IMPROVING OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Proposal: Require new buildings to be built to high green-building design standards.
Background: According to the US Green Building Council, “The built environment has a profound impact on our natural environment, economy, health, and productivity.” What’s the big deal, you might think. Buildings just sit there, right? Well, consider this: in the United States alone, buildings account for:
• 65% of electricity consumption,
• 36% of energy use,
• 30% of greenhouse gas emissions,
• 30% of raw materials use,
• 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually), and
• 12% of potable water consumption.
Breakthroughs in building science, technology, and operations are available to designers, builders, and owners who want to build green and maximize both economic and environmental performance.
In order to make sure that new buildings have as minimal an impact as possible on the environment, new policies must be adopted to encourage green building standards.
Specifically, the following policies should be adopted by the state of Oregon:
Policy #1: Incorporate green building principles and practices into the planning, design, construction, management, renovation, operations, and demolition of all facilities that are constructed, owned, managed or financed by the state.
Policy #2: Require all new state buildings over 10,000 square feet to be constructed to verifiable green building standards that will achieve energy savings and be constructed with sustainable materials and practices.
Policy #3: Provide leadership and guidance to encourage the application of green building practices in private sector planning, design, construction, management, renovation, operations, and demolition of buildings by promoting the voluntary application of Green Building Policy goals.
What’s Going on with the Idea Now: A green-building bill was introduced into the 2007 session of the Oregon legislature but died in the Ways and Means committee. It is unlikely that it will be introduced into the 2008 supplemental session. It is likely to be introduced again in 2009.
Who’s Supporting: The American Institute of Architects was the main sponsor of the green building bill in 2007 and it was supported by a wide variety of other organizations including Environment Oregon and the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition.
Who’s Opposing: The main opposition was from the timber and pulp and paper industries. Their opposition was primarily based on a dispute over what kind of standards should be used to determine green building practices. Industry wants standards that assure a greater use of Oregon wood products in construction.
Contact Info: Jeff Bissonnette, Fair and Clean Energy Coalition
503-516-1636
jbissonnette@igc.org
Additional Information about the Policy Idea
What is your current strategy for moving this idea forward? What is the general timeline?
The proposal for “Improving our Built Environment” is primarily a legislative one. Some low-level coalition building work will begin shortly after the February 2008 supplemental session and that work will escalate in the Fall of 2008, in preparation for the 2009 regular session. It will be in 2009 where there will be significant grassroots resources needed to push the proposal.
Based on the list of prizes that are available for the winner of this contest, what prizes would you select and how would you put them to use?
In reviewing the Prize List, we would most like to “win” either the 25 Days for Democracy pack or the 10 Days for Democracy pack. The reason for this is that these seem to be the most grassroots oriented of the prize packages, with a prime focus on volunteer hours, which is what this proposal will need to ultimately be successful.
Voters in the Progressive Policy Battle Royale commit either money or volunteer time to whichever ideas they support. To which 501c3 organization will such monetary donations go and how will they be used? How will you be able to put volunteers to use and what kinds of tasks will they perform?
Any monetary contributions will go to the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition c/o CUB Policy Center. The CUB Policy Center is a 501(c)3 organization and provides the administrative underpinning for the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition.
Volunteer efforts would also be coordinated by the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition. The primary volunteer activity would likely be phone calling individual supporters in targeted areas of the state along with some possible mailings. For volunteers who may wish to commit more time, there will likely be opportunities for some policy research assistance that will be needed as well as some grassroots education activities as well.
Information about the Presenter
Jeff Bissonnette will be the presenter for “Improving our Built Environment.” He is the organizing director for the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition. Jeff has worked with the coalition since June 1998 and has lobbied the Oregon legislature since the 1999 session. The Fair and Clean Energy Coalition is a statewide collaboration of consumer groups, environmental organizations, human service agencies, faith groups, clean energy businesses and labor that has been focused on developing progressive energy policy in Oregon since 1996.