William McDonough: Cradle to Cradle

Ontario's 1st LEED Platinum Green Building

• Architect: Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc.
• located in Vaughan, Ontario
• 2-storey, 1095 m2 building: office space for 25 occupants and a works garage
• construction is engineered wood framing with brick and wood siding
• cost premium aprox 10%
• expected to achieve a 66 % annual energy savings
• heating: heat pump system with a slinky ground source loop
• cooling: chilled water fan coils supplimented by cooled floor, using the same tubing as the radiant heating system
• concrete “earth tube” delivers outdoor air to the basement mechanical equipment
• 2 heat-recovery ventilators deliver 100 % outside air to the offices via displacement ventilation
• power: partly by photovoltaic system and remaining needs buying electrical power from a supplier of green (renewable) power—Bullfrog Power
• composting toilets (rarely used in offices) and waterless urinals means that the centre uses no water for wastewater conveyance, , together with low-flow plumbing fixtures throughout the building conserve 80% of the potable indoor water normally used in a building of this size
• 95 % of regularly occupied spaces have an abundance of daylighting and 90 % of these spaces have a view to the outdoors
• furniture is certified as “low off-gassing.”

Source: http://www.trca.on.ca/Website/TRCA/website.nsf/frmNewsArticleDisplay?OpenForm&NoteID=NT0001A1E6

TruStile’s MDF doors

• Available in TruStile’s 350+ door styles
• Certified by SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) to be constructed of 82% recycled content
• Eligible for LEED^® credits for Materials and Resources
• Manufactured with low-emitting adhesives
• No-added formaldehyde MDF option is an ideal choice for builders who are concerned about indoor air quality
• More durable and long-lasting than hollow-core doors

Sources for green furniture (Green Home Guide)

Question: Are there any stores—online or in the real world—that sell affordable green furniture?

Answer: Fortunately, there are—both online and in the real world! Of course, which ones you buy from will depend on what you consider affordable and which green attributes are most important to you.

Depending on the materials used to make a piece of furniture, its green features could include any of the following:
* Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, sustainably harvested wood;
* nontoxic glues (or no glues);
* nontoxic stains and finishes;
* organic cotton or other natural fibers;
* untreated upholstery or nontoxic fabric treatments for fire resistance, waterproofing, and stainproofing; and local manufacture using local materials.

While it’s rare to find products that meet all these criteria, the number of furniture manufacturers and individual products with green attributes is growing, providing more options in all price ranges... (read more by following the link)

High Efficiency Toilets (HET)

"Thus, the High Efficiency Toilet (HET) is becoming a significant part of the toilet fixture marketplace as manufacturers recognize the compelling need for water-efficient products and water authorities and municipalities incorporate them into their toilet replacement programs. Furthermore, builders participating in "green building" programs, such as the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's California Friendly Model Home program install HETs to accumulate water efficiency credits or to comply with program requirements.

The HET is defined as a fixture that flushes at 20 percent below the 1.6-gpf/6.0-lpf maximum or less, equating to a maximum of 1.3-gpf/4.8-lpf. This 20% reduction threshold serves as a metric for water authorities and municipalities designing more aggressive toilet replacement programs and, in some cases, establishing an additional performance tier for their financial incentives (e.g., rebate and voucher programs). Previous field studies in the U.S. and Canada have demonstrated that the average flush volume of dual-flush toilets in residential applications ranges between 1.1 and 1.2 gals."

ecohaus

ecohaus = Environmental Home Centre + Environmental Building Supplies (Seattle, Portland, Bend)
"We've spent over 10 years finding, using, testing and selling this wonderful array of items. They're what all building materials ought to be—stellar performers with Expanded Value Performance because they're safer, more durable and more energy efficient."

Hycrete

Our technologies deliver integral waterproofing that eliminate the need for external membranes, coatings and sheeting treatments. With our solutions, concrete is batched with Hycrete liquid admixtures to achieve hydrophobic performance (less than 1% absorption under BSI-1881 122). Hycrete Admixtures transform concrete from an open network of capillaries and cracks into an ultra-low absorptivity, waterproof, protective building material.

Hycrete Admixture is Cradle to Cradle Certified by MBDC. Cradle to Cradle Certification provides a company with a means to tangibly, credibly measure achievement in environmentally- intelligent design and helps customers purchase and specify products that are pursuing a broader definition of quality.

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/greenenergy/ci_7889323?nclick_check=1

EcoTimber

Since 1992, EcoTimber has been the leading supplier of high quality
wood products from environmentally sound sources. We offer a beautiful
selection of hardwood flooring from FSC-certified well-managed
forests, fast-growing Bamboo flooring, and hand-scraped flooring.
Offering products made with finishes and adhesives that won't
off-gas harmful chemicals, EcoTimber is the healthy choice for your
home and the planet.

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/greenenergy/ci_7889323?nclick_check=1

EcoLogo Green Products Database - Building & Construction Products

Target’s Economical Eco Furniture - formaldehyde-free

• affordable
• made with FSC/Rainforest Alliance Certified SmartWood
• 100% formaldehyde-free
• 100% nontoxic, water-based glues and stains
• furniture ships flat to conserve packaging and reduce waste
• designed and manufactured in USA (reducing shipping distance)
• and requires no hardware to set up

National GreenBuilding Conference

November 28 - 29, 2007
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building

Approximately, 50% of green house gas emissions come from buildings and associated activities in Canada. The increasing pressures to reduce green house gas emissions, rising energy costs, and a growing global interest and demand for efficient, responsible growth and development are fuelling the trend towards green building and design and have reinforced the need for a stronger focus on sustainability.

National GreenBuilding Conference will focus on all aspects of green design, construction, retrofit, and maintenance leading to high performance buildings, and will examine best practices and project delivery models that result in more efficient methods of designing sustainability into any project.

Green Globes Student Housing - University of Arkansas

Architects: Little Diversified Architectural Consulting (Charlotte, NC) with Allison Architects (Fayetteville and Little Rock)

• 50 apartments on the southeast edge of the University of Arkansas Fayetteville campus
• 600 sq ft
  
• projected to cost $ 16. 28 million
• 4 three-story apartment buildings - community building with a lounge, office and upstairs exercise room
• first Green Globes project on campus
• part of the university’s efforts to become “a model for sustainability”
• university “mindful of our responsibility to our environment and to our surroundings”. That means implementing the latest standards in “green design” for all new campus buildings.
  
• new UA construction projects followed LEED benchmarks since 2004
• Green Globes is similar to LEED. 90% percent of criteria between the two agree, but Green Globes identifies wood as a renewable resource

Features:

• wood frame
• energy efficient lighting, windows and insulation
• carpets will be made from recycled materials
• showers and toilets will be designed to restrict water flow
• landscaping will use native plants that limit erosion
• Energy Star-approved appliances

Source: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/202757/

Sun Frost refrigerators and freezers

Sun Frost refrigerators and freezers are so outstandingly energy-efficient, powering a home with solar power or other low output energy sources is both feasible and affordable. All models are available in 12 or 24 volt DC, or 110 or 220 volt AC. Even in a home using conventional utility power, energy consumption for refrigeration is typically cut by a factor of five!

2007 Green Building Festival | Toronto

FREE ADMISSION, PUBLIC WELCOME

• October 25, 10:30am - 5:00pm
• Atlantis Pavilions at Ontario Place, Toronto, ON
  
• features over 70 exhibitors representing the forefront of Canada’s sustainable building industry
  

Whether you are a home owner curious about the latest green building technologies, or a corporate leader looking to jump ahead in the drive to sustainability the Green Building Festival trade show is not-to-be-missed event. It’s is the only event focused exclusively on green building and is a key annual event in Canada’s evolution toward sustainable development.

LED Fluorescent Bulbs - EVERLED

• Fluorescent tubes... incredibly toxic, full of heavy metals such as mercury and lead.
• can be fitted on standard fluorescent tube fittings without any additions or changes to the ballasts
• manufacturer claims that the product has a 10 year lifespan
• energy reduction of about 20% from standard installations
• main model comes in a standard length of 4 feet
• $150 a tube (WOW! - would have to see life cycle costing to be able to sell it to a client i'd bet)
  

Source: http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/08/04/everled-led-based-fluorescent-tube-replacement/

"LED City" program - Raleigh & Toronto

"Canada's largest metropolitan area has joined Raleigh, NC in fostering a city-wide program to use and evaluate LED lighting. [LEDCity] initiative fosters collaboration among municipalities as they deploy energy-efficient lighting to deliver cost savings and environmental benefits. LEDs appearing throughout parks, parking garages and in architectural lighting over the coming months. Toronto already hosts a number of high profile LED installations, including LED streetlights at Exhibition Place, the Harbinger color-changing installation, and of course the CN Tower (CN Tower ... LED lighting... is designed to use 60% less energy than the Tower's lighting did in the 1990s). LEDs provide an energy-efficient, mercury- free solution helping to preserve the environment, while delivering more- flexible and longer-lasting lighting than traditional
lighting technologies."

Source: http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/4/7/9

Greensulate - Mushroom Insulation

Source: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/05/11/insulation_tec.html?category=technology

"An engineer with an agricultural background recently developed a new kind of "eco-friendly" building insulation using mushroom spores. The "Greensulate formula [is] an organic, fire-retardant board made of water, flour, oyster mushroom spores and perlite, a mineral blend found in potting soil...A 1-inch-thick sample of the perlite-mushroom composite had a 2.9 R-value, the measure of a substance's ability to resist heat flow. Commercially produced fiberglass insulation typically has an R-value between 2.7 and 3.7 per inch of thickness." Clearly this is a way to avoid carcinogenic materials and petrochemicals in the walls of our homes and offices, and it also demonstrates the extent of what's possible when we innovate across disciplines."

Source: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006892.html

"Bringing the insulation to market is still at least a year away though, said McIntyre, and will require much more research and work, not to mention more sophisticated equipment and a better work space."

Source: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070624/eco_mushrooms_070624/20070624?hub=SciTech

ecoAUTO Rebate Program and Car list

OK... not a building product but most of us drive and it's money back!!!...

As part of the Government of Canada’s plan to protect the environment, the ecoAUTO Rebate Program encourages Canadians to buy fuel-efficient vehicles. How? It offers rebates from $1000 to $2000, to people who, beginning March 20, 2007, buy or enter a long-term lease (12 months or more) for a fuel-efficient vehicle.

Source: http://www.ec.gc.ca/EnviroZine/english/issues/72/any_questions_e.cfm?Issues=May2007

Greener Carpeting Choices

Carpeting is not a very 'green' thing to do not just because of the air quality issued caused by off-gassing but also for it's high embodied energy and the garbage created when thrown out. But... if you really have to use carpeting:

• Tandus - recycled content
  
• Shaw - EcoWorx backing
  
• Interface - Cool Carpet (offsets ghg emissions)
  
• Milliken (harvets local landfill methane for energy)
  
• Mohawk - Encycle (polyvinylchloride free)
  

Source: Eco-structure Magazine MARCH / APRIL 2007 issue - Correspondence

Ray Anderson (CEO of Interface) on Sustainability from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcRDUIbT4gw

Argington Modern Children's Furniture

Sustainable Design
Thoughtful and intelligent design is essential for sustainability. Our furniture is designed with longevity and reusability as an essential criterion. We offer adjustable seating that grows with your child, table tops that are reusable and also are adjustable, cribs that convert to toddler beds, space saving trundle beds, and storage solutions that are multifunctional and adaptable to a myriad of styles and conditions. We create designs that are crafted to be timeless and can easily be passed from one child to the next.

Source: http://www.savvymom.ca/index.php/newsletter/tor_available_now/

Great but wouldn't it be even better if the furniture was made of FSC and formaldyde free wood...