Maryland Green Building Network
    September 9, 2003
    Chesapeake Bay Program Office
    Annapolis, MD
Introductions and Announcements

Sean McGuire, Green Building Network Coordinator, welcomed attendees to the meeting and attendees introduced themselves. Sean then reviewed some of the items listed in previous GBN announcements and alerts.

Writing Green Specs – Sandra Leibowitz, Sustainable Design Consulting

Sandra began with an overview of specs and the opportunity we all have to utilize more environmentally friendly products and services. The body overseeing how specs are organized is the Construction Specifications Institute. The official spec format is broken into 16 Divisions. Division 1 is an overview of specs, while Divisions 2-16 get into the actual products, including Doors & Windows, Thermal and Moisture Protection, Sitework, Wood & Plastics, etc. These Divisions are broken into 3 Parts: Summary, Products (Manufacturers and Products), and Execution (Preparation, Installation, and Cleaning/Protection). Sandra’s presentation will address how to incorporate environmentally friendly products into this process.

What Makes Products Green? This usually includes how to minimize the environmental impact over a product’s life-cycle; including manufacturing, life expectancy, whether the product is cradle-to-grave or cradle-to-cradle, etc. Specifically, Sandra referenced “Green Building Materials”, a book written by Ross Spiegel and Dru Meadows. Another excellent resource is the “Environmental Building News”, which can be found at www.buildinggreen.com. Sandra reviewed both resources’ definition of green products and specific characteristics to consider. Other resources are Green Seal, which can be found at www.greenseal.org, and the Scientific Certification Systems, which can be found at www.scs1.com.

Specifically to indoor air quality, there is GreenGuard at www.greenguad.org and the Carpet & Rug Institute at www.carpet-rug.org. Specifically with certified wood, there is SmartWood, at www.smartwood.org, and www.scs1.org. Lastly, for an overall approach to green products, there is Building Green at www.buildinggreen.com. You can subscribe on-line to Building Green instead of ordering their resource book. Another overall resource is www.oikos.com

Then, Sandra discussed how to turn LEED into actual specs. She again reviewed the 16 Divisions as mentioned above. In the general Division 1, one of the items is Summary of Work. This can be a ½ page description and may include a holistic rationale on why to purchase the green product and can even include the LEED process. In addition, in Division 1 you may include a list of referenced standards, definitions of green building terms, and special submittal requirements. Also in Division 1 is the Construction Practices, including building reuse, construction waste management, and indoor air quality management. Lastly, in Division 1, is Building Commissioning.

To illustrate how to develop Division 1, Sandra reviewed 3 examples. The first is Takoma Village Cohousing, a 43 unit urban infill site and completely green facility. Sandra reviewed the highlights of Divisions 1-16. Sandra did the same for the remaining 2 case studies: Eastern Village Cohousing in Silver Spring, MD and the Shady Grove Educational Center at the University System of Maryland. Sandra then answered several questions from attendees.

For more information or to contact Sandra, check out her website at http://www.home.earthlink.net/~sleibowitz.

Attendees

Return to Green Building Network
Environmental Design Program
DNR Online

Last updated on September 29, 2003