The Green Space Project™ is a program to help you reduce energy and water consumption in your building in stages while increasing indoor air quality and human comfort and it's simple to understand and easy to implement.
Why it is important
Organizations such as LEED® and Energy Star® have been monumental in bringing recognition and acceptance of green building practices to the forefront of the market but with over 4.5 million buildings in the U.S. and only a few thousand having achieved certifications, we just aren't moving as fast as we should be to protect our resources.
Current systems are expensive to implement, require tremendous human resources to manage, and take quite a bit of time to come to completion all the while being an all or nothing certification. Sometimes LEED® just doesn’t fit the situation. The builders and developers we interviewed all were concerned over the environment and initially wanted to be LEED® certified until they found out it was not within their budget or the tight constraints made it impossible to achieve. What we found then was that there was no effort by the developer to implement ANYTHING in the area of sustainability and efficiency that was not required by local code. Nothing was done! While this is certainly not true for everyone in the country, it was prolific enough for us to say there must be a way to fill in the holes in green building practices when LEED® just didn’t fit. Green Space Project™ is that solution and allows everyone the ability to do something positive in their properties while adhering to the accepted standards from organizations such as LEED® or the EPA.
Where it fits
The Green Space Project™ was not established as a building model for sustainability but an educational tool for building owners, operators and users to learn how choices and actions can positively reduce their impact on the environment. If the thought of LEED®, Green Globes, or BREEAM is too daunting, time consuming, expensive, or just not possible, you may want to consider becoming a Green Space Project™ Building. We will help you understand how your small choices in your new or existing building can have a long term positive impact on the environment and operating costs. You can still make a difference.
What it measures
The Green Space Project™ does not measure your current impact on the environment. Rather it helps you understand how you can reduce your consumption of natural resources thereby reducing measurable operating costs. It doesn’t restrict use, but shows you the reduction in typical usage of water and power and the potential cost savings through selected changes.
What it provides
The Green Space Project™ will give you choices for how to reduce your energy consumption, reduce your water consumption, and provide a healthier living and working environment. All these things will lead to a healthier and more efficient building that will have a reduced impact on the environment.
Why it is valuable
The Green Space Project™ is a program for the building owners and operators to educate themselves and the occupants on good stewardship of the provided resources. You are rewarded for continual efforts to advance energy and water conservation while receiving the benefits of reduced costs. The three levels of the program are designed to be stepping stones to encourage owners to work toward the highest level of efficiency possible. The Green Space Project™ will help you utilize the building that you currently have or are constructing to make it as efficient as possible. You will not be penalized for inefficiency, only rewarded for actions taken to increase efficiency.