The 10 Dumbest Green Buildings on Earth

While it’s great that green building practices are gaining popularity, sometimes, LEED certification doesn’t exactly mesh with the building’s intended purpose. Case in point: eco-friendly gas stations, parking garages and – amazingly – bottled water plants. Greener Building Elements has come up with a great list of 10 ridonkulous LEED-certified buildings that’ll have you scratching your head and calling greenwash.

From Greener Building Elements, via Treehugger:

1. BP’s Helios House Gas Station – Los Angeles, Cal.

Yes, there is an LEED-certified gas station. It’s actually a nice building, complete with rainwater collection, solar panels, recycled building materials, and LED lighting. However, don’t think you’ll be able to refuel with biodiesel or charge up your electric car—they’re only in the petroleum-dealing business. How green of them, right?

2. Justin Timberlake’s Golf Course/Lodge – Woodstock, Tenn.

So Justin Timberlake decided that he wants to buy a golf course and fix it up with an LEED-certified lodge. While it’s an improvement compared to most other golf courses, the fact remains that maintaining a golf course takes chemicals and lots of water. In the United States alone, golf courses total more than 1.7 million acres and consume around 4 billion gallons of water every day. How does a green lodge counteract the water used to maintain the course? Justin, if you really want to be green, you should have turned it into a wildlife sanctuary instead.

3. Nestle Pure Life Water Bottling Plant – Boiling Springs, Tenn.

While this isn’t the only LEED-certified water bottling plant, it’s listed for having the most greenwashed name. Ozarka, Arrowhead, Ice Mountain, and Deer Park water bottling plants also have LEED certifications of some sort, but they couldn’t compete with Pure Life in the name department. If anyone needs a reminder of why bottling water is a bad idea, here are five reasons to ditch the bottle. Oh, and Nestle as a whole won’t be getting an award for their treatment of the planet and its people any time soon.

Get the rest over at Greener Building Elements. Treehugger has also added a few of their own hilarious (yet sad) examples to the list.

Link [Greener Building Elements] + [Treehugger]

Great Green Job of the Week: Manager, LEED for Homes Affordable Housing Program

Location: Washington, DC US

Skill Level: Mid Level

Position Type: Limited Contract

Be part of an exciting organization that is transforming an industry for the betterment of business and the environment!

The U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington, DC-based national nonprofit organization of over 17,000 corporate and organizational members from every sector of the building industry united to transform the building marketplace to sustainability, is currently seeking an Affordable Housing professional to support the Home Depot Foundation’s Initiative for Affordable Housing.

The Initiative will take place in concert with the LEED for Homes Demonstration Pilot. The primary goals of the Initiative for Affordable Housing are to develop a detailed understanding of the inherent differences between affordable housing – particularly multi-family homes – and market-rate, single-family homes, and to ensure that the LEED for Homes Rating System successfully addresses affordable housing to the extent possible.

Position Overview:

The Manager, LEED for Homes Affordable Housing Program for USGBC’s Residential Market Development group will be responsible for fostering, growing, and managing the key relationships that further the Residential Market Development Group’s initiatives in the affordable housing sector. This individual will also will be responsible for research, documentation, and preparation of tools that will engage and educate the affordable housing market toward adopting more environmentally-sound measures.

**This is a temporary position, endowed through a grant from the Home Depot Foundation, with a maximum duration of 24 months.**

Responsibilities:

• Conduct a detailed review of existing affordable green home programs, modeling the LEED for Homes program against them (credit categories, intents, delivery methods).
• Help to form, manage, and prepare information for an affordable housing advisory panel.
• Manage USGBC’s LEED for Homes existing affordable housing program, including grant request process, awards, and project tracking.
• Serve as USGBC’s residential voice, presenting at affordable housing conferences and other forums that increase the visibility of USGBC’s affordable residential efforts.
• Assist in developing educational programs designed to promote increased awareness of sustainability within the affordable housing sector.
• Manage and grow existing and new strategic relationships with green homebuilding and affordable housing programs.
• Prepare updates and provide support to the LEED for Homes Committee on progress in the affordable housing sector.
• Help coordinate with the LEED for Homes Midrise pilot on issues specifically affecting affordable housing.
• Assist in drafting amendments to the LEED for Homes Rating System that will make it more responsive to the affordable housing market
• Assist in defining the boundaries between LEED for Homes, LEED-NC, and other LEED products, as applicable to affordable housing projects
• Prepare a detailed reference manual for the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing with input from the LEED for Homes Committee and other industry experts. The guide will include technical specifications and guidelines, sample marketing plans, support tools required for the effective delivery of the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing, and appropriate integration/benchmarking with respect to LEED for Homes.
• Incorporate lessons learned in the LEED for Homes program infrastructure and supporting documents.
• Help coordinate the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing at Greenbuild 2009 and beyond
• Develop case studies on successful projects in the pilot demonstration of the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing. The purpose of these case studies is to highlight the true costs and benefits of creating socially and environmentally responsible, affordable homes.

Qualifications:

• Prior experience within the affordable housing sector is required. Experience in sustainable building practices and/or residential construction is a plus.
• Strong analytical and presentation skills are required.
• LEED AP or ASID credentials a plus.
• USGBC experience and familiarity (LEED AP, chapter membership) strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required. Advanced degrees in environmental or public affairs preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience with public speaking.
• Excellent interpersonal abilities.
• Strong computer skills, including fluency in MS Office suite.
• Excellent organization and multitasking abilities
• Ability to travel up to 50% of time.
• Commitment to USGBC mission.

Compensation: Compensation includes an excellent benefits package, including 100% employer-paid premiums on healthcare and employer-matching 401(k) program.

To Apply:

Please submit resume and letter of interest, with salary requirements and title of position applying for, via email or fax, attn: L. Jay.

Contact Information:
L. Jay
202-478-5046 (fax)
jobs@usgbc.org
http://www.usgbc.org

Link [Green Dream Jobs]

34 Stunning LEED Platinum Projects from Jetson Green

Leave it to green architecture blog Jetson Green to come up with a list of incredible LEED Platinum projects from around the world. The 34 residential and commercial buildings on the list include the twin eco towers planned for Abu Dhabi, the world’s first LEED platinum museum and Justin Timberlake’s golf course buildings. The list is comprised of all the LEED platinum buildings Jetson Green has covered throughout 2008, underscoring the fantastic growth we’ve seen in green building despite economic uncertainty.

From Jetson Green:

There’s so much innovation in the green building space, it’s pretty hard to keep up with it all.  I mean, check out these articles below.  In the past year alone, we’ve discussed at least thirty-four different LEED Platinum projects — some are done, some are under way, and some are still on the boards.  Wow, what an incredible year in green building news!  Innovation at the highest rung of the USGBC’s LEED system continues.  And so you know, we plan to pay more attention to the greenest of green projects over the next year.

Check out the four pictured here and see the rest over at Jetson Green!

Top: Platinum Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach

Swaner EcoCenter, the Greenest Building in Utah

Hawaii Center a Fascinating Display of Solar Potential

Independence Station Chasing Highest Scoring LEED Platinum

Link [Jetson Green]

Green College Spotlight: Harvard University

This Ivy League college is known for being a leader in many arenas, so it’s no surprise that Harvard University is also one of the nation’s greenest institutions of higher learning.  Harvard began a Green Campus Initiative back in 2000, and has made many great leaps toward sustainability in the eight years since. Not only does the university have a long record of environmental stewardship on campus, they’ve expanded their green efforts into research, education and outreach.

As part of their push toward becoming more environmentally responsible, Harvard University has created a comprehensive sustainability plan [PDF] that includes a number of ambitious goals, from demonstrating practices that promote sustainability on campus to developing the planning tools that have helped them make smart environmental and socially responsible decisions.

Some of the green programs that have since been put into place at this esteemed university include FAS – Green Program, Graduate Green Living Program, FAS – Resource Efficiency Program, Green Campus Loan Fund, Green Campus Building Service, The Green Building Resource, Greenhouse Gas Inventory and more.  They encompass a wide range of efforts, from encouraging residents to adopt more environmentally sustainable lifestyles to tracking greenhouse gas emissions at the school.  Faculty, staff, students and alumni have come together to help Harvard achieve as many of its sustainability goals as possible.

Harvard has worked hard at making campus buildings greener, and 20 of its new construction and renovation projects have been certified for green credits since 2002, more than any other university in the U.S. Last year, the university created green building guidelines for all new buildings on campus, designed to ensure that all buildings get LEED certification. They consider everything from using water-efficient landscaping to using rapidly renewable materials, and it’s easy to see that such guidelines have paid off in a big way: the campus boasts numerous LEED silver and gold-certified buildings like the library, dining hall and grad student housing.

One of Harvard’s most interesting, innovative and attention-getting green initiatives is the Green Campus Loan Fund.  This $12 million revolving fund provides interest-free loans to anyone at Harvard with a plan for a green campus project with a payback of 10 years or less.  So far, Harvard has lent money to 180 projects including environmentally friendly lighting, heating, insulation and onsite renewable energy.  It’s one of the programs that landed Harvard on the Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll this year.

In the Spring of 2007, the Green Campus Initiative newsletter detailed all of the milestones Harvard has reached in their sustainability efforts.  It’s a long list, testament to all of the hard work and dedication that’s been put into making Harvard greener. Some of the highlights include record-setting recycling collection, using rainwater to wash as many as 250 University-owned vehicles each week, integrating a composting program in the dining hall and achieving its first platinum LEED rating.

Of course, if you take a look at Harvard’s sustainability plan, you’ll be able to see clearly that the university is nowhere near done. Their master plan includes a multi-decade vision for a sustainable campus in Allston, Massachusetts where all future buildings will aspire to LEED gold certification and will be as eco-friendly as possible.  It’s an exciting time for students dedicated to sustainability, and Harvard will no doubt continue to provide inspiration for colleges and universities all over the country.

Link [Harvard Green Campus Initiative]