Just why should a business, large or small, consider going through the trouble of adopting green building standards? Can you say “big savings?”

The savings alone should be enough to make even the most adamant global warming skeptic take a second look at green buildings.

Reason: The typical green building uses 35% less energy. That’s a huge bottom line boost for any company that opts to meet EPA’s Energy Star certification as a green building.

In the decade since launching the Energy Star certifications for commercial buildings, nearly 9,000 have met the standards. EPA started with one rating system in 1999.

Today, the agency has specifications for 13 types of commercial buildings, such as banks, schools, hotels, and retailers, and 9 types of manufacturing facilities, from oil refineries to those making autos, glass, cement, fried potatoes, juice and corn grain. Some notable Energy Star green buildings include:

• the oldest: the Cambridge Savings Bank in Massachusetts, built in 1820
• the tallest: the Aon Center in Chicago, which is 1,136 feet high, and
• the largest: the USAA McDermott Building in San Antonio, TX, which houses 45,000 square feet.

These savings are on top of the greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions that are going to play an important role in the carbon-regulated world that lies just ahead. The basic rule: When you improve energy efficiency by 35%, you also cut GHGs by 35%. EPA says the green buildings to date have helped prevent the release of almost 120 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Most industry leaders, regardless of their opinions on what causes climate change, view GHG regulation as inevitable. As one Oregon power company exec noted during the Northwest Environmental Conference, “the [GHG] train has left the station.”

Tags: energy efficiency, energy star, GHG reductions