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| Green Building Ordinance wins World Green Building Council Award The City of San Francisco's Green Building Ordinance (GBO) and related policies was named the winner of the World Green Building Council's Best Green Building Policy Award. A joint venture led by URS Corporation provided significant guidance during the ordinance's preparation by the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Evidence of the city's commitment to green building includes the URS joint venture's design and implementation of the city's newest "living roof" at One South Van Ness Ave. The 10, 000 square foot living roof adds insulation to the building, reduces stormwater runoff and features native plants that provide habitat for hummingbirds and butterflies. The project team also participated in San Francisco's JobsNow training program by instructing interns on plant identification, irrigation control and weeding techniques. San Francisco's Green Building Ordinance requires all new commercial, residential and municipal construction be built to strict green building standards based on project size and scope; for example, large commercial projects and new residential high rise must meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards. Other complimentary policies require existing buildings to publicly disclose energy labels and undergo periodic energy audits and mandatory water efficiency retrofits at the time of sale. The required building labeling and auditing alone are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 105,000 tons and have a 10-year net present value of approximately $1 billion. The city also has created a new financing program to assist the private sector in meeting efficiency targets. Announced at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, the Government Leadership Awards for Excellence in City Policy for Green Building acknowledges international best practices in city-level government policy for green building initiatives. write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Construction News :: home page |