Crunch your numbers........................................................................
If your project team wants to build green on a standard budget, it first has to
apply a cost/benefit analysis to each of the project’s components. A green
roof costs more to install than a standard roof, for example, but in the end, it
brings a larger return on investment. It lasts longer and provides greater ben-
efits. Standard roofs don’t lower energy costs, either, nor do they enable you
to manage your storm water.Make friends with your site plan ......................................................
Your business campus profits greatly when you minimize roads and parking
lots, reduce grading and earth work in general, maximize sediment control,
and create easy access to public transportation — construction costs will be
lower and your overall footprint smaller. Taking these steps also earns you
points with LEED (one of the three major rating systems currently in use by
green builders worldwide, the other two being the U.K.’s Bream and Australia’s
Green Star.)Figure 11-1:
The U.S.
Green
Building
Council
developed
the LEED
Green
Building
Rating
System.