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- Specify equipment, materials, and products based on performance,
not measurements.
- Use recycled materials to reduce use of raw materials and divert
material from landfills.
- Use local and regional materials as much as possible.
- Minimize site impact by specifying location of trailers, equipment,
storage, traffic.
- Monitor construction site energy and water use.
- Develop a construction waste management and recycling plan.
Construction
Construction design documents define the contractor's responsibilities
during construction, but they typically focus on the design elements
of the finished product. They rarely set environmental guidelines
to be followed during the construction phase. The design team should
work with the construction contractor to adopt environmental guidelines
to be followed during construction.
This section addresses the following topics:
Contractors seldom follow environmental guidelines during the
construction process unless this guidance is built in as a written
part of the contract, plans, and drawings for the building. Integrating
construction guidelines with other sustainability guidelines is
an essential part of the whole building design process. To develop
and implement the guidelines, work with the team, including the
architect, engineers, and contractors. Creating the guidelines as
a team is helpful for educating contractors about sustainability
issues and getting their early commitment to follow sustainability
guidance. Environmental guidelines for the construction process
should include construction specifications, material specifications,
indoor air quality (IAQ) requirements, and specific measures for
reducing environmental impact and energy and water use on the site
during construction.
The building's impact on energy and environment begins during
the construction phase. A sustainable approach to construction leads
to reduced resource use, reduced disturbance of the site, and can
also lower costs. Attention to environmental issues during construction
also leads to a safer, healthier working environment for those people
constructing the building, and later for those who occupy it.
Construction Specifications
Include these guidelines in writing in the construction contract
and incorporate the guidance into plans, drawing, and specifications.
1. Specify equipment to match the intent of the design.
2. Specify equipment, materials and products based on performance,
not measurements.
- Insulation should be specified by thermal resistance (R-Value),
not by thickness.
- Lighting equipment should match watt densities from the design
analysis.
3. When purchasing materials, evaluate the life cycle costs, not just
the purchase price.
4. Educate your contractor about sustainability practices through
charrettes and through ongoing monitoring and communication.
5. Create a written system for evaluating and monitoring how your
contractor is meeting written sustainability requirements.
Purchasing Construction Materials
Define the lowest environmental impact when specifying construction
materials.
Questions to ask:
1. Where was the material shipped from?
2. What is the material made of, and can it be recycled or reused
when the building is renovated or demolished?
3. Are you ordering the least amount of material necessary?
4. What is the durability and replacement cost of the material?
Material Specifications:
- Use recycled materials to reduce the use of raw materials and
divert material from landfills. Use at least 5%-10% salvaged or
refurbished materials, and specify that a minimum of 25%-50% of
your building materials contain at least 20% post-consumer recycled
content material, or a minimum of 40% post-industrial recycled
content material.
- Use local and regional materials as much as possible, in order
to reduce natural resources necessary from transporting materials
over long distances. Specify 20%-50% of building materials be
manufactured within 500 miles of the building site.
- Use rapidly renewable materials, in order to reduce the depletion
of virgin materials and reduce use of petroleum-based materials.
Specify 5% of total building materials be made form rapidly renewable
building materials.
- For components of the building made from wood, such as flooring
and framing, use a minimum of 50% wood-based materials certified
in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council Guidelines.
Select materials with volatile organic compound (VOC) limits.
Specifically:
- Select adhesives that meet or exceed the VOC limits of South
Coast Air Quality Management District Rule #1168.
- Select sealants that meet or exceed the Bay Area Air Quality
Management District Reg 8, Rule 51.
- Select paints and coatings that meet or exceed the VOC and chemical
component limits of Green Seal requirements.
- Select carpet systems that meet or exceed the Carpet and Rug
Institute Green Label Indoor Air Quality Test Program.
- Select composite wood and agrifiber products that do not contain
added urea-formaldehyde resin.
Reducing the Site Environmental Impact
- Document a site's existing natural, historical, and cultural
features and make specific plans to preserve them.
- Specify locations for trailers and equipment.
- Specify which areas of the site should be kept free of traffic,
equipment, and storage.
- Prohibit clearing of vegetation beyond 40 feet from the building
perimeter.
- Explain methods of protecting vegetation, such as designating
access routes and parking.
- Require methods for clearing and grading the site that are as
low impact as possible.
- Examine how runoff during construction may affect the site.
Consider creating storm water management practices, such as piping
systems or retention ponds or tanks, which can be carried over
after the building is complete.
Indoor Air Quality During Construction
During construction, dust, VOCs, and emissions from equipment permeate
the building site and the building itself. Poor indoor air quality
(IAQ) can damage the health of workers and occupants of nearby buildings.
It is important to take specific measures to protect IAQ on the
site during construction, and after.
- Create a written plan for the contractor to use in managing
air quality on the construction site.
- Put up barriers to keep noise and pollutants from migrating.
- Ventilate the site through the building's HVAC system, once
installed, and with temporary exhaust systems before installation.
- Increase the amount of outside air coming into the building
while under construction, to reduce pollutants.
- Create controls such as scheduling construction activities at
the end of the day, to ventilate over night while site and surroundings
are unoccupied.
- Be aware of air quality throughout the project, not just during
times of activities that create high amounts of airborne pollutants
and emissions.
- Regularly monitor IAQ with tests and inspections and adjust
the ventilation and scheduling if necessary to improve IAQ
- Prevent poor IAQ by selecting materials and products designed
for less off gassing, such as low VOC paints and sealants and
formaldehyde-free particle board
- Keep the site and interiors clean and free of debris, in order
to keep dust down. Storing polluting materials in a specified
storage area will protect the building from pollutants.
- Meet or exceed the minimum requirements of the Sheet Metal and
Air Conditioning National Contractors Association (SMACNA) IAQ
Guideline for Occupied Buildings Under Construction, 1995.
- Protect stored on-site or installed absorptive materials from
moisture damage.
- Replace all filtration immediately prior to occupancy. Filtration
should have a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of 13
as determined by ASHRAE 5.2.2-1999.
- Conduct a minimum two-week building flush-out with new filtration
media at 100% outside air after construction ends and before occupancy,
or conduct a baseline IAQ testing procedure consistent with current
EPA Protocol for Environmental requirements, Baseline IAQ and
Materials, for Research Triangle Park Campus, Section 01445.
Energy and Water Use
- Monitor the contractor's energy and water use. Set limits, or
place the utility and water bills in the contractor's name to
encourage conservation.
- Use lighting during construction only in active areas of the
site. This saves energy and protects the night sky from light
pollution.
- Turn all lights off when work is at a halt. Security lighting
can run on motions sensors.
- Use energy-efficient lamps such as compact fluorescents, for
temporary and permanent lighting schemes.
- Use renewable energy technologies or green power, if locally
available, to power equipment and vehicles.
- Use low-flow fixtures for water siphons you install for construction.
- Use rainwater or reuse greywater from the construction site.
Construction Waste Management
- Make sure the infrastructure for recycling of construction and
demolition materials is in place and operating at the beginning
of the project. Set up an on-site system to collect and sort waste
for recycling, or for reuse, and monitor the system consistently
throughout all phases of construction.
- Create a recycling plan that sets goals to recycle or salvage
a minimum of 50% (by weight) of construction, demolition, and
land clearing waste. Aim for a minimum of 75%.
- Select products and materials with minimal or no packaging,
if possible.
- Purchase materials in the sizes you will need them, rather than
cutting them to size.
- Consistently track and monitor the amount of waste production
during construction and measure it against pre-existing goals
and guidelines.
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