by Shane Henson — November 20, 2013—Sustainably built buildings not only benefit the environment and companies’ bottom lines, they also positively impact occupants’ health—a message that the U.S. Green Building Council—Northern California Chapter (USGBC-NCC) hopes to spread through its recently launched Building Health Initiative.
In partnership with Adobe, CalPERS, Genentech, Google, Kaiser Permanente, salesforce.com, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and 20 other corporations and institutions, the USGBC-NCC says the initiative aims to elevate green building as a public health benefit, and to accelerate the development of transparency standards in building materials.
The initiative will facilitate the sharing of best practices and collaboration among a unique coalition of commercial building owners and tenants; architects, engineers and builders; building product manufacturers; legal professionals; and labor and healthcare professionals and institutions.
As part of phase one of the initiative, Adobe, Genentech, Google and salesforce.com have pledged to develop procurement practices and processes that consider materials transparency and emerging standards such as Health Product Declarations (HPDs). In addition, Adobe will study its LEED-certified workplaces to determine if they measurably contribute to more collaborative, creative, innovative and healthy employees.
Other partner pledges include creating resources for affordable housing, community outreach, researching the relationship between climate change and health, educating clients and peers about health impacts of the built environment, and developing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
Phase two of the initiative will be a series of educational programs and events held over the next two years, including best practice sharing and inter-disciplinary programs developed with the founding partners, USGBC-NCC leaders say.
The U.S. Green Building Council—Northern California Chapter is the regional affiliate of the USGBC. Home to approximately six percent of worldwide LEED-certified square footage, the chapter encompasses most of Northern California and is considered the leading green building organization in the region.
