Sustainability Opportunities for Minnesota Based on Swedish Communities

Last March, I spent five weeks in Sweden studying eco-communities.

A report that highlights opportunities in Minnesota for sustainable communities and green building has been written based on my one-month stay in Sweden. The report, "A Tale of Green Cities: Exploring Opportunities for Minnesota through the Natural Step Process and Sustainable Communities in Sweden", was sponsored by the Blandin Foundation and was released today by Dovetail Partners in their e-newsletter. Click here to download the report.

I'm really excited by the opportunities for Minnesota presented in the report. If you or your community has any interest or questions, or if you have any comments based on the report, I'd love to hear from you.

Promoting a LEED building in the right way

I just received a very common and important question about how to promote a LEED building in the right way. Here are some helpful tips:

1. Logo use. The USGBC has specific guidelines on how their product can and cannot be used. Click here for their specific logo guidelines.

2. Promotional materials. Another common question is if there are specific guidelines to materials that are used for promotion. As far as I know, the USGBC does not have any requirements. However, this is always one way to stay in line with (and set yourself apart from) the competition. Using certified paper products, such as FSC or SFI, is growing more common. One note: a printing company needs to be chain-of-custody certified themselves in order to use the FSC logo properly. Click here to search a list of vendors that are chain-of-custody certified or sell certified wood products. If you find a company that carries certified forest products, chances are good that they'll also have soy ink, post-consumer recycled-content paper, and a myriad of other green paper options.

3. Language. There is a huge difference between a project that is registered and awaiting certification and one that has fully achieved certification. There are also some major points to be aware of when talking about environmental claims. The Real Life LEED blog covers these topics greatly in this post. Not only is it important to be aware of the differences for legal reasons, but also because consumers are more green-savvy than ever before.

Greening your existing home in Minnesota

The summer is almost over, and now is a great time to be making those energy improvements to your home! One great resource in Minnesota is the Neighborhood Energy Consortium. They can help you test your home's energy efficiency and also find energy loans, rebates and tax incentives to pay for improvements.

They also offer a great online tool which takes you room by room of a house, focusing on ways to reduce energy use without making huge improvements. Click here for the ENERGYSTAR @ Home Tool.

SFI vs. FSC vs. all the others

In the green building standards world, sustainable forest certification has been a big debate. The USGBC's LEED program only recognizes FSC, NAHB's National Green Building Standard recognizes all forest certification programs, and Minnesota GreenStar requires that any wood not from Canada or the USA is FSC-certified. So who is right? And as a consumer does it really make a difference which product I choose?

Dovetail Partners, a non-profit organization focusing on accurate non-biased environmental information, has written a few articles that outline the differences and similarities between the third-party certified sustainable forestry standards.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) - summary
FSC - update
FSC and ATFS (American Tree Farm System) - update
PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certficiation schemes) - summary
SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) - summary
SFI - update*
CSA (Canadian Standards Association) - summary
FSC & SFI report - appendix compares many forest certification programs

(*some updates included that SFI became a 3rd party Chain-of-Custody standard, that its stakeholders and board include affiliates beyond industry, and that social issues are addressed)

The truth is, when choosing between certification programs, it depends on what is important to you. But nit-picking through the details may not get you anywhere. Like green building programs, sustainable forest standards often have prerequisites and then need to meet a certain number of points to become certified. But just because one program has specific indicators does not mean that the certified forest fits all of those indicators, just like not all LEED buildings have a green roof even though it's an option in the program.

So - what to do? First, remember that if a forest is going through a third-party certified program, it means that the forest managers are dedicated on some level to sustainability. Secondly, forest in the US and Canada are in general fairly well-managed, so issues of social responsibility are not as pressing (although always important) as in some third-world countries (which is why it's a good idea for imported wood to be Chain-of-Custody certified). Third, choosing local is very important - FSC, SFI, CSA, and ATFS are also all programs local to Minnesota and the United States and/or Canada. Fourth, clear-cutting is not always bad (see Dovetail's report on why clear-cutting is necessary in some places).

And finally - wood itself is a good product. It is one of the most sustainable building materials we have. It is renewable and natural and durable, and if it's local it's helping nearby communities as well. So regardless of what certification program you choose, by choosing wood, you've made a good choice.

If you have more questions on wood certification, please contact me.

Click here to see more of Dovetail's reports on forest certification, sustainable materials, responsible consumption, and green building.

Learn about LEED Regional Priority Credits

One of the changes in the new LEEDv3 system is the addition of Regional Priority Credits (RPCs). RPCs are already-existing LEED credits that are selected as most environmentally important to a specific zip code. One additional point can be earned for meeting a RPC (in addition to its regular points), for up to four points out of the six possible per location. Search the Minnesota Regional Priority Credits by zip code here.


Still curious about RPCs in Minnesota? The Mississippi Headwaters Chapter of the USGBC is hosting a seminar to explain LEED's new regionalization points and criteria. It will cover Minnesota's regionalized points and their specific focus on environmental and habitation zones. The event will be held at Center for Changing Lives, 2400 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55404, July 21st from 11:30am-1:00pm as the USGBC's local quarterly chapter update.

Registration closes soon - register for this event here.

Zero Energy Homes on Display in Minnesota

In Sweden, there was a lot of talk about zero-energy (and even energy-producing!) homes. But you don't have to travel overseas to learn what exactly a zero energy house looks like - in August and September two eco-friendly homes will be viewable right here in Minnesota.

2008 Eco Experience at the Minnesota State Fair, photo by Charles Bevier

One of the homes will be featured in the Progress Center at the fourth annual Eco Experience at the Minnesota State Fair August 27-September 7, 2009. The Eco Experience is put on by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and focuses on holistic sustainable living. The Eco Home is currently under construction and has a goal of being carbon-neutral. Some of the features include solar panels, stormwater management, geothermal heating and cooling, electric appliances, and a carport instead of a garage. Although the home will be 4-bedrooms and 2,200 sq.ft. and have a bigger footprint than previous years, it is being designed to be net-zero energy based on "typical" living practices and should fit on a typical 50' city lot. Besides the Eco Home, the Eco Experience will also display other green products and services, showcase the U of M's solar car that recently won a 850 mile race, and offer local healthy food options such as caprese salad on a stick!

Winner of 2007 Solar Decathlon, Technische Universität Darmstadt

The Solar Decathlon ICON House will be on display in August. The ICON house is being designed, engineered, and constructed by the University of Minnesota's Solar Decathlon Team to be Zero Energy and completely powered by the sun. It is currently under construction at the ReUse Center and was designed with architectural features that blend easily into a residential neighborhood. It is being designed using a whole systems design approach, life-cycle focused sustainability, and with the Minnesota climate in mind - see some of the solar components and design aspects here. In October, the ICON house will compete against 19 other Decathlon Teams in Washington, DC for the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar house. Images and plans of the house will be on display at the University of Minnesota's Exhibit at the State Fair on Dan Patch Avenue and Underwood street August 30th and 31st. The house will be on display at the East Bank of the University of Minnesota in August and near the Equine Center on the Saint Paul campus during the State Fair. Buses to the Equine Center and the Eco Experience are currently being arranged. Stay tuned for further updates!