The federal government owns approximately 445,000 buildings with floor space of more than 3 billion square feet. Military buildings dominate these figures, comprising more than two-thirds of all federal buildings and floor space. In the United States, commercial buildings account for:

• 36% of total energy use and 65% of electricity consumption
• 30% of greenhouse gas emissions
• 30% of raw materials use
• 30% of waste output or 136 million tons annually
• 12% of potable water consumption

The average person also spends 90% of his or her time indoors, where air quality is typically 2 to 5 time worse than outdoor air quality, thanks to contaminants both in building materials themselves or brought inside through building ventilation systems. Clearly our built infrastructure has a significant environmental and human health impact, and managing and reducing that impact is a major aim of the Air Force’s building strategy.

So how can we reduce the impacts of our buildings and create healthy workplaces? Engineers are turning to the Civil Engineer and Services School at the Air Force Institute of Technology to find out. The term sustainable design describes a philosophy of building that reduces environmental impact and energy consumption while enhancing indoor air quality and reducing toxic materials used in building construction. Utilizing sustainable design practices:

• Maximizes utilization of base lands in balance with the environment
• Reduces building operating costs, thereby reducing base utility bills
• Increases productivity of base workers through an enhanced work environment
• Reduces water use, landscape maintenance, and energy use
• Creates less additional environmental compliance burden compared to conventional construction/development

A great example of sustainable design is the new AFIT building, being constructed next to building 640. The new AFIT building has been designed to consume 17% less energy than a comparable building, built only to code, and will consume 30% less potable water. Over 75% of the construction wastes generated during construction are being diverted from the landfill through reuse and recycling efforts, and recycled materials are being maximized during construction of the building. The interior finishes of the building (carpet, paint, furniture) will not contain or release toxic volatile organic compounds into the indoor environment, and harmful ozone depleting substances have been eliminated from the building’s heating and cooling system. The building site was also designed to restore native vegetation and habitat, and eliminate irrigation. The new building will be a great complement to the academic efforts at AFIT to promote smarter, healthier building design.

The Civil Engineer and Services School has integrated sustainable design lessons into much of its curriculum and is now developing a Sustainable Design seminar in conjunction with the office of the Air Force Material Command Civil Engineer. Students at the CESS’s seminar will learn a variety of sustainable design strategies that they can integrate into future Air Force projects. They will also learn about the Air Force and Department of Defense’s sustainable design policies, as well as resources available to them to help in the design process. Finally, the United States Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization that certifies sustainable buildings, will join the CESS in teaching the students how to measure their success in creating sustainable buildings. The USGBC’s Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED™) rating system has been adopted by the Air Force and other federal agencies as the benchmark by which we measure sustainable design in new construction, and the goal of the seminar is to prepare Air Force engineers to become LEED™ Accredited Professionals.

The more we embrace sustainable design practices in the Air Force, the more we reduce the costs - be they financial, environmental, or human health related - of the infrastructure needed to accomplish the mission. The Civil Engineer and Services School leads the Air Force in providing sustainable design education, which directly contributes to long-term infrastructure cost savings and health and environmental benefits for the Air Force.