Archive for the ‘Green Schools’ Category

Green Building Legislation in Missouri Moves Forward!

This is the year. This is the year we hope to join 33 other states with some sort of LEED for state buildings legislation or executive order. Well, we are a few steps closer to this becoming a reality in Missouri thanks to House Bill 1871, which contains language that would require all state owned or leased buildings, new construction or major renovation (over 5,000 sq/ft) meet LEED Silver or Two Globes (Green Globes) or conduct a 30 year life cycle analysis showing the financial costs in the long term do not justify certification. It also requires that when obtaining LEED certification, a major facility project shall reduce energy use twenty-four percent for new buildings or twenty percent for existing buildings over ASHRAE standard 90.1-2007. In order to ensure that buildings remain energy efficient, all major facility projects that were certified at the LEED Silver or two Globe standard or higher shall be inspected by a third-party commissioning agent, at a minimum, in the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth year following certification.

GSCaucusEvent 4-16-10Pictured at the Missouri Green Schools Caucus Reception on April 16 left to right: Pam McIntyre, President of St. Louis Community College – Wildwood Campus; Representative Shane Schoeller; Richard Schuessler, USGBC-STL Government Advocacy Subcommittee Chair; Representative Margo McNeil and Jeremy Sigmon, USGBC Building Codes Advocacy Manager.

Another component of the legislation hopes to ensure more government accountability and transparency. It involves the Office of Administration regularly reporting building information to House and Senate Energy and Environment committees. Information reported will include the number and types of buildings designed and constructed and the level of certification achieved; actual savings in energy costs; a description of potential environmental benefits, such as water savings and solid waste reduction; and a building’s ability to perform at the standard to which it was originally certified.

Not only do we hope that state owned and leased buildings will become greener with the help of this bill, but that the state of Missouri benefits from the triple bottom line for years to come.

House Bill 1871 also contains the Property Assessed Clean Energy Act, know as PACE. This language authorizes municipalities to form a clean energy development board in order to establish a property assessed clean energy program to finance energy efficiency or renewable energy improvement projects. A property owner can then apply to the board to finance their clean energy project through a property tax lien against the property.

PACE addresses the upfront costs associated with some clean energy projects and the lien is paid back to the board over a given time frame from the energy savings and/or generation. PACE will be an optional program for local residences and provides no financial burden on the State. It will help create jobs and allow everyday Missourians to green their homes without a financial burden.

I would like to thank Rep. Shane Schoeller for sponsoring House Bill 1871 as well as one of its biggest supporters, Rep. Margo McNeil (who introduced the LEED portion). Reps. Schoeller and McNeil have been instrumental in the perfection of this bill in the House where it was passed by a landslide (137 for, 9 against). They also are the co-chairs of the Missouri Green Schools Caucus which kicked-off this January at the Lewis and Clark State Office Building – a LEED Platinum building and home to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Nearly one quarter of all Missouri House members have signed onto the caucus already. The caucus held its second event at the St. Louis Community College Wildwood campus just last week on April 16. In order to further engage educational leaders, local municipal leaders and school board members were invited and over 40 people attended. Further events will be planned for Springfield and Kansas City. We look for the Caucus to work on greening Missouri schools through legislation and green building education. Special thanks also goes out to the folks at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and St. Louis Community College for their continued support of green buildings and for hosting this year’s Green Schools Caucus events.

For more information about House Bill 1871, see the bill’s full text.

For more information about other environmental legislation in Missouri, visit the Missouri Votes Conservation website.

Submitted by Richard Schuessler, an employee of Huntleigh McGehee and USGBC-STL Government Advocacy Subcommittee Chair.




Interest in Green Schools High, Despite Economy

132 people. 80+ school staff. 40+ educational institutions represented. This was the crowd that showed up for “No-Cost Ways to Green Your School” on October 28th.

With over 130 people in attendance, networking opportunities were abundant!

With over 130 people in attendance, networking opportunities were abundant!

I have to admit, I was a little surprised. One persistent myth the Green Schools committee runs into is that a green school must be an expensive school. In a time of tight belts and reduced budgets, would school administrators and educators take time off to investigate green? I mean, we didn’t even send out any print invitations.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. As was thoroughly covered on the 28th, “greening” an existing school offers opportunities to save money, improve student performance, and reduce absenteeism. What’s not to like about reducing utility costs while improving student health and test scores?

Cindy Bambini, our keynote speaker, did an excellent job providing schools with no-cost ways to start down the “green road”. She provided a comprehensive roadmap that walked attendees through establishing a sustainability policy, a green team, various green campaigns, and a recognition process for success stories. All of this was tied to a core resource: LEED for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance. Anyone interested in the presentations and resources offered on the 28th can find them on the Green Schools event page.

Cindy Bambini addresses "No Cost Ways to Green Your School"

Cindy Bambini addresses "No Cost Ways to Green Your School"

The real measure of school staff enthusiasm for green, however, wasn’t the number of attendees. It was the content and energy of the Q&A session.

  • “Let me tell you about our native plant landscaping and curricula efforts…” (The College School)
  • “We’ve started a LEED project(s) in our district…” (Ritenour, Parkway, and University City School Districts)
  • “We transitioned to a green cleaning program, and it didn’t cost us a dime extra…” (Crossroads College Preparatory School)
Display boards from local schools highlighting their green efforts

Display boards from local schools highlighting their green efforts

And on, and on, and on. This doesn’t even get into the beautiful posters showcasing green efforts at schools throughout St. Louis. Or the tours our host led through Crossroads College Prep’s new science wing addition, that’s seeking LEED Platinum certification. All of this got me to thinking about our committee’s mission statement, “Green schools for every child within a generation?” I think we can.

- Submitted by Michael Levinson, Chair of the Green Schools Committee, and an analyst at Energy Solutions, Inc. To get involved with the Green Schools Committee, please email him.