Team to study impact of 'green' buildings

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Increasingly, everyone from new home builders to major companies like PNC Bank have embraced the green credo of buildings that are not only energy efficient but use environmentally sustainable products.

But exactly what environmental impact those buildings have over the life of their existence from construction to operation to demolition and disposal is not fully understood.

A team of Pittsburgh engineers and architects will try to get at that very notion -- known as "life cycle assessment."

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David J. Thor, LEED AP, Associate of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial reacts, “The ability to capture measurable increases in human performance would be invaluable in defining the value proposition as we work with clients who are entertaining a variety of alternatives, including sites that have been developed in accordance with sustainable building standards.”

Advances made as a result of studies like the Life Cycle Assessment can be pivotal in changing attitudes towards environmental issues and setting new construction standards. The results can positively influence the local economy through emerging industries that create jobs. Even better, the results can assist commercial building owners with constructing more efficient and environmentally friendly office, retail and industrial properties, through improved building materials, energy and water efficiency and pollution control.

“The scope of the study is huge and hopefully the results will be meaningful in such a way as to pull together our concerns about the environment, the effects on user health and productivity and the economics of going green,” adds Raymond Orowetz, P.E., LEED Green Associate of NAI Pittsburgh Commercial. “Any undertaking that helps to more concretely substantiate how building in an environmentally conscious manner is beneficial in all regards will be useful and help to enhance the momentum that building in a sustainable fashion already enjoys.”

Pittsburgh has steadily grown into a globally recognized green initiative leader in energy and the environment. Just this year, the city of Pittsburgh was selected as the North American host city by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for World Environment Day 2010, as well as the location for The G-20 Summit, positioning the region as a thought leader in innovation, transformation and sustainable solutions.

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