Blueprint for a Green Campus (2002 Update)

Greening Campus Consumption and Disposal Habits

Part I: Purchasing Environmentally-Responsible Products

The Vision

CU adopts an environmentally-preferable purchasing policy which will institute standards for environmentally responsible purchasing.

Greening the Design and Construction of Campus Buildings

Green building is a multi-faceted issue which is partially addressed as part of some of the other goals of the Blueprint for a Green Campus. Due to recent progress and plans underway, it is worthwhile to address these efforts in a dedicated section.

Progress

The University Memorial Center (UMC) expansion and renovation project has served as a pilot project for green building on campus. The design and project teams prioritized sustainability as one of the tenets of the project. The building has expanded by over 50,000 square feet and the 136,000 square feet of existing space is currently being renovated. The expansion and renovation of the UMC has made exceptional progress in addressing indoor air quality, use of recycled and renewable materials, energy and resource conservation, and waste reduction and recovery. Other building projects on campus, the community and the region will be able to look to the examples set by the UMC. A fact sheet on the UMC project is attached as an appendix to this section.

In the last year, Housing has incorporated a small number of green building measures. As mentioned in the previous section, approximately 10 tons of construction materials from the Farrand dining renovation were reused or recycled. And recycled carpeting was used in the Family Housing office remodel. Additionally, the project review process as outlined in the Project Manager’s Policies and Procedures Guidelines now includes an environmental review of each project by the Environmental Coordinator.

There has also been progress in the recovery of construction and demolition waste with the Hunter demolition, Grandview demolition, and the University Memorial Center expansion and renovation projects. Phase One of the UMC project recovered over 2.5 million pounds of materials. These included scrap metals for recycling, brick and concrete, and sandstone and clay roof tiles for reuse. See the attached spreadsheet report. Phase Two of the UMC project promises to be equally successful. Planning has identified a large quantity of recoverable materials in the renovation phase. However, markets do not exist for some of the larger volume materials such as carpet and wood doors.

Plans

Staff from the University of Colorado attended a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) workshop sponsored by the City of Boulder in December, 2001. The workshop addressed how the LEED Green Building Rating System could be further implemented in the Boulder community. CU staff are now considering what would be involved in adopting some version of the LEED system and incorporating it into CU building standards. To proceed further, the existing CU standards need to be compared with the LEED system to identify where CU standards already satisfy the green building requirements and where they can be improved. Where feasible, changes to the building standards could be proposed as part of the annual revision process which takes place each June.

A meeting of the Facilities Management construction managers in February, , 2002 addressed the Waste Reduction and Recycling Appendix of the UCB Standards as well as the long-term potential to improve green building efforts on campus construction projects. The Appendix covers recycling provisions in building design, construction and demolition waste recovery, and the use of recycled products in building construction. The content in the five-year old listing is in need of updating and certain items need to be integrated directly into the UCB Standards in order to be recognized as required and better referenced by contractors and project managers. Changes to the Appendix will be proposed and reviewed by the Facilities Management construction managers in preparation for the annual standards revisions.

Discussion with the Facilities Management construction managers will continue to determine the best methods and timeframes for incorporating green building input on projects in the planning phase. Part of the success of the UMC project is based on prioritizing sustainable design from the inception of the project; thus, incorporating green building aspects into program planning, design and budget considerations.

An analysis of the construction and demolition waste recovery efforts at Hunter and the University Memorial Center needs to be conducted. Documentation of cost-savings and landfill diversion rates should be assessed to potentially set standards and direct future efforts.

Admittedly, there is some resistance to green building. This likely is due to project managers' unfamiliarity with the approach, methods, products, costs, and benefits of green building. In addition, the network of product suppliers, and design and construction professionals is still early in its development. To facilitate expanding green building within Housing, a training program will be developed for project managers and area supervisors, and implemented in the summer or fall. Training could also possibly be coordinated with Facilities Management.

Discussion Items

Should the Blueprint for a Green Campus committee consider setting a goal specifically for this issue?
Should CU adopt green building standards modeled after the LEED system of the US Green Building Council?
How can the Boulder campus and the CU system secure additional funds for advance investment in green building initiatives, including energy conservation measures, for large renovations and new construction projects?

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