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Final Report: Greening Standards for Green Structures: Process and Products
EPA Grant Number: SU831869Title: Greening Standards for Green Structures: Process and Products
Investigators: Sweet, Rebecca , Adams, Tierra , Blackwell, Harrison , Blunt, Cynthia , Brauer, Goldie , Bridgers, James , Bullock, Brandy , Burger, Brent , Callicutt, Alisha , Capron, Lindy , Chin, Robert A. , Cunningham, Coury , Currin, Jennifer , Davis, Eric , Devers, Trisha , Eason, Stephanie , Fitts, Jared , Flora, Blair , Jones, Kristin , Killebrew, Holly , Koehier, Terra , Lassiter, Kelley , Lindsey, Rebekah Tidal , Marjoram, Jeffrey , Miliner, Mignon , Moore, Robyn , Moss, Dorothy , Murphy, Alecia , Newbern, John , Oden, Caroline , Odom, Adelaide , Pennypacker, Emelie , Peoples, Heather , Porter, Hannah , Roberts, Kelly , Singh, Jyotsna , Smith, Cameron , Speece, Jennifer , Stevenson, ToKina , Sullivan, Christine , Thomas, Ben , Tsodzo, Munyaradzi , Ward, Kathleen , Warsco, Katherine , Whitaker, Timothy , White, Ellen , Wickell, Carly , Wiegand, Jennifer , Woodard, Charee , Yeager, John
Institution:
EPA Project Officer: Nolt-Helms, Cynthia
Project Period: August 25, 2004 through May 30, 2005
Project Amount: $9,998
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet (2004)
Research Category: Pollution Prevention , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development
Description:
Objective:The goal of this project was to design a framework that evaluates sustainable attributes of homebuilding and design products for consumers. This framework and a rubric that provides the attribute rating scale (evaluation tools) are the basis of a Consumer Environmental Education System (CEES-EPA P3 Phase 2). This system provides consumers with the means for encouraging the homebuilding industry-designers, homebuilders, retail suppliers-to use environmentally preferable products (ENP) and processes in the design and construction of affordable homes. The students designed, tested and revised ENP evaluation tools; and produced material specifications, green building techniques for various levels of sustainability; and matrices examining the cost benefit analysis of traditional vs. green building and design materials.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):At the beginning of Fall 2004 semester, 63 students from the Department of Technology Systems' Architectural Design and Drafting class (DESN 3036/7) and the Department of Interior Design and Merchandising's Materials and Specifications for Interior Design class (IDMR 3550) were identified and introduced, formed teams and organized themselves, and assigned responsibility for deliverables. The mission of the teams was to produce a draft framework based on EPA's EPP database. Reviewers of the draft framework provided an evaluation of the environmental education process leading up to the development of the framework; a critique of the rubric and framework; advice for implementation of the framework in the development of a mechanism to distribute this knowledge to consumers; and suggestions for logical applications of this framework.
Results of a survey of the students involved in the project indicated that over one-half of the students identified 25 of 32 competencies they considered of importance or extreme importance to the completion of the environmental education project for which they improved or significantly improved their individual effectiveness.
Conclusions:The balance between people, prosperity and the planet exists in this project as a paradigm. People and prosperity are components of the law of supply and demand. The demand begins with education and awareness by the consumer which acts as a catalyst that begins the flow of production of sustainable products requested by the consumer educated through CEES. The students' design of the evaluation tools for P3 Phase I (rubric and framework) becomes the framework for the CEES prototype in Phase II, a broader concept based on the Energy Star and Nutrition Label models.
Proposed Phase 11 objectives and strategies:
The objective of Phase II is to design a Consumer Environmental Education System (CEES) that will equip consumers with the means for evaluating the sustainability of homebuilding and design products. Educating the consumer will encourage the homebuilding industry-designers, homebuilders, retail suppliers-to use environmentally preferable products (ENP) and processes in the design and construction of affordable homes. This system is supported by evaluation tools (EPA P3 Phase I); a rubric that provides the attribute rating scale, and a framework that evaluates the homebuilding and design products.
Consumer research is essential in order to address the goal of educating and guiding consumer purchasing decisions for ENP. In Phase U, a study will be conducted to profile the Do-It- Yourself consumer in Eastern North Carolina (an area of EPA Region IV). Results of this consumer research will form the basis of the design of an CEES. Before developing this system, researchers need to identify levels of consumer knowledge, current purchasing behavior, and motivators for behavioral change. This information will guide development of CEES and condense the complexity of the issues so that consumers can form responsible decisions at point of purchase. The study will foster local and global economic development by expanding the environmentally conscious customer base of the homebuilding industry and by contributing to long-term growth in production and sales of ENP and materials.
Journal Articles on this Report: 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 4 publications | 2 publications in selected types | All 2 journal articles |
| Type | Citation | ||
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O'Brien, E., Sweet, R.J., and Sagdic, Y. (submitted for review and publication), Greening Kitchen and Bath Cabinets. Housing and Society, 2005: 32(1). |
SU831869 (Final) |
not available |
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Sweet R, Warsco K, Chin R A. Greening homeowners and building techniques for affordable housing:Interior design and industrial technology education collaboration.. Housing And Society. 2006;33(1). |
SU831869 (Final) |
not available |
Geographic Area, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Scientific Discipline, Sustainable Industry/Business, EPA Region, Ecology and Ecosystems, Economics and Business, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, cleaner
production/pollution prevention, pollution prevention, alternative materials, clean manufacturing designs, clean technology, cleaner production, construction material, environmentally conscious design, environmentally preferable products, green design, green home building, information transfer, outreach and education, pollution prevention design, product life cycle, region 4,
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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Geographic Area, Sustainable Industry/Business, Scientific Discipline, Environmental Engineering, cleaner production/pollution prevention, EPA Region, Environmental Chemistry, Economics and Business, pollution prevention, clean technology, pollution prevention design, clean manufacturing designs, cleaner production, green design, environmentally preferable products, sustainable development, product life cycle, outreach and education, information transfer, greening standards, alternative materials, region 4, environmentally conscious design, green home building
Relevant Websites:
http://www.personal.ecu.edu/chinr/ecupittncsbdc/ecupittncsbdc.htm 
Progress and Final Reports:
Original Abstract