Good & Bad News in Geneva

For Further Information contact : Louise Comeau Sierra Club of Canada Fax: 613 241 2292

The second Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) met in Geneva in July. First the bad news: The assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was tabled and, according to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, was "alarming". The IPCC report stated that fifteen developed countries, currently accounting for 55% of greenhouse gas emissions, expect their emission levels by the year 2000 to exceed those of 1990.

However, there was some good news: According to Louise Comeau, of the Sierra Club of Canada and member of the Canadian delegation, was optimistic about future efforts, mainly due to changes in the U.S. position. The U.S. delegation appeared to have accepted the IPCC findings and is now pressing for legally binding measures with the market trading of greenhouse pollution credits as the preferred method of implementation. Ms. Comeau was also encouraged by the official Canadian position which supported the science behind the recent IPCC findings, and suggested that it bodes well for future government support of energy-efficiency programs in Canada. Ms. Comeau also suggested that the U.S. emphasis on greenhouse trading was bound to affect the way that utility and government programs are designed in Canada.

BEPAC in the Atlantic Provinces

For Further Information contact : David Stewart Jacques Whitford Environmental Ltd. Fax: 902 468 9009

As our regular readers will know, the Building Environmental Performance Assessment Criteria (BEPAC) system, is designed to assess the performance of existing buildings, primarily in the areas of energy, environmental impact and indoor environment. BEPAC has been field tested in British Columbia and in Ontario, and we have heard rumours of activity in Atlantic Canada. We now have some specific information sent to us from David Stewart in Halifax.

The Atlantic Region office of Environment Canada has sponsored some exploratory development of BEPAC as part of their "Greening of Government" Initiative, and a final report is now being prepared. Five variants have been developed for Atlantic Canada, reflecting the different electrical energy mixes in each province:
  New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island versions include nuclear energy, heavy and light fuel oil, Orimulsion fuel and hydro;
  the Nova Scotia variant includes coal, heavy and light fuel oil and hydro;
  Newfoundland has heavy and light fuel oil and hydro; while
  the Labrador version is hydro only.

Meanwhile, the province of Nova Scotia is reviewing BEPAC and its potential use by the province. A meeting was recently held with representatives of the Nova Scotia Departments of Environment and Natural Resources and those in attendance were reportedly impressed with the detail that BEPAC could bring to the issues of building design and management. Finally, the first BEPAC assessment of a small office building in the region is nearing completion and, after review by the principal tenant and initiator of the study, the results will be forwarded to the firm that manages the property.

We will keep you posted to any further updates on BEPAC.

New RILEM Committees

For Further Information contact : Wayne Trusty Wayne B. Trusty & Associates Fax: 613 269 3796

Wayne Trusty, Co-Manager of the ATHENA Project, profiled in previous issues of this publication, has been asked to chair an international technical committee to look at systematic processes for developing environmental impact databases for building materials. The committee is one of three interrelated committees being organized by RILEM, The International Union of Testing and Research Laboratories for Materials and Structures. Although the headquarters of RILEM is located in France, it is an international non-profit association with some 900 members in 70 countries. The other two RILEM technical committees will look at environmental criteria for building products and environmental design methods in materials and structural engineering.

The technical committees are being set up as a result of a September 1995 Workshop held at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) under the auspices of RILEM. Mr. Trusty and Jamie Meil, the other ATHENA Co-Manager, were part of a group of 23 researchers and specialists from nine countries invited to the workshop to consider issues related to the environmental impacts of building materials. The issues included the collection of data relating to the lifetime environmental effects of building materials, methods for evaluating environmental impacts, and methods for comparative analysis of different design options - all topics that relate directly to the objectives of the ATHENA Project. The complete workshop proceedings are available from VTT Building Technology, Espoo, Finland, and a summary of the proceedings was recently published in the RILEM journal Materials and Structures, Volume 29, July 1996.

Santa Monica's Sustainable Development Initiative

For Further Information contact : Ian Theaker Sheltair Scientific Limited Fax: 604 732 9238

The City of Santa Monica is committed to becoming a model for environmentally sound communities, through the Sustainable City Program. Santa Monica is now starting a new initiative, a first for any municipal government in the world, to ensure that future commercial and institutional building development reflects the environmental concerns of its citizens. To accomplish this, Santa Monica has hired a team of local and international designers, researchers and engineers, led by Sheltair Scientific Limited of Vancouver, Canada, to draft sustainable development (SD) guidelines for new buildings. Their mandate is to promote the development more ecologically sound buildings in Santa Monica, without undue expense or regulation.

The consulting team includes: Barry Wasserman, Chair of the Department of Architecture of California Polytechnic University in Pomona, and design consultant for Pomona's Center for Regenerative Studies; Kate Diamond, principal of Siegel Diamond Architects of Los Angeles and recently a Fellow of the Architectural Institute of America; Dr. Raymond Cole, a professor of Architecture at the University of British Columbia well known for his research and education on green buildings; David Rousseau, environmental researcher, and Eva Matsuzaki, award winning architect of environmentally sound buildings in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Ian Theaker, Project Manager of Sheltair's guideline team, says that this is the first time he has seen a municipal government committed to reducing the ecological impacts of all buildings within its boundaries.

Sheltair will be proposing draft guidelines that respond to critical issues such as:
energy efficiency and renewable energy generation;
resource conservation, including water, land, and materials;
healthy indoor environments;
local urban ecology;
pollution of soils, air and water;
renewable resource use and reuse.

The initial set of SD guidelines are intended to apply to office, retail, hotel, multi-family residential buildings and their sites. Single family homes, industrial and assembly uses are not being included in this initial effort, but may be included in future applications of the guidelines. Currently, the City of Santa Monica is considering making the guidelines mandatory for new municipal construction and major retrofits and, also, for ways of encouraging their voluntary use in private development projects.

The draft conceptual guidelines are scheduled to be completed in September. They will then be presented to the public and to the Planning Commission for additional input and comment at that time.

Through the fall, detailed guidelines will be developed on the basis of the comments received and the extensive research and experience of the consulting team. As well, Sheltair will have to consider the many issues and concerns of people involved in building regulation, financing, design and construction sectors. The draft guidelines will be subject to detailed review by public and private sector stakeholders, the City's Task Force on the Environment, the Planning Commission and City employees. The detailed guidelines are expected to be completed by the end of 1996.

The second phase, expected to involve extensive stakeholder consultation with both City and private sector involvement, is to review the technical content of the guidelines and the "Best Design Practices" that could be used to meet the guidelines' intent. Stakeholders will also be encouraged to offer their experience and perspective in setting priorities for the environmental issues related to buildings.

Performance Bonuses

For Further Information contact : Gunnar Hubbard GDS Project Manager Fax: 970 927 4510

Green Development Services (GDS), a subsidiary of the well-known Rocky Mountain Institute, is embarking on a national experiment to demonstrate that "performance-based fee structures" can help designers and owners create energy-efficient buildings. The concept involves the payment of a bonus to design firms if the building exceeds energy performance targets established in an initial agreement with the client. Conversely, designers will have to pay the client a penalty if performance falls short. The program, funded by the Energy Foundation, will initially be applied to four buildings, each with an area of at least 50,000 sq. ft. (about 4650 sq. m.), and the determination of performance will be made by GDS after commissioning and occupancy of the buildings. Candidate projects must be in the early phases of design, and clients must be willing to cover some of the incremental costs, although each project will be eligible for some $20,000 worth of energy modeling carried out by a third party, plus $5,000 to cover administrative costs. In addition, GDS and a group of advisors will provide supplementary advice to the projects, as well as providing national publicity. The financial and technical support of the program is similar to that offered by Natural Resources Canada's C-2000 program, with the exception of the intriguing concept of an eventual bonus or penalty based on the actual performance.

McDonald's Demo

For Further Information contact : Walt Riker McDonald's Communications Tel: 708 575 7318 Renee Parnell Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Tel: 415 973 6072

McDonald's Corporation and the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) have just completed one of the most advanced energy-saving fast-food restaurants in North America. Located in Bay Point, California, just east of San Francisco, the 5,000 square foot fast-food restaurant is projected to use 25 per cent, or 100,000 kWh, less electricity than comparable sites, for a projected annual savings of as much as $15,000. Features of interest include:

	evaporative pre-cooling system which cools the air with water as it enters the air conditioning system, reducing the amount of electricity needed to condition the air ;
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	a photosensor-controlled dimming system for the high efficiency fluorescent lighting in the dining areas ;
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	high-efficiency exhaust fans on the fryer hood and a variable speed fan and control system on the griddle hood to reduce the amount of outside air that must be heated, or cooled, by the HVAC units to replace the air exhausted from the hoods serving the kitchen appliances.
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an HVAC system based on the use of free cooling ;
CO² sensors used for ventilation control ;
light pipes which redirect sunlight through reflective tubes into interior spaces ;
a computerized energy management system to control interior and exterior lighting ;
occupancy sensors for the walk-in cooler and freezer lights ;
triple-glazed windows with low-E film, to reduce solar gain, used throughout ;

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