GROWING GREEN.

Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

Concern about global warming, energy conservation and rapid depletion of the Earth's nonrenewable resources has not gone unheeded in the building industry in the United States.

Manufacturers, financiers, insurance companies, builders, utilities and designers nationwide have formed a coalition to encourage - and confer honors upon - huge industries and small builders alike that choose to use environmentally friendly building and landscaping techniques.

The U.S. Green Building Council, which includes more than 4,000 volunteer member organizations nationwide, has developed a checklist of dozens of ways buildings can be constructed to save resources, reduce energy consumption and provide better working and living environments for their inhabitants.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.'s new call center in Springfield recently won a "gold" rating - the second-highest possible - from the council, one of only 10 buildings in Oregon so far to score that many points on the USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

"Our plan all along was to build a LEED-certified building," said Chris Monnette, director of Royal Caribbean's Oregon trade support and service. "As we got into it, we realized that with the things we were doing, we probably could qualify for silver. But in the end, we got the gold."

The only other building in Lane County to achieve LEED certification to date is the Lilith Business Complex on the University of Oregon campus, which achieved a third-level silver rating for its construction methods.

But it's not just the "big boys" of building who can play to win LEED recognition. The U.S. Green Building Council has developed programs not only for major new construction projects but also for homes. It's in the process of putting together another category for developing or improving neighborhoods.

Rainbow Valley Design and Construction in Eugene hopes to earn LEED certification for its three-unit rowhouse project on Walnut Street near the University of Oregon, designer Alec Dakers said.

"We're part of a LEED for Homes pilot project - the first one in Lane County - and we might be the first home project to become certified in Oregon," Dakers said. "We're also one of three projects working with the city of Eugene to (test) `green' building practices."

Not only new construction can be considered green. Homeowner Chris Halaska has been working with Rainbow Valley on an environmentally conscious remodel of his west Eugene home. The $125,000 project will boost the home's size to about 2,000 square feet, in part to accommodate the growing needs of the household's newest addition, 10-month-old Felix.

"I've been interested in green construction for years," Halaska said, in part because of his participation on the board of directors of BRING Recycling. "So in this project we're reusing a lot of materials. We're also insulating way above the current code and putting in windows that will save energy. And we already have solar water heating, which really reduces our energy costs."

Homeowners always want to know whether building green will cost them a lot more money, but up-front cost is only one way to look at it, Rainbow Valley planner Josh Bruce said.

"If you put in a more efficient system, a little more money at the beginning will save a lot more money over time, so it really isn't more expensive in the long term," Bruce said. "There's also a growing understanding of how buildings affect health and health costs, and green construction addresses many of those issues."

The rowhouses will get points toward certification for incorporating sustainable natural materials such as wool carpet, bamboo and Marmoleum flooring, Dakers said. High efficiency heat pumps, 50-year metal roofs, low-flow plumbing fixtures and paints and other finishes with low or no volatile organic compounds also will rack up points for the project. Stucco exteriors, native landscaping and higher-than-usual density also will count toward certification for the row houses.

Larger buildings win their points in a variety of categories: sustainable sites; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; indoor environmental quality; and design innovation.

It takes 26 to32 points to achieve basic LEED certification, for innovations as simple as providing secure bicycle storage and encouraging recycling or as complex as running emergency generators with soybean-based biodiesel fuel or creating bioswales to control and cleanse runoff from parking lots.

Decisions such as recycling building materials or buying them from nearby producers - to minimize waste and reduce transportation costs - also win points on the LEED certification scale.

Buildings that score 33 to 38 points receive silver ratings, with 39-51 necessary for gold and 52 or more for the top-level platinum award.

Royal Caribbean's score for its $60 million, 160,000-square-foot building on Sports Way in Springfield begins with its concern for the land it occupies, Monnette said.

"We incorporated bioswales filled with native vegetation to slow the runoff of water from our parking areas and cleanse and cool it before it drains back to the McKenzie River," Monnette said.

Erosion control methods such as mulched berms and sediment dams, unirrigated areas and limited lawn areas to reduce water use and fertilization also boosted the company's point score, he said.

The company also improved its rating by wasting as few building materials as possible during construction and managing to recycle 97 percent of all the construction waste it produced. It also used 10 percent recycled materials - structural steel, steel decking, metal studs, roof insulation, pre-cast concrete, acoustical ceiling tile and carpet - in the building.

Half of the wood-based products used in the structure meet the Forest Stewardship Council's standards for sustainable materials. Lighting, heating and air conditioning systems, reflective glass and exclusive use of wind-power certificates also contributed to Royal Caribbean's gold rating.

All that fits within the mission statement of the U.S. Green Building Council, which calls upon the building industry to "promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work."

Halaska puts it even more simply.

"It's always been important to me to think about the people coming after (my generation)," he said. "Now that Felix is here, I think about it even more."

MAKING HOMES "GREENER"

Landscaping: Limit lawn area. Use mulch around plants. Plant trees to provide shade. Use permeable paving materials that minimize runoff.

Water: Install high-efficiency fixtures such as toilets, showers and faucets that limit water and energy use. Don't irrigate more than necessary. Repair leaking pipes and faucets. Add low-flow aerators to faucets.

Materials and resources: Limit house size for an "average" family to the national average for household size, currently 2,200 square feet. Use locally produced building materials where possible. Limit use of wood for aesthetic purposes; choose sustainable hardwoods or natural fibers for flooring. Reuse or recycle building materials. Improve insulation. Replace incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs.

Energy: Ask local utilities about free energy audits that identify inefficiencies in heating, water and insulation systems.

Health: Use paints and other finishes that contain little or no volatile organic compounds, which have been linked to cancer and other medical problems.

Recycle: Purchase items with as little packaging as possible. Reuse and recycle as much as possible to limit waste sent to landfills.

- U.S. Green Building Council; Rainbow Valley Design and Construction; National Association of Home Builders