Sectors: Public Health, Green Building

Challenge:

Bring a health-based approach to developing guidance and best practices for healthcare facilities on how to enhance the environmental sustainability of their construction and operations practices.

Solution:

• Highlight the co-benefits to health of green building and operations practices.
• Design, develop, and deliver professional trainings to build technical capacity in the healthcare sector.
• Conduct research and literature reviews to build an evidence-base for measuring the benefits of prioritizing the health co-benefits of green building and operations practices in the healthcare sector.

Services:

Consulting

• As lead author of the LEED Reference Guide for Green Building Design and Construction—Healthcare Supplement in 2010, emphasized the need to prioritize the health co-benefits of green building practices.
• Coordinated an extensive network of volunteer subject matter experts in 2008 to revise the Green Guide for Health Care’s Operations section and develop a coherent strategic vision for the future for the Green Guide for Health Care project.
• As Pilot Project Coordinator and Project Manager at the Green Guide for Health Care, supported over 150 Green Guide for Health Care projects from 2005-2008, many of which are cross-registered with LEED.

Applied Research

• Led a study of 13 LEED-certified or -registered healthcare projects exploring first cost premiums and lifecycle benefits associated with the design, construction, and operation of a high performance, healthy building in comparison to conventional construction and operations. The study results were published in 2009 and 2010 in the Health Environments Research & Design (HERD) Journal and Greening Our Built World: Costs, Benefits, and Strategies by Greg Kats.

Training

• Developed and managed the Green Guide for Health Care/Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (now Practice Greenhealth) Green Building Webinar Series from 2006-2008.

Clients:

U.S. Green Building Council, Green Guide for Health Care