Planning to Build Green
Sustainability "means to create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations." Executive Order 13514
With careful planning, even small projects can achieve significant sustainability goals. Green strategies not only have environmental and cost benefits, but also can enhance occupant comfort and worker productivity.
The sustainability goals for a small project can involve reducing the negative environmental impact of the project and increasing its positive impact on human health, well-being, and productivity by:
- Reducing energy, water, and materials consumption
- Creating and maintaining good indoor air quality
- Using materials which do not harm the environment or the health of occupants
- Design for less material
- Increasing occupant comfort
- Building and using durable systems that do not need frequent refurbishment or replacement
- Designing space and specifying furnishings that are flexible, easy to reconfigure to accommodate future uses and avoid waste when needs change
- Design workplace for a sense of place and environmental context
- Focusing on spatial equity when laying out space and workstation standards
This section of The Sustainable Facilities Tool helps you plan the environmental and human health/ well-being aspects of your small projects. It helps you prepare for comparison and selection of specific strategies in the Evaluate Section. It does not cover everything you might want to know; refer to the selected references below for valuable information that moves beyond the small projects focus of this tool:
