Green Business Certification

1. Green Business Certification Jesus Silva, Lisa Geurin, Noelle Stephens, Amy Zhong

2. Terms • Green Business Certification –A set of national standards that allows a business to gain accreditation as a “green business”. • L.E.E.D – Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design • LEED Green Building Rating System –Points that a company must try to obtain (out of possible 110 points) by satisfying specific green building criteria (triplepundit.com). Within the LEED credit categories (Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation in Design), projects must satisfy particular prerequisites and earn points (usgbc.org). • Certified: 40-49 • Silver: 50-59 • Gold: 60-79 • Platinum: 80+

3. PROS • LEED promotes buildings to conserve resources, reduce operating costs and pollution, address global warming, improve marketability, protect occupant health, and improve occupant productivity (intermountain.construction.com). • Specifically, green buildings save 30-50% of energy, 35% of CO2 emissions, 40% of water, and 70% of solid waste (triplepundit.com). • Traditional green building focuses on materials like renewable flooring, green roofs and recycled glass, which are important, but technology is also essential for optimization of building systems (triplepundit.com).

4. CONS • Designing & constructing LEED building takes a lot more time and planning (intermountain) • Can cost up to 10% more than a regular building! • Registration: $2500 minimum • Design team & contractor: $10k - $50k • Focused on getting recognition & credit instead of environment (intermountain) • Not user friendly: • complicated documentation requirements • underestimated costs • no “hard” science • Towns with LEED projects: higher costs for houses and higher taxes (triplepundit)

5. UC System policy • UC System: minimum requirement of all new buildings need to meet requirements for LEED Silver • Tray free: save energy and water, reduce water pollution, waste less food, 75% of colleges and universities in the US have tray-free dining services. (UCD Sustainability)

6. UC system policy cont… • UCB, UCD, UCSB, UCSC: surpassed goal of producing at least 20% of sustainable food in their DC’s (Annual Report)

8. UC strategies • Based on University of California Annual Report on Sustainable Practices 2012 • UC have the most LEED building certifications of any university in the country • The University received more than $66 billion in energy efficiency grant funding since 2004 • EXAMPLE: • “UC Berkeley’s Cal Dining became the first public university to earn Marine Stewardship Council certification. This ‘Chain of Custody’ certification ensures that Cal Dining is purchasing seafood traceable to a sustainable fishery.”

9. UC Berkeley Crossroads is the largest dining that was first building to be Green Business certified by the Bay Area Green Business Program and nation’s first organic certified kitchen on a college campus.

10. UC Santa Cruz received the LEED certification for Cowell/Stevenson Dining Hall

11. “In order to provide...sustainable business operations UC Davis Dining Services certified Cuarto, Tercero, and Segundo Dining Commons as ‘green’ business through the Sacramento Area Sustainable Business Program in December 2012 for the following areas:” • Energy Conservation • Solid Waste Reduction • Water Conservation • Green Building • Pollution Prevention • Transportation & Air Quality

13. Other strategies • Hot Italian Restaurant: 1st LEED Silver Certified in the region and 3rd in CA • All Energy Star equipment when available • Gelato and espresso bar stools made from reclaimed bicycles • 32 bicycle parking spaces for both customers and staff • Water Efficient Landscaping • Tile on front of both bars made from recycled rubber and cork

15. Discussion Name the 4 certification levels that the UC System has obtained. Now that you know more about Green Business Certification, would you be more willing to eat in a food service facility that is LEED certified? Why or why not? With the pros and cons presented earlier, in your opinion, should food service facilities strive to become LEED certified? After hearing about the changes that Hot Italian made to its restaurant, what are some ways that you could make your home kitchen more “green”?

16. References "Cal Dining - Environment - Green Buildings." Cal Dining - Environment - Green Buildings. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. "LEED Press Conference." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. "McGraw-Hill Construction - Intermountain Construction - Some Pros and Cons of LEED Certification." McGraw-Hill Construction - Intermountain Construction - Some Pros and Cons of LEED Certification. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. "RMCAANA Discussion Forum." RMCAANA Discussion Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. "Sustainable 2nd Century." Sustainable 2nd Century. UC Davis Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. "Top 3 Questions About Small Business Blogging." Local Marketing Advice from SuperMedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. University of California. 2012 Annual Report on Sustainable Practices. January 2013. Oct. 13 2013. http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/jan13/gb2attach.pdf “University of California ANNUAL REPORT ON SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES 2012” N.p., n.d. Web. 13. Oct 2013 "USGBC: True Green LEEDership." Triple Pundit RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. "U.S. Green Building Council | U.S. Green Building Council." U.S. Green Building Council | U.S. Green Building Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. "UC Santa Cruz Dining - UCSC Receives Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification." UC Santa Cruz Dining - UCSC Receives Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.