This is a presentation I gave at the 2010 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference in Sacramento.

1. The Problem with Greenwashing
Why Businesses Need
Accurate Metrics to
Create Jobs and Wealth
2010 Behavior, Energy and
Climate Change Conference
Elton B. Sherwin
November 16, 2010

2. Greenwashing
Marketing that promotes a misleading
perception that something is
environmentally friendly
Sometimes deliberate, but often
caused by inaccurate standards or
missing measurements

3. Problem with Greenwashing
 Cream doesn’t rise to the top
 Best buildings/products undervalued
 Top performers invisible
 Poor performers praised
 Wrong behaviors encouraged
 Money is wasted
 Innovation is stifled
 Undermines morale

4. Often Unintentional

5. Energy Consumption LEED
Buildings
NBI Study

6. Performance of LEED Buildings
With Poorest Performers Removed
HUGE Variation
NBI
LEED for new construction, title and conclusion are the authors

7. Focus on Buildings
Aim today is to convince you:
1. Buildings matter: jobs and the
environment
2. Disclose energy consumption of all
buildings claiming to be green
3. Buildings need grades

8. Recap of Situation in
California

9. SOURCE: Inundation data from Knowles, 2008. Additional salt pond elevation data by Siegel and Bachand, 2002.
Aerial imagery is NAIP 2005 data. http://www.bcdc.ca.gov/planning/climate_change/climate_change.shtml
16 Inches
of Sea Rise
San Jose
San
Francisco
Vallejo
San Rafael
Oakland

10. SOURCE: Inundation data from Knowles, 2008. Additional salt pond elevation data by Siegel and Bachand, 2002.
Aerial imagery is NAIP 2005 data. BCDC.gov
Foster City
East Palo AltoMenlo Park
16 Inches
of Sea Rise
Silicon
Valley

11. SOURCE: Inundation data from Knowles, 2008. Additional salt pond elevation data by Siegel and Bachand, 2002.
Aerial imagery is NAIP 2005 data. BCDC.gov
Moffett Field
237
Sun,
Google,
and, Cisco
all at risk

12. July Temperatures
2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy
www.climatechange.ca.gov/adaptation
California’s
agricultural
regions will be
hard hit

13. Midcentury
Increase of 5 Degrees Fahrenheit
2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy
www.climatechange.ca.gov/adaptation
5+

14. Could See Increases of 10 to 14
Degree Fahrenheit in Central Valley*
2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy
*“Emissions pathways, climate change, and impacts on California”
Christopher B. Field and 17 coauthors, June 23, 2004, PNAS
10+

15. Smaller snowpack
More water shortages
Less water for agriculture
“Emissions pathways, climate change, and impacts on California”
Christopher B. Field and 17 coauthors, June 23, 2004, PNAS

16. Heat Waves in Los Angeles
Basin Will Be Much More
Frequent
Dan Steinberg, Associated Press

17. What is the Largest Source
of CO2
in America?
More than all cars, trucks and
planes added together?

18. Buildings

19. Building energy consumption
is almost 40% of U.S. CO2
emissions*
*Mitigating Climate Change: What America’s Building Industry Must Do
Mahadev Raman. Using DOE data

20. To Effectively Deal with Climate
Change
Buildings Must Use Less Energy

21. Employees Everywhere Must
Reduce Consumption
 Retail
 Commercial
 Schools
 Government

22. It is Not Happening

23. Solution:
Grade Our Buildings
A-

24. 75 Recommendations
Two most important
1. Grade buildings
2. Reduce high GWP
agents
 Soot, methane, ozone,
carbon monoxide, etc.

25. Analyzed 12 Different Building Energy
Labels and Their Associated Rating
Methodologies

26. Recommended Label
In Monthly Utility Bill
C-
B+
Electricity**
Gas**
*125 is highest score
1 is lowest
Compared to all federal buildings in
America
(See Inverted Scale with Progressive Weighting)
** The energy grade is determined
comparing this building to other similar
buildings in similar climates
74*
Image from iStockphoto

27. Building Energy Grades
Recommended Format
Relative grade
– Graded versus peers
– Similar type buildings in
similar climates
Absolute standard
– Compares all buildings
worldwide
– Absolute score based on
BTUs per square foot

28. Peer Rating
• Similar building types
– Office to office
– Hospital to hospital
• In similar climates
• Top 20% get As
A+ reserved for net zero
• Bottom 20% get Fs
• Include + and –
• Get the best of either
per sq. ft. or per person

29. National Rating
• National standard
– Intuitive: scores above
80 are good, below 70
are poor
• 125 minus weighted EUI
• Source energy (per sq ft.)
– Combines natural gas,
oil and electricity
– All electricity weighted
at national average

30. What Would Happen?
 Put a grade in monthly utility bill
 Mail window sticker quarterly
 Optional for the building to display

31. What Would Happen?
 Hotels with As get more business
 Offices getting Ds would upgrade
 Energy efficiency would be important
 Some businesses and employees would
hunt down their energy hogs

32. What Would Happen?
 Best energy auditors become very popular
 Backlog of work upgrading:
 Lighting systems
 Windows
 Cooling towers
 Insulation
 Fans, pumps, and motor controls
 Building controls, VAV boxes, etc.

33. What Would Happen?
 Millions of new jobs
 Skills would improve
 Burn less coal and natural gas
 Send less money out-of-state to buy
hydrocarbons
 Spend more money locally
 Efficient products outsell inefficient
products

34. Why This Label
 Grades motivate change
 Rewards small
improvements
 Automatically update
monthly
 Universal participation
 Does not require pre-audits
 Fair: works for all sizes of
buildings
 Drive dramatic reductions
in energy consumption

35. Summary Recommendations
1. Grade buildings: A+ to F
 Optional quarterly window stickers
2. Disclose energy consumption of all
buildings claiming to be green
 Include all government buildings and
builders requesting variances
 Identify the architect

36. In Closing
Building grades will motivate action:
1. Create private investment
2. Create jobs
3. Improve skills
4. Encourage innovation
5. Reduce emissions
A+
For more information: www.EltonSherwin.com
Information on building grades:
http://www.slideshare.net/EltonSherwin/presentations
Specifically two presentations:
http://tinyurl.com/34dp6qx and http://tinyurl.com/34vrhl6

37. Appendix

38. Why Grades Based on Energy?
Energy => CO2 => Environmental Damage
Image: Roger Braithwaite, University of Manchester (UK)
Awards based on
anything other than
actual energy
consumption are not
helpful.

39. http://www.slideshare.net/EltonSherwin/presentations
http://tinyurl.com/34dp6qx and http://tinyurl.com/34vrhl6
Also, see
Response to the
National Energy Rating Program for Homes
Request for Information

40. World-
wide Next
20 Years
(Soot)
Soot and Smoke Also
Damage Our Environment

41. EPA and
National
Research
Council
Estimates of
Ocean Rise
16 inches
1 meter
130 inches

42. Encourage the Disclosure of
Building Energy Consumption
Cities have leverage:
 Requesting permit
 Requesting variance
 Bidding for city business
 Selling building
 Challenge other city governments
 Prohibit “green” or efficiency claims
without disclosure
 Give window stickers to all homes and
businesses who disclose their data
Cities can encourage disclosure
• Last 2 yrs utility bills
• Next 10 yrs

43. Use Signage Laws to Ban Advertising
Without Disclosure
Energy Saving
Green Home
(Data not disclosed)
Require
• Last 2 yrs utility bills
• Next 10 yrs

44. US DOE. CO2 in America. Excludes other greenhouse pollutants: methane,
Soot, CFCs, etc. Also excludes embedded energy in imports and most impacts from Agriculture.
CO2 Emissions:
Circled sources are
mostly buildings

45. Which Building Types Use the Most
Energy Overall?

46. Which Building use the Most
Energy per Square Foot?

47. Electricity Consumption in
Healthcare Buildings

48. Checklists
www.EltonSherwin.com
 What Can Cities and Counties Do?
 Simple Green Building Code
 Homes
 Commercial Property
 What are Your Company’s Top
Energy Wasters?
 Schools and public buildings
 What are Your Home’s Top Energy
Wasters?
 How Do I Find the Energy Hogs in My
House?
 Reducing Your Carbon Footprint
www.Amazon.com