Buildings account for nearly half of global greenhouse gas emissions through their construction, heating, cooling and materials. Adopting green building practices can significantly reduce these emissions and other environmental impacts while improving occupant health and productivity. Resource positive architecture aims to go beyond sustainability to generate more energy and purify more water than buildings consume through the use of passive solar design, energy efficient systems and occupant behaviors. Widespread adoption of existing cost-effective green building technologies and practices could dramatically reduce the climate change impact of the built environment.

1. Your Building Can Save the Planet

2. Resource Positive Architecture

3. The heating and cooling of buildings emits at least 30% of the world’s greenhouse gases.

4. If you add in the manufacture and transportation of construction materials buildings account for 48% of the world’s greenhouse gases.

5. Our cities and communities consume 75% of the world's energy and generate 80% of its greenhouse gases.

6. Every year in North America, buildings release some 2200 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

7. In Canada buildings account for: • 50% of the natural resources used in a year

8. In Canada buildings account for: • 50% of the natural resources used in a year • 25% of the materials in landfills

9. In Canada buildings account for: • 50% of the natural resources used in a year • 25% of the materials in landfills • 12% of the non-industrial water usage.

10. In the United States , the annual cost of building-related sickness is estimated to be at $58 billion.

11. Green buildings could generate an additional $200 billion a year in the United States in worker performance by creating healthy workplaces.

12. More than half of the world’s new construction is taking place in China and India alone.

13. China and India could cut current building energy consumption by 25 percent simply by using energy more efficiently.

14. In China a dollar spent on green buildings has a 4 times greater impact than a dollar spent on energy generation .

15. Green and Healthy Buildings have many benefits .

16. Green and Healthy Buildings can decrease: • Absenteeism by 15%

17. Green and Healthy Buildings can decrease: • Absenteeism by 15% • Carbon Emissions by 35%

18. Green and Healthy Buildings can decrease: • Absenteeism by 15% • Carbon Emissions by 35% • Energy Costs by 30%

19. Green and Healthy Buildings can decrease: • Absenteeism by 15% • Carbon Emissions by 35% • Energy Costs by 30% • Hospital Stays by 2.5 days

20. Green and Healthy Buildings can decrease: • Absenteeism by 15% • Carbon Emissions by 35% • Energy Costs by 30% • Hospital Stays by 2.5 days • Waste Management Costs by 50-90%

21. Green and Healthy Buildings can decrease: • Absenteeism by 15% • Carbon Emissions by 35% • Energy Costs by 30% • Hospital Stays by 2.5 days • Waste Management Costs by 50-90% • Water Usage by 30-50%

22. Green and Healthy Buildings can increase: • Factory Production

23. Green and Healthy Buildings can increase: • Factory Production • Retail Sales per Square Foot

24. Green and Healthy Buildings can increase: • Factory Production • Retail Sales per Square Foot • Office Productivity by 2-20%

25. Retrofitting existing buildings with current, cost-effective technology, would reduce our climate change impact by 40%.

26. Using new technology would reduce our climate change impact by 60%.

27. Using existing technology we can now construct Net Zero Buildings which consume as much energy as they use and have a neutral effect on the environment.

28. But we could do more.

29. Resource Positive Architecture is about buildings and communities that have a regenerative or positive effect on the environment.

30. Resource Positive Buildings generate more energy than they consume.

31. Resource Positive Buildings purify more water than they use.

32. Resource Positive Buildings sequester more carbon than they emit.

33. Resource Positive Buildings also have the potential to generate revenue for their inhabitants.

34. The performance of a building is determined: • 25% by its architecture • 50% by its systems • 25% by the behaviour of its occupants.

35. We can use all three to create Resource Positive Buildings.

36. Here’s how we do it: 105% Total 20% Alternative Energy Systems 15% Better Insulation and Materials 20% Energy Smart Appliances 10% Energy Efficient Lighting 15% Change our Behaviours 15% Passive Solar Design 10% Metering & Monitoring

37. Metering and Monitoring: People will use 12% less energy if they have legible meters that tell them how much they are using.

39. Passive Solar Design includes: • Orientation of the building to maximize daylight • Natural Ventilation • Shading Devices • Passive Heating with Thermal Mass • Efficient Envelopes.

40. Passive Solar Design: New technologies can capture and concentrate natural light and deliver it 100 feet inside a building - with a 25% saving in lighting power bills.

41. Change our Behaviours: • Turn down the thermostat • Turn off the lights • Power off the computer.

42. Energy Efficient Lighting: Compact Fluorescent Bulbs use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and deliver the same amount of light.

43. LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs now under development will offer even more energy savings, last longer and be better for the environment.

44. Energy Smart Appliances: Our electronic devices are energy hogs and they’re getting worse.

45. Energy Smart Appliances have the following energy savings over conventional models: • Refrigerators 15% • Clothes Washers 50% • Dishwashers 25% • Air Conditioning Systems 20%.

46. Better Insulation and Materials: The Passive House uses superinsulation and other methods to avoid the need for a furnace or air conditioning system.

47. Better Insulation and Materials: • Build out of Wood

48. Better Insulation and Materials: • The manufacture of most building materials generates greenhouse gases. • Wood soaks up and stores greenhouse gases as it grows.

49. Alternative Energy Systems: • Solar Thermal • Solar Photovoltaic • Wind • Geothermal.

50. Alternative Energy Systems: • Solar Thermal Collectors can reduce water-heating costs by 70%.

51. Resource Positive Architecture is the best means of reducing global warming.

52. Collaborative research is the best means of making resource positive buildings.

53. The problem is: Levels of building research pale in comparison to amounts being invested in other sectors .

54. In the United States research on green buildings was only about 0.2% - two-tenths of one percent - of all federally-funded research from 2002 to 2004.

55. We need an international program of research, development and commercialization.

56. Schools of architecture and engineering working with practitioners could move us quickly towards resource positive architecture.

57. Great progress could be made simply by connecting together existing initiatives and sharing best practices.

58. A comprehensive approach provides a competitive advantage.

59. To find out more about this presentation and Resource Positive Architecture please visit: www.resourcepositive.com