1.  **WELCOME TO THE FIRST PROGRAM OF THE GREENBUILD 2004 SUSTAINABILITY
    TRACK, "GETTING TO THE HEART OF GREEN DESIGN: MAKING IT GREEN AND
    FAIR."**

> •I'm your moderator and a presenter, Jonathan Herz. I'm with the US
> General Services Administration's Office of Governmentwide Policy
> where I am acting director of the Innovative Workplaces Division. I'm
> going to give you an overview of fairness and how it relates to
> sustainability and LEED.
>
> •Joining me today, are Bill Walsh, of the Healthy Buildings Network,
> to talk about how you can contribute to creating a less toxic world,
> and,
>
> •Bob Bussell, of the University of Oregon, to talk about how you can
> create a more just world.
>
> **NEXT**

2.  **THIS YEAR, USGBC HAS ADDED THREE SESSIONS TO DISCUSS THE BIG IDEAS
    OF SD.**

> **THIS IS THE COMMITTEE'S STARTING POINT -- SUSTAINABILITY IS THE
> OVERARCHING NOTION TO GUIDE ALL HUMAN ACTIVITIES.**
>
> SUSTAINABILITY TRACK PROGRAMS EMPHASIZES SHIFTING FROM GREEN DESIGN TO
> SUSTAINABLE DESIGN.
>
> This includes ideas of:
>
> •Restorative design
>
> •Longevity and adaptability of buildings
>
> •Density and sustainable patterns of living
>
> •Understanding the characteristics of assessment tools to assess
> sustainability
>
> •Definition and scope of social and economic sustainability as related
> to buildings
>
> Other sessions include:
>
> **NEXT**

3.  **I THINK IT'S BECAUSE WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH OF THE
    COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE, AND WANT TO LEARN ABOUT STRATEGIES
    THAT WILL IMPROVE THEM.**

> THERE ARE THREE SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK, INCLUDING THIS ONE.
>
> I encourage you to attend the other sessions:
>
> •Global Perspectives on Water -- which will focus on the global demand
> for water consumption and sustainable design as it affects energy,
> material and resource choices, and land use, and,
>
> •Sustainability and the Human Spirit, should be a great inspiration to
> us all. They're dealing with how major religious and philosophical
> thought promotes the tenets of sustainability. It will show how we
> build on both our design and business values.
>
> **SO, WHY ARE WE ALL HERE TODAY? - NEXT**

4.  **I THINK IT"S BECAUSE WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEALTH OF THE
    COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE, AND WANT TO LEARN ABOUT STRATEGIES
    THAT WILL IMPROVE THEM.**

> WE know that our own well being depends not only on the steps
> [we]{.underline} take to improve our own health, safety and welfare,
> but also, as J.A. Salzmann wrote in 1937, "that of the community and
> the world at large."
>
> **NEXT**

5.  **TODAY WE HOPE TO PRESENT SOME IDEAS YOU USE TO HELP US MOVE
    TOWARDS A HEALTHIER, MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD.**

AS PART OF THIS, WE'LL:

> •Show the links between life cycle costing, environmental health,
> occupational safety, and sustainable development,
>
> •The importance of living wages and the elimination of toxics in
> specification of products and services, and, most importantly,
>
> •How they can be considered in our everyday decisions.
>
> •WHAT WE HOPE TO DO HERE IS HELP YOU IMAGINE A DIFFERENT FUTURE.
>
> **NEXT**

6.  **LET"S START WITH THE VERY BIG PICTURE:**

> **WACKERNAGEL AND REES HAVE DEVELOPED THE IDEA OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL
> FOOTPRINT, WHICH REPRESENTS THE AMOUNT EACH OF US NEEDS TO SUPPORT OUR
> CONSUMPTION AND LIFESTYLE.**
>
> •They found that, if everybody on earth lived like today's North
> Americans, it would take at least two additional planet Earths to
> produce the resources, absorb the wastes, and otherwise maintain
> life-support.
>
> •If everybody on earth lived like we do in the United States, it would
> take at least four additional earths.
>
> **SO HOW DO WE GO ABOUT MAKING DECISIONS IN LIGHT OF THESE CHALLENGES?
> THE VERY BIG PICTURE VIEW IS NOT A VERY PRACTICAL DECISION-MAKING
> TOOL.**
>
> **NEXT**

7.  **FROM THE VERY BIG PICTURE, WE GO TO THE CURRENT FINANCIAL
    DECISION-MAKING PROCESS: LIFE CYCLE COSTING, WHICH REDUCES EACH
    DECISION TO A DISCRETE AND SEPARATE ELEMENT.**

> •The traditional LCC model is intended to help us select the best
> financial alternative by quantifying benefits and costs in monetary
> terms, over the life cycle of a product or system, including initial,
> periodic or continuing costs, and decommissioning or disposal.
>
> •By limiting the analysis to the period of use and disposal, LCC
> generally omits the very real environmental impact of our decisions.
> It is the individual looking out for his own self-interest without
> regard to the community at large.
>
> •IN RESPONSE TO THE LIMITATIONS OF LCC, LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT HAS BEEN
> DEVELOPED.
>
> •LCA broadens the decision-making process to include not just the
> period of use, but also the upstream and downstream costs and
> impacts - the global impacts of energy consumption, waste generation,
> climate change, ozone depletion, and so on.
>
> •LCA's primary advantage lies in its ability to help decision makers
> avoid "burden-shifting" from one environmental problem to another or
> from one life cycle stage to another.
>
> **SOME SOPHISTICATION -- QUITE A LOT, ACTUALLY -- IS NEEDED TO
> PROPERLY APPLY THE CONCEPTS OF LCA.**
>
> **NEXT**

8.  **THE TERM \"SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT\" WAS POPULARIZED, IN 1987, BY
    THE U.N. WORLD COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, KNOWN AS
    THE BRUNTLAND COMMISSION.**

> **ONE MODEL THAT GETS US TO CONSIDER AND BALANCE THE MANY FACTORS
> NEEDED FOR A COMPREHENSIVE CONSIDERATION OF LIFE CYCLES IS THAT OF
> SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.**
>
> •Once we recognize that there are economic, environmental, and social
> issues associated with every business decision we make, and understand
> that every building product or process must consider all three
> components, we are ready to consider the sustainable development
> model.
>
> **SO, WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?**
>
> **NEXT**

9.  **I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER THE BRUNDTLAND COMMISSION'S DEFINITION OF
    SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS:**

> •"Development that allows people to meet the needs of the present
> without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
> own needs.\"
>
> •Think about it. Sustainable Development is a fundamentally optimistic
> concept, that can guarantee the longest view of direct and possible
> side effects of our actions, and, by meeting "the needs of the present
> without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
> own," gives us a practical template for moving forward.
>
> **BUT HOW DO WE APPLY THE CONCEPT? WE STILL NEED A MORE DETAILED
> DEFINITION OF THE TERM AND ITS CONCEPTS.**
>
> **NEXT**

10. **THE MOST WIDELY USED DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS:
    "THE SIMULTANEOUS PURSUIT OF [ECONOMIC PROSPERITY]{.underline},
    [ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY]{.underline}, AND, [SOCIAL
    EQUITY]{.underline}."**

> •Do you remember that sign at the garage about how the work can be
> done -- the one about Good, Cheap, or Fast? If it's Good and Cheap, it
> won't be Fast; Cheap and Fast, it won't be Good, etcetera.
>
> •Think of these three concepts like that sign: If it is doesn't
> consider Economic Prosperity, Environmental Quality [and]{.underline}
> Social Equity, it is not Sustainable.
>
> **BUT HOW CAN WE BE SURE THAT WE ARE REALLY APPLYING THESE
> PRINCIPLES?**
>
> MUCH PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN DESIGN TEMPLATES, LIKE THE US GREEN
> BUILDING COUNCIL'S LEED GREEN BUILDING RATING TOOL, TO ADDRESS ISSUES
> OF ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY. BUT SOCIAL EQUITY IS
> ONLY PERIPHERALLY ADDRESSED IN AREAS LIKE LOCAL PRODUCTS USE AND
> MINIMIZING TRANSPORTATION.
>
> **THE BIG ISSUES OF SOCIAL EQUITY, THOSE THAT AFFECT THE LIVES OF MOST
> PEOPLE, ARE NOT ADDRESSED.AS WE BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE FIRST TWO LEGS
> OF SUSTAINABILITY, ECONOMY and ECOLOGY, THE NEXT STEP IS TO UNDERSTAND
> THE THIRD LEG -- EQUITY.**

# NEXT 

11. **PROVIDING PEOPLE THE MEANS TO "LIVE RESPECTFULLY" IS AT THE CORE
    OF THE EQUITY/WAGE ISSUE.**

> **PART OF THE DIFFICULTY IN INCORPORATING SOCIAL EQUITY HAS BEEN
> DEFINING IT.**
>
> •Generally, issues such as respect, quality of life, and well being,
> have not been addressed in the sustainable development equation.
> Considering the complexity of the subject, this is not unexpected.
>
> •There is also some resistance to discussing what we might call the
> "Cumbaya" issues.
>
> •Social equity is a broad topic that includes both individual and
> corporate responsibility. Common in themes include the ideas of
> "respect and well-being," and "quality of life."
>
> •In some ways, the current sustainable design movement is beginning to
> address these issues, particularly where the well-being and
> productivity of the people who occupy our buildings and their
> immediate communities are concerned.
>
> **BUT WHAT IS MISSING IS THE BROADER VIEW -- THAT WE SHOULD ALSO BE
> CONCERNED WITH THE WELL-BEING OF THOSE WHO BUILD, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN
> OUR BUILDINGS, THOSE WHO PRODUCE OUR "GREEN" PRODUCTS, AND THE
> COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY ARE MADE AROUND THE WORLD.**
>
> **NEXT**

12. **PROVIDING PEOPLE THE MEANS TO "LIVE RESPECTFULLY" IS AT THE CORE
    OF THE EQUITY/WAGE ISSUE.**

> As Frederick Douglass wrote, in 1881, "we will never respect ourselves
> till we have the means to live respectfully."
>
> **"LIVING RESPECTFULLY" MEANS EARNING A LIVING WAGE -- A WAGE THAT
> LET'S YOU SUPPORT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY WITH DIGNITY.**
>
> **NEXT**

13. **AND SUSTAINING A HEALTHY QUALITY OF LIFE IS VITAL, AS WELL.**

> •One key strategy is toxics elimination and pollution prevention.
>
> •The basic ideas, prevention, education, technical assistance, and
> voluntary action, parallel those of public health.
>
> •Reducing the hazards of industrial processes avoids worker exposure,
> bringing environmental protection together with disease protection.
>
> •By minimizing or eliminating the use and production of hazardous
> substances we also protect our air, water, soil, and food chain.
>
> •And, finding alternative and substitute products for hazardous
> materials used in industrial processes and by consumers, reduces the
> overall harmful effects both to human health and to the environment.
>
> **SO, HOW DO WE CONNECT THIS TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?**
>
> **NEXT**
>
> **THE MCDONOUGH-BRAUNGART DESIGN PROTOCOL, IN SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
> TERMS, HELPS US MAKE THE CONNECTIONS IN EVERYDAY BUSINESS DECISIONS.**
>
> THE PROTOCOL HELPS DEFINE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
> AND, IN ITS DETAILS, BEGINS **TO MAKE SOME OF THOSE CONNECTIONS TO
> RESPECT, WELL-BEING, AND QUALITY OF LIFE:**
>
> **BILL MCDONOUGH DEFINES SOCIAL EQUITY FAIRLY SIMPLY:**
>
> •Everyone should earn a living wage, and,
>
> •Employees and customers should be safe making and using products.
>
> **NEXT**

14. **IN ORDER FOR EVERYONE TO EARN A LIVING WAGE, WE FIRST NEED TO
    KNOW: WHAT IT IS.**

> **DOES THIS SOUND REASONABLE TO YOU?**
>
> "A living wage is the amount adult wage earners take home sufficient
> to meet \'basic needs,' such as food, clothing, education, water and
> transportation, housing and energy, and savings."
>
> ** NEXT**

15. **AND, IF EVERYONE SHOULD BE SAFE MAKING AND USING PRODUCTS, THEN WE
    SHOULD KNOW WHAT MAKES THEM UNSAFE. HERE THE QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT
    OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. IN THIS CASE, WE SHOULD KNOW
    WHAT TOXICS ARE.**

> •Believe me, this is much simpler than figuring out living wages.
>
> •Toxics can cause severe illness, poisoning, birth defects, disease,
> or death.
>
> **SO, THOSE ARE THE CORE IDEAS IN THIS DISCUSSION: LIVING WAGES AND
> ELIMINATING TOXICS. NOW DO WE APPLY THEM AND CREATE LONG-TERM VALUE?**
>
> **NEXT**

16. **CONSIDER THIS:**

> EVERY PURCHASE YOU MAKE - EVERY BUSINESS DECISION - HAS ECONOMIC,
> ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
>
> **IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT CUP OF COFFEE OR TEA YOU HAVE EVERY DAY.**
>
> **NEXT**

17. **YOU PROBABLY DON'T THINK ABOUT THIS AT COFFEE SHOP, BUT WHEN YOU
    CHOOSE THAT CUP OF COFFEE, OR TEA, OR COCOA, YOU'RE DECIDING IF THE
    PEOPLE WHO GROW AND HARVEST THE RAW MATERIALS THAT GO INTO THEM, AND
    THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY LIVE, ARE BEING EXPOSED TO DANGEROUS
    PESTICIDES AND FERTILIZERS.**

> FORTUNATELY, YOU CAN AFFECT THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THESE AREAS AND
> REDUCE THE SPREAD OF TOXICS BY
>
> **(RETURN)** CHOOSING ORGANIC.
>
> **NEXT**

18. **AND, WHILE YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT TO SPRAY THAT
    FIELD IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE HIMALAYAS, YOU MIGHT ALSO CONSIDER
    THAT YOU ARE ALSO DECIDING, IN SOME MANNER, WHETHER OR NOT THE
    WORKERS WHO PRODUCED THAT TEA OR COFFEE CAN SUPPORT THEMSELVES AND
    THEIR FAMILIES WITH RESPECT.**

> WHO KNEW BUYING A CUP OF COFFEE COULD BE SO COMPLICATED?
>
> ACTUALLY, THROUGH THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS LIKE GLOBAL
> EXCHANGE,
>
> **(RETURN)** AND OTHERS, YOU CAN CHOOSE FAIR-TRADE PRODUCTS THAT
> ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF WAGES.
>
> **NEXT**
>
> **AND, "WHERE DOES THIS FIT INTO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT?" YOU MAY
> ASK.**
>
> **NEXT**

19. **OUR BUILDINGS HAVE THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINTS.**

> **THROUGH CONSTRUCTION, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE, BUILDINGS IN THE
> U.S.:**
>
> •Buildings produce, directly or indirectly, about half of the sulfur
> dioxide, 40 percent of the landfill waste, a third of the carbon
> dioxide, and 10 percent of the particulate emissions.
>
> **AND THOSE GREEN, OR NOT SO GREEN PRODUCTS, WE SPECIFY ALSO AFFECT
> THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY WERE MADE, AND THOSE WHO FABRICATE,
> INSTALL AND MAINTAIN THEM.**
>
> **MANY TOXIC SUBSTANCES USED IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION:**
>
> •In existing buildings, we must deal with asbestos, lead, and PCB's,
> among other things.
>
> •In new and existing buildings, we're still using urea formaldehyde in
> foam insulation and plywood, producing dioxin and phthalates in vinyl
> tiles and siding; chromium and arsenic in treated wood; VOC's in
> paints, sealants, caulking, and adhesives, chlorine in cleaning
> products, and many others.
>
> **AND WHAT ABOUT WAGES?**
>
> **THE BUILDING INDUSTRY ALONE, (NOT INCLUDING MANUFACTURING OF THE
> PRODUCTS), IS ONE OF THE NATION'S LARGEST INDUSTRIES, RMPLOYING ABOUT
> 15 MILLION IN CONSTRUCTION, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.**
>
> **NEXT**

20. **SO, HOW DO WE BRING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SOCIETY INTO OUR
    BUILT ENVIRONMENT? WE DO IT BY CREATING LONG-TERM VALUE THROUGH OUR
    CHOICES. WE REMEMBER THAT EVERY PURCHASE WE MAKE - EVERY BUSINESS
    DECISION - HAS ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL ISSUES ASSOCIATED
    WITH IT.**

> **NEXT**

21. **WITH THE US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL'S LEED RATING SYSTEM, WE ARE
    BECOMING MORE AWARE OF SOME OF THESE ISSUES, BUT WE ARE ONLY IN THE
    EARLY STAGES OF WHAT SHOULD BE PART OF A FULLY-INTEGRATED
    DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.**

> WHEN YOU CHOOSE A BUILDING PRODUCT OR SYSTEM, YOU'RE DECIDING:
>
> •If the people who collect the raw materials that go into them, and
> the communities in which they live, are being exposed to dangerous
> chemicals and wastes.
>
> •You're deciding upon the level of environmental enforcement and
> mitigation, and,
>
> •You're supporting long-term degradation -- or improvement -- of the
> environment.
>
> **FORTUNATELY, FOR SOME PRODUCTS, TODAY, YOU CAN AFFECT THE QUALITY OF
> LIFE IN THESE AREAS BY MAKING INFORMED CHOICES.** **(RETURN)**
>
> **NEXT**

22. **AND, AS YOU LEARN TO SELECT PRODUCTS THAT HAVE A LESS HARMFUL --
    AND EVENTUALLY A BENEFICIAL -- IMPACT, YOU MIGHT ALSO CONSIDER THAT
    YOU HAVE SOME INFLUENCE ON WHETHER OR NOT THE WORKERS WHO PRODUCED
    THAT PRODUCT CAN SUPPORT THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES WITH
    RESPECT.**

> OK, SO IT'S NOT QUITE AS EASY AS BUYING ORGANIC, FAIR-TRADE COFFEE OR
> TEA, BUT THERE ARE SOME POSSIBLE FIRST STEPS.
>
> **(RETURN)** YOU CAN CALL FOR A LIVING OR PREVAILING WAGE TO BE PAID
> TO THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND
> MAINTENANCE OF THE GOODS AND SERVICES YOU SPECIFY AND THAT PEPLE ARE
> SAFE MAKING AND USING THEM.
>
> **NEXT**

23. **SUSTAINABLE FACILITIES ARE THOSE THAT BALANCE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY,
    ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SOCIAL EQUITY. THEY:**

> •ARE DEVELOPED THROUGH AN INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS THAT CONSIDERS THE
> INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG ALL BUILDING COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS AND THEIR
> CONNECTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM COST AND OPERATIONAL
> EFFICIENCIES.
>
> •AVOID THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF OUR CHOICES.
>
> •REDUCE THE NEED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION BY ELIMINATING TOXICS
> AND MINIMIZING WASTE.
>
> •INCREASE WORKER SAFETY AND WELL-BEING, AND,
>
> •CREATE LONG-TERM VALUE.
>
> **AND WE CAN BEGIN TO DO THIS, TODAY. IN FACT,**
>
> **NEXT**

24. **THE GOVERNMENT, THROUGH LAWS AND EXECUTIVE ORDERS, IS TAKING
    POSITIVE STEPS TO REDUCE GENERATION OF TOXICS IN THE ENVIRONMENT.**

> •The EPA is developing a list of chemicals used by the Federal
> Government that may result in significant harm to human health or the
> environment and that have KNOWN, READILY AVAILABLE, LESS HARMFUL
> SUBSTITUTES.
>
> •They're considering: toxicity, persistence, and bio-accumulation,
> availability of less environmentally harmful substitutes and
> processes, relative costs of alternatives, and the potential risk from
> chemicals used by Federal agencies.
>
> •Federal agencies are to reduce the usage of these chemicals by 50% by
> December 31, 2006.
>
> THE FIRST FIVE CHEMICALS TO BE IDENTIFIED ARE CADMIUM, LEAD, PCBS,
> MERCURY, AND NAPHTHALENE. IN EACH CASE, THERE ARE KNOWN ALTERNATIVES
> TO THESE CHEMICALS OR PRODUCTS CONTAINING THEM.
>
> **NEXT**

25. **AND IN THE AREA OF WAGES, THE GOVERNMENT INVESTS IN COMMUNITIES BY
    PAYING PREVAILING WAGES THAT SUPPORT LOCAL WAGES AND A WELL-TRAINED
    AND STABLE WORKFORCE.**

> TO MINIMIZE LOCAL WAGE IMPACTS OF FEDERAL PROJECTS FROM ALLOWING
> OUT-OF-STATE FIRMS BRING IN LOW-WAGE EMPLOYEES, CONGRESS PASSED:
>
> •The Davis-Bacon Act (1931), which applies to CONSTRUCTION
>
> SUBSEQUENT PREVAILING WAGES LAWS INCLUDE:
>
> •Walsh-Healy Public Contracts Act (1936) applies to SUPPLIES
>
> •McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (1965) applies to SERVICES.
>
> **THESE LAWS REQUIRE PAYMENT OF PREVAILING WAGES WHERE FEDERAL FUNDS
> ARE USED.**
>
> •The prevailing wage is set by the Department of Labor in periodic
> surveys of all wage rates for an occupation in a local labor market.
>
> •Prevailing wages are a good step forward, but they are not perfect.
>
> •It is estimated that only 32% of Government contract workers were
> eligible for prevailing wages, and,
>
> •10% of eligible workers were paid below the poverty level, since
> prevailing wages are based on local wages.
>
> **STILL, PREVAILING WAGES ARE A GOOD BASIS FOR ESTABLISHING EQUITABLE
> CONTRACT RATES.**
>
> **NEXT**

26. **GSA'S DESIGN STANDARD, THE P100, REQUIRES ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION AND
    MAJOR MODERNIZATION PROJECTS TO BE LEED-CERTIFIED, WITH A GOAL OF
    SILVER. A RECENT GSA COST STUDY FOUND THAT:**

> •LEED Silver ratings or higher can be achieved within GSA's general
> project contingencies and cost estimate allowances.
>
> •Cost impacts for Certified and Silver are within the 5% estimating
> accuracy at the conceptual stage.
>
> •Cost impact scenarios for Certified, Silver and Gold, fall below the
> 10% design contingency at the concept phase.
>
> •LEED can be achieved within a standard GSA project budget.
>
> **GSA'S STANDARD BUDGET, LIKE THOSE OF ALL FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS
> INCLUDE PAYMENT OF PREVAILING WAGES AND TOXICS REDUCTION AND POLLUTION
> PREVENTION STRATEGIES.**
>
> •The cost of building a standard GSA project is not affected by LEED
> certification requirements, and,
>
> •GSA is meeting equity goals of paying prevailing wages and
> incorporating toxics reduction and pollution prevention at no
> additional cost
>
> **NEXT**

27. **MAKING IT GREEN AND FAIR**

> THE US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL'S LEED SYSTEM IS BECOMING THE NATIONAL
> STANDARD FOR DEVELOPING HIGH-PERFORMANCE, SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS. IT'S
> INTENDED TO PROVIDE A COMPLETE FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING BUILDING
> PERFORMANCE TO MEET SUSTAINABILITY GOALS.
>
> BUT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS A TRIAD.
>
> •LEED needs to develop "Community Issues" to offer points for ensuring
> that those that build and maintain their facilities earn a living
> wage, and,
>
> •Additional points to those who specify building products that don't
> harm the workers and their community or perpetuate the presence of
> persistent toxic substances in the environment.
>
> •There are unintended consequences in the use of LEED as it is now
> being used to decide where money is spent on projects seeking
> certification. With a limited budget, do you risk lowering your LEED
> rating by paying construction workers a living wage rather than spend
> your money on a gray water system? Do you install mercury-free
> switches, even though no credit is given for reducing persistent
> toxics in the environment?
>
> **PERHAPS FUTURE VERSIONS OF LEED WILL ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS. IN THE
> MEANTIME, MAYBE INNOVATION CREDITS CAN BE OFFERED IN THOSE AREAS.**
>
> **NEXT**

28. **LET'S MAKE THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT GREEN AND FAIR**

> •There are economic, environmental, and social issues associated with
> every business decision we make.
>
> GREEN AND FAIR MEANS:
>
> •Those who provide the products and services we specify earn a living
> wage.
>
> •Production of the products and services we specify are safe for the
> local and global communities.
>
> **NEXT**

29. **DURING THIS PRESENTATION, WE HAVE INTRODUCED YOU TO SOME BASIC
    IDEAS -- OUR PUBLICATIONS, AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE AND IN HARD
    COPY, CAN GIVE YOU MORE DETAIL.**

> ·**THE GSA REAL PROPERTY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GUIDE**, an overview
> of the subject,
>
> **TWO VIDEOS INCLUDE: Highlights of a speech by Bill McDonough
> Speech** on sustainability, and, a 20 minute video of Ray Anderson,
> Chair of Interface, Inc.'s personal perspectives.
>
> ·We also have a very cool **Green Roofs Brochure** and **Poster**
>
> ·AND FINALLY, WE HAVE OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS, "INNOVATIVE WORKPLACE
> STRATEGIES," AND "**SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIETY**."
>
> **I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION BACK TO YOUR
> COLLEAGUES AND FACILITIES MANAGERS WHERE YOU WORK.**

NEXT, LET'S WELCOME BILL WALSH OF THE HEALTHY BUILDING NETWORK.