{"id":3236,"date":"2018-02-27T16:49:07","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T15:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenbuilt.dev.kodeks.no\/en\/?p=3236"},"modified":"2025-09-09T12:11:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T11:11:31","slug":"5-green-building-trends-in-u-s-for-2018-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenbuilt.no\/en\/2018\/02\/27\/5-green-building-trends-in-u-s-for-2018-2\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Green Building Trends in U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo<\/span>:<\/a>\u00a0 by Aart Architects – “Vannkanten” in TermoWood from Moelven Wood Project<\/p>\n

Ken Edelstein<\/em><\/strong> from The Kendeda Fund asked eight of his favorite green building experts one question: \u201cWhat notable trends do you see emerging in commercial green building in 2018?<\/a>\u201d<\/span> He baked their insights and his followup research into five green building trends for 2018. Here they are:<\/p>\n

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  1. \n
    More employers seek to improve indoor air quality for workers.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Concerns about volatile organic compounds and other off-gases no longer can be written off as uncertain or inconsequential.<\/p>\n

    Longterm, large-scale research projects at Harvard\u2019s Chan School of Public Health and other research institutions are showing a very real relationship between indoor air quality and employee productivity. And United Technologies, which is underwriting the so-called \u201cCOGfx\u201d studies<\/span>, has taken on a communications campaign to highlight the findings.<\/p>\n

    The most startling discovery: \u201cStudying three ventilation strategies and four different heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems across seven U.S. cities, the team found that the indoor environment previously associated with a doubling of cognitive function test scores can be achieved at an energy cost between $14 and $40 per person per year and result in as much as a $6,500 equivalent in improved productivity per person per year.\u201d<\/p>\n

    If there\u2019s one thing employers care about as much as the well-being of their employees, it\u2019s how healthier employees can help their productivity.<\/p>\n

    Eskew Dumez Ripple principal Z Smith says COGfx is \u201crevolutionizing conversations with building owners about the connection between indoor air quality (CO2\/VOC) and occupant health and mental performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Employers now have compelling reasons to ask about indoor air quality in the buildings they lease, buy or construct.<\/p>\n

    And architects now have a tool to demonstrate to commercial building owners that better air quality means better occupant performance, which in turn can enhance property values.<\/p>\n

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    1. \n
      Better tools make material transparency more practical.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Architects have struggled for years to determine which products and materials are hazardous for occupants (not to mention for the people who make, install and dispose of them).<\/p>\n

      Among the challenges: Manufacturers don\u2019t want to share secrets; even when they are<\/em> willing to say what\u2019s in their products, the information may not be accurate; there\u2019s not always agreement on what materials are hazardous; and everyone \u2014 design firms, certification agencies, trade groups \u2014 seems to have a different database of materials, many of which conflict with each other.<\/p>\n

      But a critical mass for disclosure seems to be kicking in. Various tools are beginning to complement each other, and more manufacturers are seeing the competitive advantage of responding to growing demands for transparency from their customers.<\/p>\n

      Healthy Building Network<\/span><\/a> President Bill Walsh points to two developments that could make a difference in 2018:<\/p>\n

      The Health Product Declaration\u00a0Collaborative<\/a><\/span> \u2014\u00a0a nonprofit that encourages manufactures to submit open-source HPDs on a level playing field \u2014 is enjoying significant growth; companies are participating because they\u2019ve begun to view transparency as a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n

      \u201cWe are seeing steady progress,\u201d Walsh says.<\/p>\n

      I\u2019ll go a step further: 2018 will be the year when transparency finally becomes practical. Understanding the ingredients of a building the way a chef understands what goes into a recipe is becoming less of novelty and more of a standard way of doing business.<\/p>\n