HIGH PERFORMANCE CASE STUDIES: 300-level
SESSION 1
DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 – 11:00am – Altman Gallery
ABSTRACT:
Panelists discuss the planned transformation of the National Geographic Society’s existing headquarters in Washington, DC to a carbon-neutral facility.
SPEAKERS:
Bill Browning, Partner, Terrapin Bright Green
Hans Wegner, Vice President Production Services, National Geographic
Chris Pyke, Director of Research, USGBC
DESCRIPTION:
What technological, structural and behavioral changes are needed to transition from carbon-based to carbon-neutral within an existing built environment? Is it possible to do so within the budgetary constraints faced by most facilities managers?
The National Geographic Society (NGS) sought to answer these questions when they decided to work towards converting their Washington, DC headquarters into a carbon-neutral facility. The NGS headquarters features three interconnected buildings ranging in age from 20 years to over 100 years old. Given NGS’s longstanding commitment to environmental issues, the NGS team had already addressed many “low hanging fruit,” including participating in the Energy Star program and achieving the LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) certification. The next goal was to understand the greenhouse gas “footprint” of the headquarters complex and to model and quantify specific opportunities for reducing emissions on a fundamental level.
By studying energy use patterns from utility bills, tracking data obtained from meters installed on various pieces of equipment, and working with NGS building engineers and executives, it became clear that carbon neutrality was potentially achievable. In addition, with efficient upgrades according to scheduled replacement cycles, it could also be done in a manner that would decrease long-term operating costs over the next 25 years.
This session will address how such a transformation is possible. With roughly five million commercial buildings in the United States alone, a sustainable future cannot be achieved purely through new, green construction; existing building stock must be made more sustainable. In changing how we think about existing structures, we can both drastically reduce a building’s negative impacts on natural environments while achieving positive gains in occupant health and productivity and reducing operational costs.
