Visit the Energy Systems Laboratory Homepage.
Austin's Green Building Program: A Tool for Sustainable Development
Abstract
In a new approach to home rating systems,
Austin's Green Building Program was designed in
1991 as a marketing approach to encourage
builders, architects, and designers to incorporate
sustainable building practices, systems, and
materials into residential construction. A secondary
goal of the program was to encourage "green"
business development in the Austin area. A rating
system of accumulated points translates to a
"sustainability rating" of one to four stars. Four
resource areas relating to the home are considered:
water, energy, building materials, and solid waste.
Seventeen criteria were used to develop points for
more than 130 building options listed under the four
categories. The criteria for evaluating the options
included consideration of the source, process (i.e.
from raw material to finished product), use, postlife
(recyclability, disposal), integration (with other
systems), and difficulty in offering the option.
The options are presented in the Green Building
Guide, which includes an overview of the program,
a discussion of sustainability and local and regional
resources, the rating worksheets, and a
comprehensive glossary of terns. The Green
Building Guide is supplemented by a Sustainable
Building Sourcebook which gives more detailed
design and source information for each option listed
in the Guide. The Green Building Guide is being
revised in a simpler format, and the marketing
package is being evaluated based upon our
experience of the past two years of program operation. The Green Building Program supports participants through general marketing and technical seminars.
Response to the Green Building Program has indicated pent-up demand from the market for more environmentally sensitive building practices. Reaction from the building industry has shown a desire for a mechanism to present building and development in a more positive light to an environmentally aware public. The broad acceptance of this strategy was highlighted at the United Nations Conference for Environment and Development (UNCED), called the "Earth
Summit," when the Green Building Program was
selected as one of twelve finalists worldwide for the
United Nations Local Government Honours
Programme. The most recent of several awards
was the Award for Innovation presented by the
Association of Demand Side Management
Professionals in November, 1993. This paper will
follow the implementation and operation of the
Green Building Program, with discussions on the
successes, challenges, and modifications of the
program since its introduction to the public in early
1992.
Citation
Seiter, D. L. (1994). Austin's Green Building Program: A Tool for Sustainable Development. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6628.