Green Building Achievements

Percent of King County government construction, renovation or remodeling projects demonstrating compliance with the 2008 King County Green Building and Sustainable Development Ordinance

About This Performance Measure: This performance measure presents the percent of county capital improvement projects that are in compliance with the King County Green Building and Sustainable Development Ordinance. The King County Council adopted the Ordinance in 2008 which calls for new county-built capital projects that are eligible to plan for and attain a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold or other highest possible level rating. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) developed the LEED rating system to provide a benchmark for the design and construction of high performance green buildings. Project teams shall submit a completed LEED checklist, which documents which LEED points the project team expects to achieve. The checklist is submitted to the King County Green Building Team when a project is at 30 percent design and again at project completion.

The Ordinance also requires that all non-LEED eligible King County capital projects incorporate green building and sustainable development practices whenever possible. These projects must submit a Sustainable Infrastructure Scorecard developed by the King County Green Building Team when a project is at 30 percent design and again at project completion. Most county capital projects will fall under the requirement to use the Scorecard.

How is our performance?

2010 Results: Insufficient data at this time

2010 Target: 100%

2011 Target: 100%

Influencing Factors: In 2010, the King County Green Building Team developed the Sustainable Infrastructure Scorecard for non-LEED eligible projects, and Solid Waste Division GreenTools Program staff conducted two county-wide and three division-specific trainings for project managers on the requirements of the Green Building Ordinance and use of the Scorecard. However, in 2010, King County did not have in place a central repository for information about the status of all capital projects. As a result, the degree of compliance with the Ordinance is not clear as of this posting.

Strategy Going Forward: In 2011, the GreenTools Program will provide at least four additional trainings on the Ordinance and Scorecard to the divisions who did not receive training in 2010. In addition, GreenTools staff will provide a number of more in-depth trainings on such topics as: use of specific Scorecard categories, LEED v3, Low Impact Development (LID), renewable energy, and use of a new Green Operations and Management Guidelines Manual (to be developed in 2011). Coordination is needed with the Capital Project Management Work Group to ensure the Green Building Ordinance requirements are included in county capital project manual tables of contents.

Technical Notes: The definition for "demonstrating compliance" with the ordinance changed between 2009 and 2010. In 2009, divisions were considered to be in compliance as they were actively involved in developing the tools needed for implementing the requirements of the ordinance, including the Sustainable Infrastructure Scorecard. Starting in 2010, a project was considered to be "demonstrating compliance" with the ordinance if the project had submitted its LEED checklist or Sustainable Infrastructure Scorecard at 30 percent design and/or at completion, as appropriate for the project.

LEED recognizes performance in key areas of human and environmental health, including: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, locations and linkages, awareness and education, innovation in design, and regional priority.

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