Why is This Important?

The built environment-the sum total of all structures in which we live and work-is one of the largest single consumers of resources in the county. Green building practices seek to minimize the impact of our built environment on our air, water, and land by creating healthier and more resource-efficient buildings. Green buildings reduce solid waste, conserve energy and water, and provide economic benefits by reducing operating costs and enhancing asset values. Well-designed green buildings may also increase worker productivity.

What is a Sustainable State?

In a sustainable state buildings are resource efficient, produce minimal waste, are built with nontoxic substances, have healthy indoor environments, and are located to allow for use of public transportation.

How Are We Doing?

The buildings that house our families, businesses, and organizations are among the largest users of resources in the county.
• In 2008, approximately 47 percent of all energy use in San Mateo County (both electricity and natural gas) was consumed in residential homes, an amount that is almost unchanged over the last decade.
• Homes have accounted for 65-70 percent of all water use in the county in each of the past four years.
• A report by Environmental Building News (EBN) found that for an average office building in the United States, commuting by office workers accounts for 30% more energy than the building itself uses; this highlights the importance of location in the green building process.
• Even with mandatory construction and demolition debris recycling programs in place throughout the county, approximately 8 percent of all landfilled waste is from construction and demolition of buildings.

Green Building Rating and Construction
Green buildings are commonly "rated" based on the following:
• Sustainable site development: selecting locations for buildings that minimize impacts on ecosystems and undeveloped land, and maximize use of native landscaping and regional transit connections.
• Water efficiency: using more efficient water fixtures inside along with native landscaping and water-efficient irrigation outside.
• Energy efficiency: incorporating a combination of technologies and design to minimize the use of energy.
• Materials selection: using sustainably-grown and produced building materials and reusing and recycling existing materials through deconstruction where appropriate.
• Indoor environmental quality: using nontoxic building materials, HVAC systems, and natural daylight to produce clean, healthy air.

LEED
The most well-known certification system is the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). It awards points based on a project's performance in the areas outlined above, and certifies projects on a sliding scale from "Certified" up to "Platinum."

As of December 1, 2009, the county was home to 874,000 square feet of LEED-certified space in 14 projects (this number excludes projects whose data are kept private). Total LEED-certified space in the county has increased almost six fold since 2005. During 2009, six new publicly-listed LEED buildings were certified in the county.

LEED-registered (but not yet certified) projects are another valuable metric for measuring adoption of green building practices in the county. At the end of 2009, there were 7.7 million square feet of LEED-registered buildings, 3.9 million of that registered in 2009 alone.

GreenPoint Rating
Build It Green, a Bay Area non-profit, has developed a new rating system focused on residential development in California. The "GreenPoint Rated" system awards points based on similar criteria to LEED, but with a streamlined certification process focused on residential development and involves a professional rater making a site visit.

This system has been adopted by a number of local governments for green building ordinances for residential construction (See also: Green Building Ordinances section below).

The California Green Building Standards Code
In 2008, the California Building Standards Commission adopted a green building code for all new construction statewide. Starting January 1, 2011, the standards for new construction included in this code will set a mandatory "minimum threshold" for green building in all cities and counties in the state. The code sets requirements for energy efficiency in both lighting and heating systems, and sets requirements for use of water saving fixtures and recycled water where possible.

Cost of Green Building Construction
One of the most common explanations offered for not "going green" in construction is that it is too expensive; a collection of recent research, however has determined that, in fact, the cost premiums to construct to LEED standards are much less than often cited.

A study by Davis Langdon published in 2007 called The Cost of Green Revisited found no statistically significant difference in the cost of achieving LEED certification. The study surmises that much of the cited cost "premium" of incorporating green building principles into construction results from comparing original (and often inaccurate) project cost estimates with final project costs, with the assumption that any costs above this initial estimate were related to going green.

In "The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Building" the authors reviewed 33 building projects and found, on average, a 2 percent premium for incorporating green building practices into construction. Another similar study, "Measuring The Cost To Become LEED Certified" found the following premiums of getting LEED certifications:
• LEED Certified: 0 - 2.5 percent
• LEED Silver: 0 - 3.3 percent
• LEED Gold: 0.3 - 5.0 percent
• LEED Platinum: 4.5 - 8.5 percent.
Although the cost of constructing a green building may be slightly higher than that of a conventional building, the life-cycle cost for energy and water use as well as maintenance and repair can be considerably less than conventional construction, so any extra costs can be rapidly paid back through operating efficiencies. In the same study on costs and financial benefits cited above, the authors also calculate a $49 to $67 per square foot total return over 20 years for building to LEED standards, when savings in energy, water, and increased worker productivity are included.

What Can We Do?

Green Building Policies and Ordinances
A green building policy is a formalized goal or guideline of a local government that promotes construction of green buildings in a jurisdiction. An ordinance amends a jurisdiction's municipal code to require such construction. As of December 31, 2009, six jurisdictions in the county had mandatory green building ordinances.
• Brisbane was the first municipality in the county to pass a green building ordinance, doing so in early 2008. It requires all city and commercial buildings over 10,000 square feet to meet LEED-Silver standards, and residential projects of more than 20 units must be rated at 50 "GreenPoints" or higher.
• In late 2008, San Mateo County passed a green building ordinance that applies to new construction and significant renovation projects in the unincorporated county. In order to receive building permit approval, all new or significantly renovated residential construction must be rated at 50 "GreenPoints" or higher. All new commercial/industrial construction projects over 3,000 square feet (or substantial remodels of a similar size) must demonstrate LEED-certification.
• Hillsborough passed a green building ordinance in April 2009 which requires the use of the GreenPoint rating system for all new and renovated residential projects. New projects up to 6,000 square feet must achieve at least 75 points, with larger residential projects required to earn even more points.
• In the second half of 2009, Daly City, Redwood City, and the City of San Mateo adopted new green building ordinances. Two of these ordinances (Daly City and Redwood City) were adapted in large part from the San Mateo County ordinance in order to encourage regional consistency among building codes. The City of San Mateo passed an ordinance with somewhat higher standards, requiring LEED-Silver for large commercial projects and a minimum of 75 GreenPoints for new single-family and multi-family construction projects.

All of the cities in the county require some level of construction and demolition debris recycling during the course of project construction.

Renovation of Existing Buildings
Renovation of existing homes and businesses is an extremely important element of green building. A variety of resources exist for current homeowners to improve the energy efficiency and water consumption of their homes.
• Home energy audits: Non-profits including Sustainable San Mateo County and Acterra offer low-cost home energy audit programs that will identify ways to quickly improve the
energy efficiency of your home. A range of local businesses also offer home energy audits.
• Go Native: Organizations such as the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) and the California Native Plant Society offer classes on reducing the water use of your landscaping through the use of water efficient irrigation systems and native plant species that require far less water than imported ones.
• Rebates: Rebates for installation of new energy efficient appliances and water fixtures are offered by utilities such as PG&E, your local water utility, or organizations like BAWSCA. (See also: Green Building Incentives below)

Green Building Incentives
Incentives-financial or otherwise-are a critical component to encouraging the widespread adoption of green building in the county.

Building Permitting and Fee Waivers: New building and extensive renovation projects often require payment of a number of fees to the local government with approval authority over the project. Waiving some portion of these fees can be an incentive to "go green."
• San Bruno refunds 10 percent of plan review and inspection fees for projects rated LEED-Silver or higher.
• San Mateo County offers "fast track" permit approval process for projects above certain GreenPoint thresholds.
• The City of Palo Alto offers an incentive of $30 per GreenPoint in certain categories up to a total of $900 for improvements beyond the minimum required in their green building ordinance. The city also offers incentives up to $1,500 for installation of solar water heaters.

Financing for Solar: San Mateo County recently launched a pilot project based on the California FIRST financing program now in place in 14 other counties in the state. In this program, homeowners can finance the installation of solar panels or other renewable energy projects on their homes and repay the cost through a special tax on their annual property tax bills over 20 years. This effectively lets residents and businesses borrow from the local government and repay the cost of installing the equipment over time at significantly lower overall interest cost.

Rebates: Rebate programs provide funding for use of certain technologies in homes and businesses that save energy or water. Many are run by state and local utilities. PG&E offers a variety of standard rebates for purchase of energy efficient appliances such as washers and dryers and heat pumps, and installation of better insulation. The rebates generally apply to renovation as well as new construction.

The Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) helps administer a number of water conservation-related programs for its member agencies, including rebates for purchase of new high efficiency washing machines and toilets. BAWSCA has issued 18,063 rebates since 2001/02, and estimates that the machines installed as part of this program save 339 acre-feet of water per year, or enough to serve about 820 households.

Green Jobs
"Green collar jobs" are loosely defined as those focused on research and development, manufacturing, or providing services related to the "greening" of buildings or that contribute to preserving or restoring environmental quality such as air and water quality. They include a wide variety of occupations, from manufacture of energy efficiency technology, to installing and servicing new plumbing fixtures or HVAC systems. As more buildings are built to green standards, there will be increasing demand for these occupations. (See also: Economy: Jobs indicator).

Efforts in San Mateo County to encourage growth of green jobs include:
• Green Jobs Academy: Launched in October 2009 as a partnership between San Mateo County, JobTrain of Menlo Park, Sequoia Union High School District, and ILM &
Partners, the Green Jobs Academy graduated its first class in December 2009. In total, the program will provide 150 un- or under-employed parents with skills such as weatherization, plumbing, and green building techniques, as well as classes in environmental literacy and sustainability. The curriculum prepares graduates for employment in fields including energy efficiency, weatherization, and solar installation.

• Education: The College of San Mateo is offering two innovative new classes focused on providing expertise in the alternative and renewable energy field. ELEC 680 provides students with the fundamentals of wind, hydro, and geothermal power, information on the California rebate process, and provides installer certification requirements. ELEC 144 provides a similar focus but for solar energy systems.