways. And the buildings themselves create new indoor environments that present new environmental problems and challenges.

As the environmental impact of buildings becomes more apparent, a new field called green building is arising to reduce that impact at the source. Green or sustainable building is the practice of creating healthier and more resource efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and demolition. Visit EPA's Green Buildings web site, http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/, for information on EPA's green building efforts, green building materials, the use of Energy StarŪ products in buildings, managing construction and demolition debris, reducing indoor air pollution, and water conservation. Also visit the portal to the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network, http://www.eren.doe.gov/.

The White House Goes Solar!

America's most famous residence now gets some of its energy directly from the sun. In late 2002, the White House installed its first-ever solar electric system, including putting 167 solar electric - a.k.a. "photovoltaic" - panels on the roof of the complex's primary maintenance building, and two solar thermal systems to heat the pool and spa and provide domestic hot water. The photovoltaic system feeds electricity into the White House grounds' distribution system, supplementing the complex's power supply. The American-made solar panels were manufactured by Evergreen Solar, Inc. of Marlborough, MA.

The National Park Service, which administers the White House complex, worked with Solar Design Associates, a Boston-based firm, to install the systems. "We believe in these technologies, and they've been working for us very successfully," said James Doherty, the architect and project manager at the National Park Service Office for White House Liaison. "The National Park Service as a whole has long been interested in both sustainable design and renewable energy sources. We also have a mission to lower our energy consumption at all our sites, and we saw an opportunity to do both at the White House grounds."

John Howard, the Federal Environmental Executive, noted: "Installing solar panels at the White House is yet another example of President Bush's personal stewardship commitment. When he was governor, he made sure that the Governor's Mansion in Austin was one of the first to sign up to receive renewable energy. At his ranch in Crawford, the Bush family has installed a 25,000-gallon rainwater cistern for irrigation and planted native plants -- and he's busy removing invasive trees. Their geothermal heating and cooling system sends water into the ground 300 feet to keep it at a constant 67 degrees, using 75 percent less electricity than traditional heating and air-conditioning systems - and so efficiently heating the outdoor pool that they shelved their plans to install solar panels. And his national energy plan includes more than $9 billion in tax proposals to increase energy efficiency, conservation, renewable energy, and emissions-free energy."

The U.S. Green Building Council and the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Rating System

The U.S. Green Building Council brings together public and private sector leaders to promote sustainable building. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council represent all segments of the building industry. The Council's LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. It provides a complete framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. Depending on the number of environmental criteria that they satisfy, buildings may receive LEED ratings of Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum. Several Federal facilities already have obtained LEED ratings of Silver. USGBC members continue to expand and adapt the LEED system, including developing pilot rating systems for existing building operations and commercial interiors projects. The USGBC web site, http://www.usgbc.org/, contains a wealth of information on green building and links to pertinent public and private sector web sites.

WasteWise Building Challenge

EPA's WasteWise program is challenging organizations to reduce their waste from building construction, renovation, and demolition activities. The WasteWise Building Challenge is designed to help organizations expand their waste reduction efforts into the area of construction and demolition (C&D;) debris, including reducing, reusing and recycling C&D; debris and buying recycled building products.

Advantages to organizations that pledge to the Challenge include potential cost savings, opportunities to gain public recognition for their efforts and achievements, improved environmental performance, and technical assistance. WasteWise is offering general technical resources on green buildings to all, and will be providing direct, hands-on technical assistance from C&D; recycling experts to a limited number of partners with large building projects. In addition, the first 50 partners to pledge will receive a free CD full of green building information.

The WasteWise Building Challenge is limited to partners of the WasteWise program, but it's free and relatively easy to join the program. For more information and related resources on the Building Challenge, visit the WasteWise Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/wastewise/wrr/cbuild.htm. For information on joining WasteWise, visit the WasteWise Program Overview page http://www.epa.gov/wastewise/about/overview.htm or contact the WasteWise Helpline at 800-EPA-WISE.

Energy StarŪ

ENERGY STAR, http://yosemite1.epa.gov/estar/business.nsf/webmenus/Business, offers businesses and consumers energy efficient solutions helping to save money while protecting the environment for future generations. ENERGY STAR's Portfolio Manager helps businesses continually track and compare energy use, which is critical to successful energy management. Portfolio Manager also provides a comparative 1 to 100 rating of energy use for office buildings, grocery stores, hotels, schools, and hospitals. Buildings with benchmark scores of 5 or higher are eligible for the ENERGY STAR label for buildings.

EPA's Healthy School Environments Initiative

EPA's "Healthy School Environments" website provides links to many programs to improve schools' indoor air quality, energy efficiency, water conservation, safety, and more. This site can be reached by going through the EPA Green Building web page, http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding, and clicking on the "Green Homes and Schools" icon or by going to http://www.epa.gov/schools.

Construction and Demolition Debris

Managing construction and demolition debris can significantly reduce the costs of a construction or renovation project, as well as recover resources. Less waste can lead to fewer disposal facilities, potentially reducing associated environmental issues including methane gas emissions, which contribute to global climate change. Reducing, reusing, and recycling C&D; debris offsets the need to extract and consume virgin resources. In addition, generators of C&D; debris benefit by not having to pay tipping fees for disposal. For more information on reducing C&D; debris, visit http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/debris/reduce.htm. In addition, the U.S. General Services Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology created a searchable database of C&D; debris recycling firms nationwide, http://cwm.gsa.gov.