Weekend reading: Green building news roundup

Photo: VANOC

If green building is on your reading list for the weekend, let me share a few stories of interest with you.

 

The sporting world is catching the green building fever. MNN recently published a photo tour of seven of the greenest sports complexes in the world, including the Richmond Olympic Oval. The Olympic Oval will be used during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, which begins next month.

 

Companies that are working to reduce their energy usage should start with their lighting. Did you know that lighting alone accounts for up to 30 percent of electricity usage in commercial buildings in our nation?

 

According to this article on the GreenerBuildings website, “In the typical commercial building, lighting costs about $1 per square foot, but with recent advancements in lighting technology, it's now possible to bring that number down by 50 percent. Not a small savings for any business: A typical 200,000 square foot building may offer $100,000 annual savings through re-lighting."

 

Changes in a building’s lighting may be an easy (relatively speaking) way for building owners to reduce their annual energy use while cutting carbon emissions at the same time.

 

Shoe and sports apparel giant Nike released a new CSR report which shows that the company has reduced its carbon footprint to 2007 levels. Not only did it reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, but the company has also decided to stop purchasing carbon offsets.

 

Instead of buying carbon offsets, the company is looking at internal measures to reach carbon neutrality including onsite renewable energy and increased energy efficiency in its buildings.

 

Read the entire article on the GreenBiz.com site.

 

U.S. Green Building Council CEO Rick Fedrizzi wrote an op-ed piece about a green economic recovery in our nation for the Huffington Post. Buildings in our nation are energy and water hogs. We must focus on increasing energy efficiency and water conservation in these buildings.

 

In his op-ed, Fedrizzi writes, “Virtually every one of them has a plumbing system that literally flushes our potable water down the drain. Energy expenses alone in U.S. commercial buildings total more than $100 billion a year."

 

Read the rest of his article on the Huffington Post.