The Greener the Better

U.S. mayors champion the greening of schools, new study shows economic advantages

If mayors from across the country have their way, every child in the United States will be attending a green school within a generation.

In a move to better support the health and well-being of America’s students, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which represents more than 1,100 mayors, unanimously supported a green schools resolution at its 75th annual meeting in Los Angeles in early July.

The resolution, introduced by Mayor T.M. Franklin Cownie of Des Moines and co-sponsored by 16 additional mayors, also urges Congress to provide funding of K-12 green school demonstration projects as well as support new research funding to better understand the environmental, economic and health benefits of green schools.

Citing the urgent need for healthier and more productive places of learning, the mayors issued the resolution on behalf of the 55 million students and five million faculty and staff who spend their days in school buildings.  

“Studies show that children in green schools are healthier and more productive because of improved indoor air quality, lower levels of chemical emissions and a generous provision of natural day lighting,” says Cownie. “The benefits of cleaner indoor air quality—a key emphasis of green schools—have been linked to lower asthma rates, fewer allergies, reduced absenteeism and increased teacher retention rates.”. 

In addition to significant health benefits, green schools cost less to operate and greatly reduce water and energy use, which generate significant financial savings.  

“We’re in urgent need of action on this issue, so it’s great to see mayors take the lead,” says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. “Green schools are healthier for students and teachers, better for the environment, and cost less to operate and maintain. We owe it to our children—and ourselves—to make all our schools green.”

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To date, more than 30 schools have received LEED certification and nearly 300 more are on a waiting list for certification from the USGBC, which administers the nationally recognized LEED rating system for environmentally friendly buildings and recently released its LEED rating system specifically for schools.

Before 2007, many schools chose to use LEED for New Construction certification, even though the program was not ideally suited to schools.

But in 2004, USGBC made a commitment to create a program geared specifically for schools because of the imperative to teach children about sustainability through the built environment and green building. The program was fully launched in April 2007.

Today, the rating system acts like a “nutritional label” for green, healthy schools so parents know exactly where their children are spending their days. The rating emphasizes classroom acoustics, master planning, indoor air quality, mold prevention, energy efficiency and water conservation. Greening school design is a cost-effective way to enhance student learning, reduce health and operational costs, and ultimately increase school quality and competitiveness.

In a recent study produced by Capital E, researchers found that a typical green school involves a modest 2% increase in cost but would save $100,000 per year in energy costs alone—enough to hire two new teachers, buy 500 new computers or purchase 5,000 new textbooks  

The American Federation of Teachers, the American Institute of Architects, the American Lung Association, the Federation of American Scientists and the U.S. Green Building Council sponsored the report, which included a detailed analysis of 30 green schools built in 10 states between 2001 and 2006  

According to the report, executives are discouraged from undertaking green construction because of concerns about cost and lack of awareness and available information on the financial benefits of green building—a statement supported by a 2005 survey by Turner Construction Co.   

Greg Kats, the study’s author, squashes those financial concerns, demonstrating that “green schools cost less than  2% more than conventional schools—or about $3 per sq ft—but provide financial benefits that are 20 times as large.” Because school buildings represent the largest single building sector in the United States and more than $35 billion is projected to be spent in 2007 on K-12 construction, the conclusions have far-reaching implications for future school design.   

The report documents numerous economic, health and learning advantages, including the creation of more than 2,000 additional jobs each year. According to the report, only 2.5 jobs are created for every 1,000 tons of waste disposed while 4.7 jobs are created for every 1,000 tons of waste diverted.       

In addition, LEED-certified green buildings use 30% less energy and 30-50% less water, and reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions by 40%.  

“Lower energy and water costs, improved teacher  retention and lowered health costs save green schools directly about $12 per ft—four times the additional cost of going green and enough to hire an additional full-time teacher,” Kats says.

The financial savings and environmental benefits go hand-in-hand. If all new school construction and school renovations went green starting today, energy savings alone would total $20 billion over the next 10 years.

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