How is the green building project faring in the city of New York? If this question is ever asked to any citizen, he/she may answer in a positive mode. The very person can point towards the recent enterprises of New York that include the recent press conference with Bill Clinton announcing a $20 million green initiative at the Empire State Building to the Bloomberg administration’s constant promotion of its PlaNYC 2030 environmental plan. However, according to detractors this is not the real picture as there is another side, which is unfortunately hidden.
Surely you can be skeptical of this statement. Why don’t we look at the recently published analysis of the Center for Urban Future then? As indicated by the center’s survey of the total number of LEED-certified buildings in cities around the country, the rank of New York is sixth and is with 41 LEED projects. The report also states that it is behind Chicago (70), Portland (63), Seattle (55), Washington (47) and San Francisco (44). It is known that LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) happens to be a designation conferred by the U.S. Green Building Council that assigns points for various sustainability measures included in buildings, and apart from this it is also well regarded in the design and construction industries.
The revelation is certainly not pleasing to many, especially the ardent admirers of New York and some of them are even questioning the survey’s authenticity. As said by them New York would be far higher if ranked on LEED projects by square footage, as multiple major office buildings and residential towers have received the designation. Whatever it is, as per report it is clear that the total number of LEED buildings in New York is lower than five other cities and that has surprised many. The only reason is that New York is known for building far more than any of the other cities on the survey.
Are you also hot and bothered? In that case you must go through the remarks of Russell Unger, Executive Director of the New York Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. As stated by Russell, the larger point that’s missed by the numbers is that LEED has come to be an expectation on large projects, and that hasn’t necessarily shown up in the numbers yet, but likely will in coming years as current projects finish.
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Does anyone have any contacts that hire consultants who handle food sustainability as part of Leed projects? I’d love to find out whether sourcing of food, distance traveled and processing is considered when greening a building. Same goes for bottled water and beverages.