the problem with greenwashing: why businesses need accurate grades
DESCRIPTION
This is a presentation I gave at the 2010 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference in Sacramento.TRANSCRIPT
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The Problem with Greenwashing
Why Businesses Need
Accurate Metrics to
Create Jobs and Wealth
2010 Behavior, Energy and
Climate Change Conference
Elton B. Sherwin November 16, 2010
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Greenwashing
Marketing that promotes a misleading
perception that something is
environmentally friendly
Sometimes deliberate, but often
caused by inaccurate standards or
missing measurements
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Problem with Greenwashing
Cream doesn’t rise to the top
Best buildings/products undervalued
Top performers invisible
Poor performers praised
Wrong behaviors encouraged
Money is wasted
Innovation is stifled
Undermines morale
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Often Unintentional
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Energy Consumption LEED
Buildings
5 NBI Study
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Performance of LEED Buildings With Poorest Performers Removed
HUGE Variation
NBI LEED for new construction, title and conclusion are the authors
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Focus on Buildings
Aim today is to convince you:
1. Buildings matter: jobs and the
environment
2. Disclose energy consumption of all
buildings claiming to be green
3. Buildings need grades
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Recap of Situation in
California
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9 SOURCE: Inundation data from Knowles, 2008. Additional salt pond elevation data by Siegel and Bachand, 2002.
Aerial imagery is NAIP 2005 data. http://www.bcdc.ca.gov/planning/climate_change/climate_change.shtml
16 Inches
of Sea Rise
San Jose
San
Francisco
Vallejo
San Rafael
Oakland
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SOURCE: Inundation data from Knowles, 2008. Additional salt pond elevation data by Siegel and Bachand, 2002.
Aerial imagery is NAIP 2005 data. BCDC.gov
Foster City
East Palo Alto Menlo Park
16 Inches
of Sea Rise
Silicon
Valley
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SOURCE: Inundation data from Knowles, 2008. Additional salt pond elevation data by Siegel and Bachand, 2002.
Aerial imagery is NAIP 2005 data. BCDC.gov
Moffett Field
237
Sun,
Google,
and, Cisco
all at risk
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July Temperatures
2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy
www.climatechange.ca.gov/adaptation
California’s
agricultural
regions will be
hard hit
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Midcentury
Increase of 5 Degrees Fahrenheit
2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy
www.climatechange.ca.gov/adaptation
5+
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Could See Increases of 10 to 14
Degree Fahrenheit in Central Valley*
2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy
*“Emissions pathways, climate change, and impacts on California”
Christopher B. Field and 17 coauthors, June 23, 2004, PNAS
10+
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Smaller snowpack
More water shortages
Less water for agriculture
“Emissions pathways, climate change, and impacts on California”
Christopher B. Field and 17 coauthors, June 23, 2004, PNAS
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Heat Waves in Los Angeles
Basin Will Be Much More
Frequent
Dan Steinberg, Associated Press
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What is the Largest Source
of CO2
in America?
More than all cars, trucks and
planes added together?
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Buildings
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Building energy consumption
is almost 40% of U.S. CO2
emissions*
*Mitigating Climate Change: What America’s Building Industry Must Do
Mahadev Raman. Using DOE data
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To Effectively Deal with Climate
Change
Buildings Must Use Less Energy
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Employees Everywhere Must
Reduce Consumption
Retail
Commercial
Schools
Government
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It is Not Happening
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Solution:
Grade Our Buildings
A-
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75 Recommendations
Two most important
1. Grade buildings
2. Reduce high GWP
agents
Soot, methane, ozone,
carbon monoxide, etc.
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Analyzed 12 Different Building Energy
Labels and Their Associated Rating
Methodologies
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Recommended Label In Monthly Utility Bill
C-
B+
Electricity**
Gas**
*125 is highest score
1 is lowest
Compared to all federal buildings in
America (See Inverted Scale with Progressive Weighting)
** The energy grade is determined
comparing this building to other similar
buildings in similar climates
74 *
Image from iStockphoto
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Building Energy Grades
Recommended Format
Relative grade
– Graded versus peers
– Similar type buildings in
similar climates
Absolute standard
– Compares all buildings
worldwide
– Absolute score based on
BTUs per square foot
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Peer Rating
• Similar building types – Office to office
– Hospital to hospital
• In similar climates
• Top 20% get As A+ reserved for net zero
• Bottom 20% get Fs
• Include + and –
• Get the best of either per sq. ft. or per person
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National Rating
• National standard
– Intuitive: scores above
80 are good, below 70
are poor
• 125 minus weighted EUI
• Source energy (per sq ft.)
– Combines natural gas,
oil and electricity
– All electricity weighted
at national average
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What Would Happen?
Put a grade in monthly utility bill
Mail window sticker quarterly
Optional for the building to display
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What Would Happen?
Hotels with As get more business
Offices getting Ds would upgrade
Energy efficiency would be important
Some businesses and employees would
hunt down their energy hogs
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What Would Happen?
Best energy auditors become very popular
Backlog of work upgrading:
Lighting systems
Windows
Cooling towers
Insulation
Fans, pumps, and motor controls
Building controls, VAV boxes, etc.
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What Would Happen?
Millions of new jobs
Skills would improve
Burn less coal and natural gas
Send less money out-of-state to buy
hydrocarbons
Spend more money locally
Efficient products outsell inefficient
products
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Why This Label
Grades motivate change
Rewards small improvements Automatically update
monthly
Universal participation Does not require pre-audits
Fair: works for all sizes of buildings
Drive dramatic reductions in energy consumption
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Summary Recommendations
1. Grade buildings: A+ to F
Optional quarterly window stickers
2. Disclose energy consumption of all
buildings claiming to be green
Include all government buildings and
builders requesting variances
Identify the architect
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In Closing
Building grades will motivate action:
1. Create private investment
2. Create jobs
3. Improve skills
4. Encourage innovation
5. Reduce emissions
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A+
For more information: www.EltonSherwin.com
Information on building grades:
http://www.slideshare.net/EltonSherwin/presentations
Specifically two presentations:
http://tinyurl.com/34dp6qx and http://tinyurl.com/34vrhl6
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Appendix
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Why Grades Based on Energy?
Energy => CO2 => Environmental Damage
Image: Roger Braithwaite, University of Manchester (UK)
Awards based on
anything other than
actual energy
consumption are not
helpful.
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http://www.slideshare.net/EltonSherwin/presentations
http://tinyurl.com/34dp6qx and http://tinyurl.com/34vrhl6
Also, see
Response to the
National Energy Rating Program for Homes
Request for Information
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World-
wide Next
20 Years
(Soot)
Soot and Smoke Also
Damage Our Environment
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EPA and
National
Research
Council
Estimates of
Ocean Rise
16 inches
1 meter
130 inches
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Encourage the Disclosure of
Building Energy Consumption
Cities have leverage:
Requesting permit
Requesting variance
Bidding for city business
Selling building
Challenge other city governments
Prohibit “green” or efficiency claims without disclosure
Give window stickers to all homes and businesses who disclose their data
Cities can encourage disclosure
• Last 2 yrs utility bills
• Next 10 yrs
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Use Signage Laws to Ban Advertising
Without Disclosure
Energy Saving
Green Home (Data not disclosed)
Require
• Last 2 yrs utility bills
• Next 10 yrs
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US DOE. CO2 in America. Excludes other greenhouse pollutants: methane,
Soot, CFCs, etc. Also excludes embedded energy in imports and most impacts from Agriculture.
CO2 Emissions:
Circled sources are
mostly buildings
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Which Building Types Use the Most
Energy Overall?
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Which Building use the Most
Energy per Square Foot?
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Electricity Consumption in
Healthcare Buildings
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Checklists www.EltonSherwin.com What Can Cities and Counties Do?
Simple Green Building Code Homes
Commercial Property
What are Your Company’s Top Energy Wasters? Schools and public buildings
What are Your Home’s Top Energy
Wasters?
How Do I Find the Energy Hogs in My House?
Reducing Your Carbon Footprint
www.Amazon.com