Best Practices
Green buildings reduce energy consumption, use water more efficiently and utilize materials with recycled content, thus saving money and natural resources and related greenhouse gas emissions. Local agencies have taken a variety of approaches to embrace green building policies and programs, consistent with the unique characteristics of their individual communities.
Green Building Goals
- Establish minimum levels of energy efficiency and green building standards for agency buildings and facilities.
- Establish and implement minimum levels of energy efficiency and green building standards for commercial and residential buildings.
- Implement sustainable landscaping.
The table below offers specific suggestions on how to achieve these goals. You can download the entire Best Practices Framework under Documents & Resources on the right side of this page. Links to relevant case stories are provided under specific Best Practice suggestions, or you can see a list of related ILG Climate Leadership Stories.
Green Building
|
| Goal |
Best Practice |
Establish minimum levels of energy efficiency and green building standards for agency buildings and facilities.
See also Energy Efficiency and Conservation section for more options.
|
- Require that agency buildings have a performance equivalent to an Energy Star rating of at least 60-75 (as described in the LEED-E3 reference guide), where feasible.
- Require all new agency buildings and facilities to meet at least LEED Silver certification standards.
- Require renovated agency buildings and facilities and those using agency funds or other financial support to meet at least LEED Silver certification standards.
|
| Establish and implement minimum levels of energy efficiency and green building standards for commercial and residential buildings.
See also Energy Efficiency and Conservation section for more options.
|
- Require new residential and commercial construction to exceed Title 24 energy efficiency standards to extent permitted by law.
- Provide technical assistance, financial assistance, and other significant incentives to private development projects that meet or exceed LEED Silver certification standards for commercial buildings.
Examples (www.ca-ilg.org/GreenBuidlingStories):
- Adopt and implement a local green building ordinance or program setting minimum standards of LEED Silver certification for new or renovated commercial, industrial and high-rise residential building projects.
Example (www.ca-ilg.org/GreenBuildingStories):
- Adopt and implement a local green building ordinance or program to require new or enlarged low-rise residential construction to meet minimum green building standards, such as Build It Green, California Green Builder, LEED, or a similar program.
Examples (www.ca-ilg.org/GreenBuildingStories):
- Provide technical assistance, financial assistance, and other significant incentives to private development projects that meet or exceed specified standards under green building programs such as Build It Green, California Green Builder, LEED, or a similar program.
Examples (www.ca-ilg.org/GreenBuildingStories):
- Work with commercial developers to incorporate materials and furnishings made from recycled content.
- Require verification by a certified third-party rater to ensure compliance with green building standards.
- Train appropriate agency staff (such as planners, inspectors, and plan checkers) in green building standards and technologies to facilitate approval and inspection processes.
- Require completion of a green building checklist, such as those included in the GreenPoint Rated or LEED programs, for all appropriate building permit applications.
- Work with neighboring jurisdictions, where feasible, to adopt a region-wide green building standard.
|
| Implement sustainable landscaping.
See also Water and Wastewater Systems section for more options.
|
- Develop and implement sustainable landscaping standards for public agency facilities to reduce water consumption.
- Use compost and mulch in agency landscaping as a water conservation measure. Encourage use in private landscaping.
- Develop and implement sustainable landscaping standards for new commercial construction and renovation to reduce water consumption.
- Develop and implement sustainable landscaping standards for new residential construction and renovation to reduce water consumption.
|
RSS Feeds