white paper final draft-updated 4-4-12

8/2/2019 White Paper Final Draft-Updated 4-4-12

1/17

Table of Contents

Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................................2

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................2

Meet the USF Office of Sustainability......................................................................................................................2

Green Building Initiatives and LEED Certification ...............................................................................................4

A Cost and Benefit Analysis of USFs LEED Certified Green Building Project ..............................................6

A Look at USFs Sustainability Rating .....................................................................................................................8

Social Responsibility and Going Green ...................................................................................................................9

Mentoring Young Adults into Environmental Stewards .................................................................................10

Sustainability Champions Programs ....................................................................................................................10

Sustainability Mentor Programs ...........................................................................................................................11

Sustainability Fellows Program ............................................................................................................................11

Involvement in Community-Wide Sustainability Efforts ................................................................................11

Social Responsibility around the World .............................................................................................................11

Leading the Way ..........................................................................................................................................................12

Works Cited ..................................................................................................................................................................13

Annotated Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................14


2/17

2

Executive SummaryThe University of South Florida displays a

commitment to green building projects. The focusareas include 1) the role of the Office ofSustainability, 2) a description of Green BuildingProjects and the need for LEED Certification, 3) thecosts and benefits of utilizing environmentallyfriendly building processes, and 4) building projectexamples. The social responsibility involved infocusing on architectural trends that lead to long-termsustainability are also explored. These sociallyconscious choices are analyzed both on the local levelas well as the impacts globally.

IntroductionThe project team provides a comparison of traditional building programs and green building

efforts in order to research the most sustainable form for the future of the environment. A cost-benefit analysis is explored for both types of construction projects displaying data in both narrativeand comparative charts. The outcome analyzes the importance of academic institutions leading theway for their communities to incorporate green practices into their daily lives. By developing amatrix of high quality green building practices for various departments throughout the University ofSouth Floridas community, best practices can be established for partner agencies throughout theTampa Bay area and beyond.

Meet the USF Office of SustainabilityAs we are getting closer and closer to achieving our degrees and finishing out our time here

at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, we develop tunnel-vision towards the required

classes that are left to complete. Very rarely do we think about the facilities that got us to this point

and how those facilities of the university play a major role in the sustainability of USFs environment

as well as the surrounding community. USFs Tampa Campus Master Plan has been involved in the

conservation of the environment as far back as 1995. The Office of Sustainability is operated today

by Christian Wells, the director who has a supporting staff that includes an assistant director,

administrative assistant, four graduate students, and two undergraduate students. Christian Wells is

an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Florida Tampa and also the

Deputy Director of the Patel School of Global Sustainability, which is completely LEED certified.

He operates an office that has made many contributions to the USF community environment that

includes planting over 2000 trees, creating bike lanes and sidewalks, and also starting a shuttle

service (Office,History, 2012). These three initiatives, which were put into place in the first 10 years

of the 1995 plan, helped clear up vehicle traffic, which reduced the emissions given off from the

exhausts of vehicles and also the planting of those trees improved the USF community with an

increase of oxygen being emitted from the trees. USF still has Go-Green initiatives going on today

and everyday that include recycle bins located throughout each USF campus. Going forward, some

The LEED Certified Science and Technology Building at the

University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus.

Going Green at USF! April 5, 2012

ENC 3250, Professor Francis Tobienne

By Joseph Bronner, Blake Davis, Richard Godfrey, Eloisa Osorio, and Yvonne Scroggins


3/17

3

of the buildings located on the campuses are under construction to become LEED certified and

then there are new buildings under construction that are built LEED certified. The Patel Center for

Global Solutions was the first the LEED certified building on a USF campus (Office, Green, 2012).

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environment Design, is a foundation for building and

constructing buildings that are environmentally friendly or Green (U.S.Green, 2012). So the Office

of Sustainability holds the key to keeping USF and the surrounding community in high regard bystarting initiatives in the past, to the present, and continuing on into the future with environmentally

Green routines.

The Office of Sustainability has four goals. Two of these goals are building a sustainable

campus environment at USF and constructing an up-to-date bank of information about all the

sustainability engagement activities currently in place at USF and encouraging and rewarding faculty,

staff, and student engagement in sustainability initiatives (Office, Mission, 2012). Now that we have

pinpointed a couple of the goals, how else would we reach those goals without putting ourselves on

a mission to achieve them? In order to make some improvements, conserving resources, recycling,

discovering pure energy sources, and decreasing waste is heavily promoted to aid in reaching thosegoals. When staff, faculty, and students all contribute to this mission, the reward comes from within,

knowing that you have made a difference and that your actions have made an improvement and will

continue to be a benefit to the USF community. The other two goals that are in the process of being

met are creating a sustainable environment that supports an expanded and improved teaching and

research mission, a more engaged residential community, and a university-based global village and

strengthening and supporting integrated and synergistic interdisciplinary research across disciplinary,

departmental, college and campus boundaries(Office, Mission, 2012). The Office of Sustainability

contributes to these goals by implementing four programs; Sustainability Champion Program,

Sustainability Mentors Program, Sustainability Fellows Program, and Sustainability Scholars

Program. These programs combined, allows for faculty, staff, undergraduates, and graduates tocome together and work collectively towards achieving those strategic goals to keep USF Green.

Students can join different missions based upon the cause, for example, the Student Environment

Association is a group of students who set out to educate the community on environmental health

and also how to maintain and improve their communitys environment. Another Go-Green

promoting group is Emerging Green Builders whose mission is to obtain and maintain a good

relationship with local business leaders and the community in the field of building Green-friendly

structures and sustainability. The staff of the Office of Sustainability show interest in preserving the

environment by researching improvisations of campus sustainability, researching alternative energy

sources, introducing sustainable business practices to student government employees, and even

implementing a composting program. Based upon the interest of the staff and their personal

missions to nurture USFs environment, the office of sustainability is stacked with key players that

will do a great job of improving the Universitys community and surrounding area. Having a mix of

knowledge of undergraduates, graduates, and faculty opens up a realm of limitless possible solutions

to environment sustainability that have not yet been thought up.


4/17


5/17

5

certification is certified, which a building qualifies for if they have a total of 40 to 49 points. Silver

continues the spectrum until 59 points, next is gold, and the highest LEED honor is platinum if a

building earns 80 points or more (USGBC, p. vii).

As mentioned previously, there are prerequisites that must be met before a building can be

approved for LEED certification. Each of the five categories has at least one prerequisite that mustbe met to get any of the points for that category. Prerequisite 1 for sustainable sites is Construction

Activity Pollution Prevention. The intent of this pre-requisite is to reduce pollution from

construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation, and airborne dust

generation (USGBC, p. 1). Those involved with constructing the building must create and maintain

a control plan for all construction during the project to control erosion and sedimentation (USGBC,

p.1). All prerequisites and listed credits have an explanation that includes the intent and

requirements for each to better understand what the USGBC is expecting from a LEED certified

establishment.

Prerequisites and credits are not all geared towards construction of the building. Many are

focused on maintaining and operating a facility and how to continuously keep a building runninggreen. For example, the prerequisite

for the water efficiency category is

Water Use Reduction. The object of

this is to reduce the use of water

within buildings to help lower the

stress on municipal water supplies

(USGBC, p.25). One category very

focused on construction practices is

the materials and resources category.

Many of the credits in the

materials and resources category are intended for the pre-use construction of a new LEED building.

MR Credit 4, Recycled Content, is to promote the incorporation of recycled content material s in

new construction, rather than the extraction and processing of new materials. Credits are not

mandatory, but in order to fulfill this credit, construction must include recycled content materials

(USGBC, p.56). Another promoted material is regional materials, required by MR Credit 5, and

requires the use of materials that have been extracted or harvested within 500 miles of the project

site. The intent of MR Credit 5 is to increase demand for building materials and products that are

extracted and manufactured with the region (USGBC, p. 58). An important MR Credit is Credit 2

which pertains to the management of construction waste. Any non-hazardous debris must berecycled or salvaged to earn this credit. Their intention for this credit is to divert debris from

landfills and incineration facilities. The materials should be used at appropriate sites (USGBC, p. 54).

The indoor environmental quality category touches some other important construction

points. IEQ Credit 3 is concerned with the construction indoor air quality. It is broken into different

parts, where 3.1 and 3.2 are for during construction versus before occupancy. The intent of

26

10

35

14

15

6 4

Category Points (for a total of 110)Sustainable Sites

Water Efficiency

Energy & Atmosphere

Materials & Resources

Indoor Environmental

Quality

Innovation in Design

Regional Priority


6/17

6

these are to promote the well-being of the construction workers and occupants by reducing air

quality problems caused by construction or renovation (USGBC, p. 74-76). Credits 4.1 though 4.4 of

the IEQ category promote using low-emitting materials such as adhesives and sealants, paints and

coatings, flooring systems, composite wood, and agrifiber products (USGBC, p.78-84).

ACost and Benefit Analysis of USFs LEED Certified Green Building Project

Located in California, the first national LEED certified building, the Education

Headquarters Building, was first certified as a LEED silver standard in 1999. It was then upgraded

to its current LEED gold standard in 2003. Since

then, many efforts have been put forth nationally to

build more LEED certified, energy efficient

buildings. One such organization that has adopted

these methods is the University of South Florida

(USF). And by analyzing the specific data gathered

from the Education Headquarters Building, we are

now able to calculate the cost of such buildings and

the energy savings that it will provide in the years to

come. Today, we are going to focus on the data gathered by the afore mentioned building and apply

it to USFs Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center which, by the way, is already LEED certified and was the first

built at USF.

After analyzing the Education Headquarters Building, they deduced that it saves taxpayers

$500,000 a year in energy savings. Additionally, they discovered that an initial upfront investment of

up to $100,000 to incorporate green building features into a $5 million project would result in a

savings of $1 million in todays dollars over the life of the building. That factors out to be an

increase of 2% in construction costs to implement the green features. Therefore, since the average

construction costs for a commercial building range anywhere from $150/ft2 to $250/ft2, it would

then cost roughly $155/ft2 to $255/ft2. However, these costs do not take into account the relatively

new going green technology. Since it is new, there are trial and error costs that must be taken into

account. These costs and effectively raise the price of new construction to up to 10-15% more than

if were to be built by traditional standards.


7/17

7

The Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center is a 73,500 ft2 facility. The traditional cost of building the

building would cost roughly between $11,025,000 and $18,375,000 according to the previously

mentioned commercial per ft2 standard. An estimation of what it would cost to build the building

with the new going green standards ranges roughly from $11,392,500 and $18,742,500, with an up to

15% increase cost due to error, which would bring the total to $21,131,250. And now we will

compare these estimated costs with the actual cost of the building. The actual cost of the buildingwas $12,400,000. As we can see, the actual cost of the building falls between the low and high ends

of both the traditional building and the green building designs. Furthermore, we can see that the

differences in traditional building costs and green building costs are, in the grand scheme of the

costs, non-existent. On the high end of the estimates, the difference in cost is roughly $400. When

the total costs of a building are over $18 million, $400, in comparison, is nothing.

The only real problem we have at the moment is the trial and error process that we are going

through until the construction methods are streamlined. If every 73,000 ft2 building cost $21 million

to build, that is twice what the low end estimation of the traditional and the green building would

cost. These trial and error cost are mainly due to incomplete integration within and betweenprojects, insufficient technical information, and not accounting for all the green features or the

future green features that may end up being implemented before the construction is complete. So

the main con for building green buildings is the upfront costs. However, a building saves an average

of 25-30% in energy costs. This is due to lower electricity peak consumption, on-site renewable

energy generation, and LEED certified green buildings are more likely to purchase grid power from

renewable sources. To put the

energy savings

in financial terms, it costs an

average of $1.47 per ft2 per

year for electricity supply to abuilding. However, with a

30% reduction, this comes to

$1.03 per ft2 for green

buildings. So traditionally, the

Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center

would cost $108,045 a year in

energy costs. But as a LEED

certified building, costing 30%

less would mean an energy cost of $75,632 year. This is a difference of $32,413 a year in energy

savings. That exceeds the initial $400 additional up from cost by 81 times. However, if the trial and

error process would have cost the builders $21 million to build the center, an $860,000 difference

from its actual cost, it would take 268.75 years to make up the difference in cost, if relying on energy

savings alone.

It is estimated that a $100,000 invested into a building only for LEED green standards, and

no trial and error costs, it would net a savings of $1 million over the life o the building. That is 10

times the initial LEED certification cost. Apply that to the Dr. C. Patel Center, at $12,400,000, USF

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

Net Cost

Energy Costs

Construction Cost


8/17

8

The Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions at theUSF Tampa Campus.

would make up the cost of the building in 12 and half

years. Sois going green worth it? In the long term, it

is absolutely worth it! USF would be saving millions of

dollars per building during the lifetime of the building.

And to move away from the costs for a minute, think

of how much energy would be conserved for futuregenerations. However, is it worth it in the short term?

The statistics suggest yes. Even if the trial and error

process yields more errors, eventually these methods

will be streamlined standards. And the error cost would

be made up not only partially by the building that was

built by trial and error, but also by the buildings that are subsequently built with no errors.

Therefore, this is a win-win situation for us and our future, both financially and because of the

energy conservation.

A Look at USFs Sustainability Rating

So how well is USF doing in its mission to build a more sustainable

university? According to the Sustainable Endowments Institute, USF is doing

very well. The SEI prepares a College Sustainability Report Card for various

colleges in the United States and Canada, giving letter grades in a variety of

categories as well as an overall grade. USF achieved a B+ overall grade in

2011, and a comparison with three other Florida universities broke down in

the following way:

USF UF FSU UMOverall B+ B+ C B-Administration A A C BClimate Change & Energy B A D BFood & Recycling B A C BGreen Building A A C BStudent Involvement A A C CTransportation A A C A

Endowment Transparency A F C DInvestment Priorities A A C AShareholder Engagement D D - D

Among the three major universities in Florida, only the University of Florida (UF) performed as well

as USF, achieving an overall B+ grade. Florida State University (FSU) was given an overall grade of

C, and the University of Miami (UM) was given a B-. This puts USF in elite company within the


9/17

9

State of Florida and indicates that its sustainability initiatives are on the right path and producing the

intended results. (greenreportcard.org)

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education awarded USF

with the prestigious Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System (STARS) Gold rating in

2011. Categories rated include Education and Research, Operations, Planning, Administration &Engagement, and Innovation. Out of 174 STARS participants in the United States and Canada, USF

is one of only 30 institutions to receive a Gold rating from AASHE, yet another indicator that USF

is striving for excellence and achieving that mark in the area of sustainability. (stars.aashe.org) The

gold STARS rating USF received proves that we are truly green andgold, said E. Christian Wells,

Director of USFs Office of Sustainability. The STARS system helps us track our sustainability

efforts and allows us to find our weak spots. While the Office of Sustainability is only 500 days old,

weve managed to address most of the easy targets, like increasing recycling and changing the light

bulbs. Now we need to focus on the bigger picture, what a sustainable campus should look like over

the longer term. (Howard, 2011)

Since achieving its first LEED certification for the Kiran C. Patel Center for Global

Solutions, USF has continued to strive for excellence in building sustainability practices. The USF St.

Petersburg Science and Technology Building was LEED certified in 2010, and the new Student

Center and Dormitory on the St. Petersburg campus is expected to be LEED certified as well.

According to Suchi Urs Daniels, Project Manager and LEED Coordinator at the USF Office

of Sustainability, USF construction projects such as the Patel Center have reached the 80% level or

higher in efforts to divert construction waste and debris from landfills. In addition, existing

structures are being retrofitted with environmentally friendly features to increase their operating

efficiency and help contribute to USFs overall sustainability rating. Ms. Daniels also stated that USFwill seek LEED certification for all future building projects. (Daniels, interview)

Social Responsibility and Going Green

Green Building Initiatives have increased consciousness among the USF community aswell a significant number of other universities allows to preserve the environment for futuregenerations that have directed how the USF an others facilities build new buildings, employinginnovative technology that saves energy and other resources. According to LEED (The Leadershipin Energy and Environmental Design) specifications, green building promotes facilitates and

certifies the design and construction of sustainable buildings. Even though, there is a long way to goto get the whole community involved and informed in all fields of becoming greener due tochallenges and complexities of certain projects, there is a lot of evidence that shows those peoplementality and behaviorally are becoming more aware that something must be done to preserve theenvironment.

Sustainability Programs and Initiatives at USF and around the World site provideinformation of different alternatives in working to preserve the USF environment. The USFcommunity is proud of the new building Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions, USFP


10/17

10

Student Building, and the some that have gone into renovation such as Engineering II Buildingat Tampa Campus have been building under LEED certification. USF is committed to reparationsto save energy such as several roofs that have been replaced with high insulation and reflectivityvalues. Also, many volunteer organizations are taking care of issues that can be the first step ofimportant discoveries to depend less in oil consumption.

A Sustainable world is the goal, and one of the ways to achieve this goal is reducing theunrestricted use of energy, water, and the production of other toxic materials from construction ordemolition. According the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG), the objective is to minimize thedirect impact that causes to the environment the excessive waste generated from the traditional wayto build new felicities. Its commitment is to promote a sustainable design that will help to theconservation of natural resources, therefore, preventing environmental degradation. Theseinitiatives not only should be applied to the new facilities, but also they should be applied to thosesignificant renovations because it reduces operation costs and environmental impacts.

Sustainability also means being informed about the fundamental principles that the WBDGprogram is promoting to achieve a sustainable design in new or renovated facilities will raise

everyones awareness in how to contribute to environmental conservation. (www.wbdg.org) Optimizing the site will affect the local flora and fauna, transportation, and the right use of

energy (looking for renewable resources).

Protecting, conserving water, and recycling water. Using environmental materials that will help to minimize human toxicity and promote

people safety and health.

Maximizing delighting, ventilation, and moist control indoor of the facilities. Optimizing maintenance practices by using less water, energy, and toxic cleaner to maintain

facilities.

The Programs, that USF Office of Sustainability promotes, center in the quality of human lifewhile living with the commitment to protect the ecosystem. The development of these programs putall the effort in encouraging and rewarding the whole USF community to be responsive to thementoring and participation policies.

Mentoring young adults into environmental stewards

Through the mentoring initiatives, the USFs Office of Sustainability has been working as a

team to endorse different programs to promote sustainable efforts to achieve an ecological campus

environment.

Sustainability Champions Program

The purpose of this program is to motivate and highlight exceptional faculties and members ofthe community who are enthusiastic and hard working with the commitment in making thecampus become a cleaner, greener environment to live and work. Sustainability Champions areselected based on their commitment to conserving resources, reducing waste, recycling andreusing materials, increasing energy efficiency, and other behaviors that will help make USF amore sustainable campus.


11/17

11

Sustainability Mentor Programs

It works on sustainability activities on campus by mentoring for excellence and encouragingothers to be mentors. Mentor programs members work on sustainability issues and the impact(social, economic and environmental) than those proposed solutions can bring. Students are

encouraged to participate through the faculty or any other mentoring group consisting inpresenting and explaining how and where the sustainability activity is going to be conducted.The two top mentors will receive an award and will be honored in the Office of Sustainabilityswebsite.

Sustainability Fellows Program

In this program FTE graduate Research Assistant has the opportunity to work 10 hours weeklyto organize different sustainability activities on campus. Another task that Fellows Programsendorse is those educational and community-based initiatives on sustainability. ExHow USFthrough the Green building and design initiatives and under the LEED standards is reducingthe environmental impacts.

Involvement in Community-Wide Sustainability Efforts

Student Initiatives groups many associations working such as the Emerging Green Builders

(EGB) whose mission is establishing a relationship to work together among USF students, the

Tampa Bay community, and the local business to accomplish the Build Green commitment.

Scholar Program is another initiative involved with the community, and it allows undergraduate

students have the opportunity to work in academic and research programs about building projects.

They will be trained to create a formal research project based in applicable methods for datacollection among people in order to implement the research outcome to support or create new

sustainable initiatives. The qualified projects would help facilitate sustainability, or they can also

help discover what is obstructing sustainability in and out of the USF community.

Social Responsibility Around the World

Green Build International Conference and Expo were celebrated in Toronto in October of

2011, and it showed the growing global movement committed to become this world in a better place

to life for future generations. This increasing global network grouped around 23 thousand

members who support the initiative of important leaders of companies that use technology totransform this world in a better place to live. Leaders dedication and passion empower a

sustainability transformation delivering prosperity, equality, and an ecologically word for futures

generations.


12/17

12

Leading the Way

Institutions of higher education nationwide are in a position to further sustainability efforts

and education in their respective communities, and some would argue that they have a responsibility

to do so. If colleges and universities do not take the

lead in this area, who will? USF has become acommunity leader in sustainability practices, leading

by example as well as providing programs to

educate upcoming generations of environmental

stewards. One unexpected result of this

commitment to sustainable facilities might be

increased enrollment. In 2010, 69% of higher

learning institutions incorporated a sustainability

element into their recruiting, admissions, and orientation processes. (Whitmire, A Look at the

Growing Trend of Green Buildings in Higher Education.) It appears that the students of tomorrow

want to be associated with universities that place value on sustainability and the environment inwhich we live, and USF has proven that it is such a university.


13/17

13

Works Cited

The College Sustainability Report Card. Sustainable Endowments Institute, 2011.Web. 18 Mar. 2012

"The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings." Sustainable Building Taskforce, 2003. Web. 6Mar. 2012.

Daniels, Suchi Urs. Email interview. 22 Mar. 2012

"Green Building Initiatives." Green Building Sustainable Initiative. Web. 17 Mar. 2012.

"Greenbuilding International Conference and Expo." 2012 San Francisco. Web. 23 Mar. 2012.

Howard, Peter and Vickie Chachere. USF Sustainability Finds Gold. St. Petersburg Times.

4 Feb. 2011.

"LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations." U.S. Green Building Council. U.S.Green Building Council, 2009. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.

Office of Sustainability. University of South Florida.Web. 18 Mar. 2012.

Office of Sustainability. (2012, March 14). History-USF Office of Sustainability.

Office of Sustainability. (2012, March 14). Green Building Initiatives-USF Office of Sustainability.

Office of Sustainability. (2012, March 14). Mission-USF Office of Sustainability.

"Programs." The USF Office of Sustainability for a Cleaner, Greener USF. Web. 17 Mar. 2012.

"Students Initiatives." Students Sustainable Initiative. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

"Sustainability Programs and Initiatives at USF and around the World." Patel School of GlobalSustainability. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

"Sustainable." WBDG "Whole Building Design Guide"National Institute of Building Science. Web. 21Mar. 2012.

University of South Florida News. (2008, April 12). USF President Signs Historic Environmental

Commitment.

U.S. Green Building Council. (2012, March 14). What LEED is.

Whitmire, Margo, A Look at the Growing Trend of Green Building in Higher Education.

Green Building Pro. 19 Aug. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2012.


14/17

14

Annotated Bibliography

Team Green & GoldJoseph Bronner, Blake Davis, Richard Godfrey, Eloisa Osorio, and YvonneScroggins

Going Green at USF! A Study in SustainabilityThis White Paper will present information about USFs green building initiatives, including

the history of the Office of Sustainability, building projects (past, present, and future), a cost/benefitanalysis of green buildings, comparisons between USF and other universities, and an examination ofthe social responsibility aspect of USFs green policies.

Our sources provide general background for our topic as well as specific statistical data thatwill be used to illustrate USFs strong standing in sustainability pioneers among universitiesstatewide and even nationwide.

The College Sustainability Report Card. Sustainable Endowments Institute, 2011.Web. 18 Mar. 2012

This website, created by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, grades colleges on their

sustainability practices. Letter grades are given for multiple categories as well as for overall

performance. The website also facilitates comparisons between different colleges individual report

cards. This site is used in our White Paper to present USFs sustainability practices grade and to

compare USF with other Florida universities.

"The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings." Sustainable Building Taskforce, 2003. Web. 6

Mar. 2012.

This document is a report documenting the costs and benefits of traditional buildings versus green

buildings. It provides researched financial findings for both types of buildings. It pays special

attention to LEED certified construction in an effort to determine whether or not it is actually

worth spending the upfront money to build LEED certified buildings in order to get a return on

investment in energy savings. The report is very thorough and provides sufficient information on

the costs and benefits of the different types of buildings.

Daniels, Suchi Urs. Email interview. 22 Mar. 2012

Ms. Daniels is a Project Manager and LEED Coordinator for the USF Office of Sustainability. Thisinterview was conducted through email by Richard Godfrey and was conducted for the purpose oflearning details about specific USF building projects and sustainability policies.

"Green Building Initiatives." Green Building Sustainable Initiative. Web. 17 Mar. 2012..


15/17

15

This page gives a general overview of sustainability. It gives different alternatives in which the USFcommunity is working to preserve the environment for future generations. It gave me informationon LEED (the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) and also showed the steps theuniversity has taken to become greener and cleaner. The goal is to save energy in the new

constructions and buildings that are going up on campus.

"Greenbuilding International Conference and Expo." 2012 San Francisco. Web. 23 Mar. 2012..

This link contains shorts of videos of the events occurring in Toronto during the GreenbuidlingInternational Conference and Expo. More 23,000 members and supporting leaders were a part ofthis event in which they promoted a greener Earth.

Howard, Peter and Vickie Chachere. USF Sustainability Finds Gold. St. Petersburg Times. 4 Feb.

2011.

This article reports on the STARS Gold Rating achieved by USF in 2011. It describes the criteria

used in awarding the Gold Rating. Quotes from USF administration officials were extracted from

this article.

"LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations." U.S. Green Building Council. U.S.Green Building Council, 2009. Web. 7 Mar. 2012..

This document is the project checklist established by the United States Green Building Council fornew construction and renovation of LEED certified buildings. The document provides the currentand future goals of LEED certification and the checklist credit weightings. A specific number ofcredits determine how a building is LEED rated from "certification" to "platinum". It provides thebasic requirements to qualify for LEED application and then breaks the checklist into specificcategories. Each category contains a number of items, with each item adding up to a number ofcredits. It continues by giving an explanation of what is expected from construction and how thecredits are determined for each item.

Office of Sustainability. University of South Florida.Web. 18 Mar. 2012.

This website provides information about the USF Office of Sustainability. The information includes

projects and initiatives that USF started in the past, to the current care of the environment, to what

USF has projected for future environmental health. Information from this website will be used

throughout our White Paper to present facts about USFs sustainability practices and policies.


16/17

16

Office of Sustainability. (2012, March 14). History-USF Office of Sustainability. Retrieved from

http://usfweb2.usf.eduSustainability/about_history.aspx

Office of Sustainability. (2012, March 14). Green Building Initiatives-USF Office of Sustainability.

Retrieved from http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Sustainability/initiatives_building.aspx

Office of Sustainability. (2012, March 14). Mission-USF Office of Sustainability. Retrieved from

http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Sustainability/about_mission.aspx

"Programs." The USF Office of Sustainability for a Cleaner, Greener USF. Web. 17 Mar. 2012..

The USF Sustainability offices programs promote the students participation to work in adoptingsustainable practices to achieve cleaner & greener USF campuses through his four main courses:mentors, champions, fellows, scholars program. The purpose of these programs is incorporate ideasof sustainability on the whole USF community and makes the community to be accustomed to thesepractices in order to influence people to adopt these strategies even out of the USF campuses. Thiswebsite provides information about how USFs students participate in these strategies that arehelping to create a strong relationship among students, community and businesses about theseimportant issues of green building and sustainability. These programs not only work on thegreen efforts to encourage sustainability, but it also work on what might be obstructing thatsustainability.

"Students Initiatives." Students Sustainable Initiative. Web. 21 Mar. 2012..

There are various groups in this website that participate in making USF safer for future generations,

but especially the Emerging Green Builders (EGB). The EGB works to establish connections withinstudents, the Tampa Bay community and local businesses to bring them together for this greenpurpose. This cause is supported by investigation projects with data collected by all these groups tocreate new sustainability ideas.

"Sustainability Programs and Initiatives at USF and around the World." Patel School of GlobalSustainability. Web. 21 Mar. 2012..

This page gives is another general explication of sustainability. It gives different alternatives in USFin working to preserve the environment, and it also provides information on LEED (the Leadership

in Energy and Environment Design). It goes on to detail USFs plans for a greener institution andits energy saving goals. Also, it goes into details of all sorts of practices that are being used for thiscause, such as green roofs and recycling of materials to name a few. Some examples of the buildingsthat have been modified or build with this purpose in mind are the new Dr. Kiran C. Patel Centerfor Global Solutions and the old Engineering building II building.

"Sustainable." WBDG "Whole Building Design Guide"National Institute of Building Science. Web. 21


17/17

17

Mar. 2012.

This page gives information about the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG). The WBDG workstowards a common goal to reduce the unrestricted use of water and toxic materials. This gave me

information of basic principles the program is promoting to achieve this sustainable design. Someof the principles are optimization of the location, perseveration and recycling of water,minimization of human toxicity, optimization of maintenance practices and maximization ofventilation.

University of South Florida News. (2008, April 12). USF President Signs Historic Environmental

Commitment. Retrieved from http://news.usf.edu/article/timplate/?a-617

This article reported on the details of USFs participation in the Historic American College and

University Presidents Climate Commitment in 2008.

U.S. Green Building Council. (2012, March 14). What LEED is. Retrieved from

http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1988

Whitmire, Margo, A Look at the Growing Trend of Green Building in Higher Education. Green

Building Pro. 19 Aug. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2012.

This article explores the green building trend in higher education institutions, from the actual

features that make a building green to student involvement and the growing importance of

sustainability practices in recruiting todays students. Statistical data as well as trends in green

building will be extracted from this article.

white paper final draft-updated 4-4-12

Documents