Hi,
Does anybody know of research that has examined whether or not green buildings foster sustainable behavior either within or outside of the building?
Thank you for your time,
Natalie Seaba, B.Sc.
ES Environmental Affairs Coordinator
Red River College of Applied Arts, Science & Technology
C409-2055 Notre Dame Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3M 3H6
Phone: (204) 632-3075
Fax: (204) 632-9661
www.rrc.mb.ca/environment
Do Green Buildings Foster Sustainable Behaviour?
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A number of colleges and local governments in the US that have built green buildings also make a big effort to educate the residents of these buildings about "green" elements of the buildings and other ways to "be green" - I can think of some examples in Cambridge, MA, Portland, OR, Santa Monica, CA (including some apartment complex there where renters participate in ecoteams, do a sustainability self-assessment, and make a commitment to reduce energy, water, waste, and toxics), also check out Oberlin College, University of South Carolina, Columbus, and others. I don't know whether these efforts have been written up in all cases, but you could probably search city and college websites and look for such information. I guess the point is that those who build green, are often so convinced of what they're doing that they add an educational component that may at least raise the likelihood that folks living there begin adopting some more green behaviors
Best,
Susi Moser
Susanne C. Moser, Ph.D.
Institute for the Study of Society and Environment (ISSE)
National Center for Atmospheric Research
P.O.Box 3000 Boulder, CO 80307-3000
Tel.: 303.497.8132 Fax.: 303.497.8125
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.isse.ucar.edu/moser/index.html
Hi Natalie,
I recently read about RICS (UK"s Royal Inst. Of Chartered Surveyors) who have completed a survey on green buildings and the market value positives but I don't think they included behaviour of occupants due to the building's nature. I suggest you take a look at their website..
This is perhaps not what you meant, but I would recommend the post-occupancy evaluation of green buildings done by Adrian Lehman, most extensively as part of the PROBE analyses done for the UK Building Service Engineers and published in the Building Service Engineers Magazine, which often reveal the extent to which many non-automated green features in buildings fail in operation due to a lack of fostered sustainable behaviour (which, by the way, is an argument for cbsm as part of green building design and impementation, not an argument for automated buildings which are invariably dumb rather than smart in their assumptions of users' behaviour and needs): http://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/
Cameron
Dr Cameron Tonkinwise
Director, Design Studies Co-ordinator, Postgraduate Design Program
School of Design University of Technology, Sydney
Room: Building 6, Level 6, 626
Phone: (61 2) 9514 8928
Fax: (61 2) 9514 8787
www.dab.uts.edu.au
Convenor, Society for Responsibile Design Director, Change Design [email protected] www.changedesign.org
I can speak to the subject of commercial buildings in the U.S. and sustainable behavior on an anecdotal basis, having been involved with the management of two such buildings and having been in commercial real estate investment, leasing and management for many years. I think that tenancy in sustainable buildings can have an effect on behavior in some circumstances, particularly if building ownership and/or management utilizes sustainable practices (which they may not). This will vary from building to building, of course, but here are some general observations: --Tenancy in green buildings may raise awareness of the issue of sustainability and give occupants ideas as to how to incorporate sustainable practices in their own lives. (Examples: using low-flush toilets; using non-toxic paints and other building materials.) --If the green building is managed with sustainable practices (recycling, active energy management) that might induce occupants to model that behavior in their own homes. --Some highly-motivated companies that lease space in their commercial buildings develop programs for their employees that encourage sustainable behaviors. One such company is Norm Thompson Outfitters in Portland, Oregon, which has leased a sustainable headquarters since 1995. The company instituted an organic gardening program for its employees several years ago. When I last checked, Derek Smith ([email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) ) has been the company's sustainability coordinator and, if he is still in the position, might be able to offer additional information. The outcome is largely dependent on the actions of building ownership and management, or the needs and desires of the (key) tenants. If the building is built green, but all energy controls are automated and there is no or minimal effort to communicate with occupants on green topics, the impact on occupant behavior might be minimal or none. Similarly, tenants who are indifferent to the project's green features (or are merely motivated by the prospect of lower utility bills) are less likely to undertake actions to encourage sustainable behavior. That said, some tenants in green commercial buildings are drawn to the project because of the green features, and some of these tenants may be more likely to engage in behaviors that encourage their employees to become aware of or adopt green practices. Owner-occupied green buildings (these owner-occupants are likely to be more interested in sustainability) or green buildings leased to a tenant or tenants who are interested in sustainable behavior will probably be the most interested in encouraging sustainable behaviors. In sum, the interest of the tenants, ownership and management in undertaking sustainable practices would be the key variable, I would predict. The "greenness" of the building might exert some independent impact, but I would guess that the human factor would be more important. It would be interesting to conduct research on this subject.
Best,
Leanne Tobias
Leanne Tobias
Principal Malachite LLC
301. 229-1558 (direct)
202. 257-7254 (mobile)
[email protected]
http://www.malachitellc.com/
I recently came across some research done in the UK that is relevant, but more pointed at residential buildings than post-secondary campus buildings or commerical buildings. "Energy efficiency refurbishment programmes help, but are the end-users doing their bit?" http://www.ukace.org/pubs/reportfo/eceee%202005%20-%205,010.pdf
When I was in school at Oberlin College I did an Honors project studying the impact of real-time feedback on resource consumption. We found that providing college students with engaging real-time data on their energy use on each floor of their dorms resulted in energy savings of 54% on average. We could conclude that feedback on resource use definitely changes the behavior of the building occupant. When this real-time feedback mechanism is used inside a green building, the building occupants become more directly aware of the flows of energy and the cycles of matter through the build environment and are able to visualize the usually invisible high performance energy systems, water efficient features, high R-value, on-site energy production, etc. A building with a monitoring and display system becomes a teaching tool of itself. If you would like to see examples of this real-time feedback, check out www.oberlin.edu/ajlc and www.oberlin.edu/dormenergy .
Gay Nicholson, Ph.D.
Sustainable Tompkins Program Coordinator
P.O. Box 596 Ithaca, NY 14851-0596
[email protected]
Southern Tier Energy$mart Communities Regional Coordinator
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County 615 Willow Ave.,
Ithaca, NY 14850
[email protected]
607-533-7312 (home office)
607-279-6618 (cell)
Seeing the light: Micro-generation brings energy to life The SDC (Sustainable Development Commission) commissioned The Hub Research Consultants to explore what impact micro-generation technologies like solar water heating, mini wind turbines and air source heat pumps are having on attitudes to energy use in households and schools around the country. The report is the first ever research into the effect of micro-generation on attitudes and behaviours in homes and schools. Seeing the Light proves that DIY energy generation - from mini wind turbines, solar panels and air source heat pumps - has the power to engage homes and schools to actively cut their energy use and connect with climate change solutions http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/news/index.php?page=get_article&article_ id=FK7OVZ8-BV9MRDZ-HKMFYS8-5OZZIS2 The report analyses four distinct groups - households without microgeneration, those which installed technologies, those which inherited technologies from a local authority and schools - to further reveal: * Microgeneration has the power to lower bills and address fuel poverty, particularly in households which inherit technologies from their local authority. * This leads to further energy-conserving techniques, such as focusing the use of washing machines on key 'generating' times. * The visible presence of wind turbines and sun panels around the home provides a tangible reminder of energy use, which also works to change behaviours. * Microgeneration has the strongest impact when householders are introduced to the technologies from the start and given a clear explanation of their advantages. * Householders who actively installed their own technologies could be divided into three groups: environmentalists (motivated by environmental impact), independents (motivated by self-sufficiency) and technophiles (motivated by new innovations) - all surveyed made more improvements to the energy efficiency of their homes after installing microgeneration. * Schools with microgeneration developed an eco-friendly ethos, which was hugely strengthened when lessons on producing energy were incorporated into the curriculum. The full report is available online from: http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/work_streams/SCR.html
I have been reading the discussions linked to this topic and as a Doctorate student conducting an investigation of the uptake of energy efficient behaviours in Queensland Solar Schools in Australia, I have really appreciated the discussion and information about other studies addressing how green buildings foster sustainable behaviour. If anyone has additional information about similar projects looking at renewable energy technology and sustainable behaviours (especially with students or schools) I would really appreciate your emails.
Stacey Tabert
([email protected])
EdD Candidate Faculty of Education & Creative Arts Central
Queensland University Rockhampton, Australia
A couple of references that come to mind, not measures of sustainable behaviors in green buildings per se, but ones that look more broadly at the relationships between environmental behaviors and the built environment. It seems to me that looking at green buildings in isolation can overlook the importance of overall context in environmental behaviors. Yougentob, K., Hostetler, M. (2005) IS A NEW URBAN DEVELOPMENT MODEL BUILDING GREENER COMMUNITIES?. Environment and Behavior Vol. 37 No. 6. 731-759 Meltzer, G. (2000). Cohousing: verifying the importance of community in the application of environmentalism. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 17 (2), 110-132. Uzzell, D., Pol, E., & Badenas, D. (2002). Place Identification, Social Cohesion, and Environmental Sustainability. Environment and Behavior, 34 (1), 26-53.
Kif Scheuer
Doctoral Candidate School of Natural Resources and Environment
University of Michigan
[email protected]
Natalie, I'm responding to your OLD question: Do Green Buildings Foster Sustainable Behavior? I'd like to pursue this question and wonder how far you got on it. Chris
Chris Hammer
Sustainable Design Resources
www.greenclips.com/sdr
There are a number of green buildings in Australia that are very strong on this theme. The one I am most familar with is called the 60L Green building in Melbourne right the heart of city. There is a very strong emphasis on sustainable behaviour both for the tenants and visitors to the building. It houses a number of different tenants ranging from environmental groups to politicians offices. Check out the link http://www.60lgreenbuilding.com
Cheers
MOC