IDC Contributes to Successful CH2M HILL Showing at Sustainable Design Conference

http://fasttrack.idc-ch2m.com/

Shannon Dion of CH2M HILL’s Portland office and Ken Lundgren of the Corvallis office were part of the blend of CH2M HILL business groups showcasing the company’s commitment to sustainable design at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Portland, Oregon

A blend of staff from multiple CH2M HILL business groups recently contributed to a successful display of the company’s strong commitment to sustainable design.

The event was the third annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Portland, Oregon November 10-12. The conference is presented by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

USGBC is a nonprofit coalition of more than 4,000 private companies, nonprofits and governmental agencies working to promote sustainable design practices within the building industry.

USGBC has been at the forefront of sustainable design. In 2000 the organization introduced the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. They launched the Greenbuild events in 2002.

The growing interest in sustainable design was evident at this year’s Greenbuild conference. This year's 45,000-square-foot exhibit hall in Portland, significantly larger than the venue hosting last year's Greenbuild conference, sold out early with 450 booths and a record number of companies on the waiting list.

Ken Lundgren, Technology Leader for Architecture in CH2M HILL’s Corvallis, Oregon office reports that the event attracted more than 6,000 attendees.

While some companies are just getting on the sustainable design bandwagon, CH2M HILL has long been a proponent of green building practices. Today the company’s keen interest in sustainable design is stronger than ever. As of September, CH2M HILL had 83 LEED-certified staff with more on the way.

A key objective of this year’s Greenbuild conference exhibit was to call attention to the strong combination of CH2M HILL resources. The exhibit blended photos of IDC and Lockwood Greene projects with a gallery of other CH2M HILL images representing buildings that have been designed, built and commissioned by CH2M HILL.

Shannon Dion and Laura Hunt of CH2M HILL’s Portland office joined forces on the design of the exhibit booth graphics, which were produced by CH2M HILL’s Denver office.

In addition to its exhibit, CH2M HILL staff used the conference in other ways to reinforce the company’s commitment to sustainable design.

Sustainable design expert Nathan Good of CH2M HILL’s Portland office made a technical presentation. The event was also an opportunity to meet with a range of CH2M HILL clients including representatives from Hewlett Packard, Emory University and the U.S. Navy. As diverse as these clients are, they all share an interest in sustainable design.

As an aside- for those who recall former IDC architect Mack Caldwell, Ken mentioned that Mack dropped by the company booth and got to reconnect with some of his old colleagues. Mack’s now in the Architectural Department of University of Oklahoma and active in the USGBC.

A Few Facts About Sustainable Design

The annual market for green building in products and services is $5.8 billion, representing 34% growth over the prior year The U.S. Green Building Council’s membership has grown by 1000% in the past four years to 5,300 member organizations

LEED Green Building Rating System™

195 million square feet of commercial building space has been registered or certified under LEED A total of 1,619 registered building projects are currently LEED-registered, and an additional 148 have completed certification There are LEED projects in all 50 states and 12 countries Project types of all LEED-registered and certified projects by square footage includes: 25% Mixed use 16% Commercial Office 8% Higher Education 6% K-12 Benefits of Green Building: Cost Savings

An upfront investment of 2% in green building design, on average, results in life cycle savings of 20% of the total construction costs – more than ten times the initial investment. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research, tenants can save about 50 cents per square foot each year through strategies that cut energy use by 30%. This can represent savings of $50,000 or more in a five-year lease on 20,000 square feet. Benefits of Green Building: Productivity

A study by Carnegie Mellon University measuring the relationship between increased lighting control and productivity showed an average increase of 7.1% in productivity. Employee relocations within a building averages 25% annually for most commercial spaces at a cost of about $2,500 each. Flexible design features often found in integrated green buildings can help cut employee relocation costs by 90%. Resource consumption

Buildings represent 39% of U.S. primary energy use (includes fuel input for production) Buildings use 12.2% of all potable water, or 15 trillion gallons per year Buildings use 40% of raw materials globally (3 billion tons annually) The EPA estimates that 136 million tons of building-related construction and demolition debris was generated in the U.S. in a single year. Compare that to 209.7 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in the same year. http://fasttrack.idc-ch2m.com/