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February 2020

Living Building Challenge

The Living Building Challenge is a green building certification program and sustainable design framework that visualizes the ideal for the built environment. It uses the metaphor of a flower because the ideal built environment should function as cleanly and efficiently  as a flower .

Th e Living Building Challenge is comprised of seven performance areas: Materials Site Water Energy Health Equity Beauty

Living Buildings must demonstrate that they have achieved Net Positive Energy, Net Positive Water, and Net Positive Waste. That means Living Buildings generate more energy than they consume and they harvest, use, and treat all the water that they need. Living Buildings divert materials from the waste stream and remove and salvage materials that would otherwise be destined for the landfill. Living Buildings are regenerative . They generate sufficient benefits to the building’s site, to the project’s community, and to the environment at large to offset any negative impacts that the project may incur.

WELL and Fitwel

At home and at work, we spend about 90% of our time indoors. Interior spaces can have a profound impact on people's health and wellbeing. Health and wellbeing is a trend in green building.  Both WELL and Fitwel are building certifications that focus on improving the health of a building's occupants, including staff, guests and visitors -- but they are two very different certifications.

WELL outlines a comprehensive approach to creating healthy spaces, leveraging design strategies, operational protocols, personnel policies and performance thresholds.  WELL is closely modeled after LEED, but focuses exclusively on occupant health. Includes: Ventilation Filtration Mold control Air quality monitoring Operable windows Food labeling for allergies and nutrition Water treatment Bicycle maintenance tools Health education

Fitwel is a building rating system for commercial interiors multi- and single-tenant existing buildings.It provides guidelines on how to design and operate healthier buildings. FITWEL is a practical, low-impact and user-friendly building certification. Includes: Public transit close Outdoor lighting Onsite sale of produce Bathroom cleaning schedule Refrigerator cleaning schedule Database of emergency equipment

Both Fitwel and the WELL have pros and cons which ultimately will lead to increased occupant health and wellbeing, increased productivity and reduced absenteeism. Here are commonalities: Active furnishings Operable shading Natural views Green purchasing policies No asbestos or asbestos abatement Fitness rooms Indoor air quality policy No smoking Natural daylight

Fitwel is less expensive and easier to use; it is also less stringent than WELL which means there may not be as many improvements made to the building. WELL is more popular than Fitwel globally, and more comprehensive, but it is more difficult and more complicated to earn. Check out both certifications and see which works best for you.

Top 10 States for LEED

This year’s top states are home to more than 105 million people, including more than 80,000 LEED green building professionals with the skills to support the sustainable transformation of buildings. As cities and states continue to work toward climate action goals, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced its list of Top 10 States for LEED green building. For the first time since 2011, Colorado took the top spot on the list, which ranks states based on the number of LEED certified square feet per person. LEED , or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world with more than 100,000 projects engaged.

Top 10 States

About Plisko Sustainable Solutions

Joan and Marc Plisko Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area , Maine Joan Plisko, PhD, President joan@pliskosolutions.com Marc Plisko, CIH, Vice President marc@pliskosolutions.com The mission of Plisko Sustainable Solutions, LLC is to catalyze positive health, environmental, and social change through improved customer performance, economic savings, and enhanced social awareness.   Contact Us

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