Schools Could Save $100,000 Per Year by Going Green

This study is one of the most important studies regarding the cost savings to school districts which decide to go green. It is very comprehensive and proves that everybody benefits when schools take the major step to go green.

Study shows going "green" would save average school $100,000 a year, paying for two new teachers

Posted: October 31 , 2006
Contact: Greg Kats, Capital E, Report Author (202) 463-1399 Cell: (202) 550-2400 gkats@cap-e.comJon Braman, Capital E, Contributing Researcher (202) 463-1550 Cell: (202) 320-1373 jbraman@cap-e.com

A new national report finds that building "green" would save an average school $100,000 each year - enough to hire two new additional full-time teachers. The report breaks new ground by demonstrating that green schools - schools designed to be energy efficient, healthy and environmentally friendly -- are extremely cost-effective. Total financial benefits from green schools outweigh the costs 20 to 1. With over $35 billion dollars projected to be spent in 2007 on K-12 construction, the conclusions of this report have far-reaching implications for future school design.

Greening schools is a very cost-effective strategy to cut school costs, improve test scores, and enhance student health.

Sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Institute of Architects, the American Lung Association, the Federation of American Scientists and the US Green Building Council, the report includes a detailed analysis of 30 green schools built in 10 states between 2001 and 2006. The analysis demonstrates that the total financial benefits of green schools are 20 times greater than the initial cost, and include energy and water savings, and improved student health and test scores. If all new school construction and school renovations went "green" starting today, energy savings alone would total $20 billion over the next 10 years.

Some of the major benefits documented in Greening America's Schools include:
On average, green schools use 33% less energy and 32% less water than conventional schools, and would improve national security by reducing reliance on imported energy.

Green schools typically have better lighting, temperature control, improved ventilation and indoor air-quality which contribute to reduced asthma, colds, flu and absenteeism. helping improve learning, test scores and lifetime student earnings.

Greening all school construction would create over 2000 additional new jobs each year from increased use of energy efficiency technologies.

Additinal benefits calculated in the report include improved teacher retention and a reduction in dangerous air-pollutants that cause respiratory disease and premature mortality.

Specific school findings include:
The green school in Dedham, MA saved the town $400,000 in new sewer-system infrastructure by reducing stormwater runoff from the school grounds. (page 8)

A review of five separate studies by Carnegie Mellon University found a 38.5% asthma reduction in buildings - such as green schools - from improved indoor air-quality. (page 10)

One school district in North Carolina experienced a 33% increase in the percentage of students testing at grade-level for reading and math after moving to a green school. (page 12)

Study author Greg Kats, a former Director of Finance for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the US Department of Energy, has worked with dozens of corporations, developers, state agencies and organizations to arrive at conservative cost/benefit comparisons of different environmental and building strategies. In Greening America's Schools, Kats emphasizes that the financial benefits of green schools are substantially broader than those quantified in the report and include the creation of new educational opportunities, improved equity in education and insurance savings. "Building green schools," he writes, "is more fiscally prudent and lower risk than continuing to build unhealthy, inefficient schools."

Some early reviews of Greening America's Schools: Cost and Benefits
"The choices we make in new construction have huge implications for the health of students, faculty and staff. This important study persuasively demonstrates that it costs little more to build high performance, healthy schools and that there are enormous financial, educational and social benefits to students, schools and society at large." – Edward J. McElroy, President, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO

"This study underscores the enormous costs of poor design, and the critical impact that good design and operation has on the quality of our children's education. It deserves widespread consideration if we are to properly prepare students to address the environmental challenges of our new century." – Kate Schwennsen, President The American Institute of Architects

"This carefully documented study conclusively demonstrates the financial, environmental, and other benefits of using green technologies in schools. In fact, failure to invest in green technologies is not financially responsible for school systems." – Henry Kelly, President, Federation of American Scientists

"For the more than 50 million students and the more than 5 million teachers and staff who spend their days in schools, these [health] benefits are substantial and precious. Health professionals, educators, parents, and policymakers should carefully consider the conclusions of this report, and do their part to support environmentally friendly, healthy, and sustainable schools."– Howard Frumkin, M.D., Dr.P.H., Director, National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The report's conclusions provide confirmation of USGBC's position that by building green we all profit. Children's health is disproportionately affected by indoor pollutants, while light and air quality affects their capacity to learn and succeed. This report shows that we owe it to our children - and ourselves - to make all our schools green."– S. Richard Fedrizzi, CEO and Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council

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More US Schools Consider Benefits of Going Green

Schools across the nation make a move toward going green. Businesses are doing it so why not schools? Often times, schools are the biggest business in many communities and they should lead the way in going green. A real side effect of doing this is the long term effects it will have on young impressionable minds. Read this interesting article to see what I am talking about.

Aim to lower energy costs, raise awareness

Clackamas High School in Oregon was one of the first "green schools" in the country when it opened six years ago. Schools are making use of solar panels, living roofs, and wetlands. (RICK BOWMER/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

By Dorie Turner, Associated Press May 29, 2007

LITHONIA, Ga. -- Nestled in the lush trees of suburban Atlanta's Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve sits the foundation of a school that is being built with partly recycled materials.

When it is finished, Arabia Mountain High School will have naturally lit classrooms and an aggressive recycling program.

It is part of a "green school" movement that is growing in popularity nationwide, with schools making use of solar panels, living roofs, and wetlands. School districts say the environmentally friendly properties reduce energy costs while educating students about the world around them.

"In the past six months, it's been overwhelming," said Lindsay Baker, manager of the US Green Building Council's school certification program. "There is a general agreement in schools that this is the issue that schools need to be thinking about."

Nearly 300 schools are on a waiting list for certification from the council, which sets nationally recognized standards for environmentally friendly buildings. So many schools are going green that the council, which previously certified schools based on commercial building guidelines, just came out with benchmarks specifically for schools.

So far, 27 schools have received the "green" certification.

The Council of Educational Facility Planners International estimates that schools will spend $53 billion this year on construction alone and that green building will comprise as much as 10 percent of the school construction market by 2010, a rapid growth from almost nonexistence a few years ago.

In Colorado, ice made during off-peak hours at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins helps cool the building during the day.

The roof of the gym at Tarkington Elementary School in Chicago is a flower bed that helps insulate the building during the city's winters.

Such wildflower gardens and solar panel arrays make perfect hands-on learning labs for students, and the sunlight-lit classrooms create happier, healthier children, educators said.

A study by school officials in Washington state found green schools have better student performance and fewer absences. In 2005, Washington state lawmakers used the study to require new schools getting state money to be green.

For teachers such as Rod Shroufe at Clackamas High School in Clackamas, Ore. -- one of the first green schools in the nation when it opened six years ago -- the green building movement makes his job easier.

The environmental studies teacher takes his students on strolls through the school's adjoining wetland and lets them explore the solar panel array on the top of the building as part of class projects.

His students have put more than 3,000 native plants in the ground around the school in the past two years, helping to eradicate an acre of blackberries, which are not native to Oregon and choke out other vegetation.

"There are real tangible things these kids get from it in addition to knowledge," Shroufe said. "Hopefully, when they're adults they'll make informed decisions based on that."

North Clackamas senior Trevor Dunsmuir hopes to work at an environmental nonprofit after college, a path he chose after taking Shroufe's classes. As his senior project, the 17-year-old organized an environmental club and has helped neighboring schools do the same.

"That's pretty much my favorite thing about this school," he said.

In suburban Atlanta, crews are building Arabia Mountain High School, Georgia's first green school built by a public school district. The $53 million DeKalb County school, set to open in 2009, is designed to preserve the wilderness around it while teaching students to be kinder to the planet.

"You don't have to go too far to study -- it's right on your back porch," said Cassandra Anderson-Littlejohn, chairwoman of DeKalb County Board of Education.

Like most school districts building green schools, DeKalb County is willing to shell out more money on the front end -- generally about 2 percent more in construction costs -- to ensure lower utility bills over the long run.

'Green' school going up in Bradenton

Here is an interesting story about a school that is environmentally friendly. It is a magnet school but it is over 400 students short of the amount it needs to fill its classes. That is a surprise. There are communities across the nation that would instantly fill a school like this one.

MANATEE COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Starting with the 2009-2010 school year, students in Manatee County will have the opportunity to attend a new and environmentally friendly school.

G.D. Rogers Garden Elementary School, the county's first certified green school, is scheduled to open in downtown Bradenton in August. The school is open to anyone living in the county, but barely anyone is signing up.

Once it's open, the school will offer a unique learning environment.
"Our theme is going to be with environmental stewardship, leadership, and service," said G.D. Rogers Elementary School Principal Wendy Herrera.

Herrera says along with the environmentally friendly environment, students will get a top-notch "green" education.

"These are life-long skills that kids will take with them forever," Herrera said.
But school district officials say they're worried that there won't be enough students to fill all the classes inside the school. The school is set to hold 580 students, but so far only 100 have signed up.

G.D. Rogers is a magnet school, so parents have to sign their children up in order for them to attend.

Herrera says she is confident that once parents realize the value of this school, more students will be enrolled.

The first day of school for students in Manatee County is Aug. 24.

Parents interested in enrolling their children at G.D. Rogers Garden Elementary School are encouraged to sign them up soon.

Going Green at the 2008 International Housewares Show