Is your home as green as it looks? Photo from greenroof.co.uk

The last time you bought a car, especially in the current economy, you probably paid close attention to the fuel efficiency by looking at the mile-per-gallon ratings and comparing similar vehicles. Now home buyers in certain states (U.S.) may soon be able to do the same with homes, and it looks like the trend will go national.

Earth Advantage Institute, a leading nonprofit green building resource that has certified more than 11,000 homes, has played a key role in the conceptualization, promotion, and adoption of the Energy Performance Score (EPS), currently the only residential energy labeling system that enables buyers to directly compare home energy consumption. The tool provides homeowners with both an energy consumption score and an associated carbon emission score. The number is based on in-home measurements and diagnostics data, as well as your utility’s energy source, which are entered into online software for calculation.

A technician from Earth Advantage Institute completes a duct test as part of the Energy Performance Score audit for a new home

“We use EPS information as a marketing tool to help sell our homes,” said Aaron Fairchild, president of G2B Ventures, a Seattle-based real estate investment firm. “The EPS is an amazingly innovative tool that will help us transform the Seattle real estate market.”

Now the federal government has turned its eyes toward energy labeling. The Department of Energy has targeted the month of October as the deadline for developing a voluntary national rating standard that may serve as a tool for banks and other institutions to provide preferred finance products for energy efficient, healthy homes.

“We pointed to energy labeling as one of the top 10 green building trends for 2010,” said Sean Penrith, executive director, Earth Advantage Institute. “The federal government has taken up the flag, and has asked for additional data on the EPS program to inform its efforts in creating a voluntary standard this year.”

Last month the Energy Performance Score won first place in the energy category at Change.org’s “Ideas for Change in America” and has now moved on to the final round of internet voting. If the idea is voted into the top ten, the Oregon-conceived EPS will be presented to key White House administration officials. You can vote for the EPS at www.change.org/ideas by scrolling down to the energy category and clicking on “A Miles-Per-Gallon Rating for Your Home.”

About Earth Advantage Institute and EPS
Earth Advantage Institute works with the building and design industry to help implement sustainable building practices. Its nonprofit mission is to create an immediate, practical and cost-effective path to sustainability and carbon reduction in the built environment. The organization achieves its objectives through a range of innovative certification, education and technical services programs. More information is available at www.earthadvantage.org, and more EPS information can be found at www.earthadvantage.org/eps.php.

The report focuses on the complex and interrelated global issues of water, energy, climate change, and land use/development, and details how CH2M HILL is addressing these challenges internally and in support of its clients.

“Our goal is to both manage the impacts of our operations and apply our creativity and technical skills to help our clients become more sustainable,” says Lee McIntire, CEO. “With the interconnectivity of water, energy and climate change becoming more apparent, CH2M HILL feels it has the responsibility to improve the health of the planet. It is an exciting time to be creating new sustainable solutions in this world of threat and opportunity.”

Over the past two years CH2M HILL’s 25,000 global employees have helped deliver the following environmental, social and economic accomplishments for the firm and its clients:

• Purchasing renewable energy credits to offset 15 percent of CH2M HILL’s North American offices’ total electrical consumption
• Continuing a focus on safety leading to a recordable incident rate 42 percent and a lost-time accident rate 60 percent lower than the U.S. industry average
• Launching CH2M HILL University to expand employee learning programs, with the online site experiencing more than 24,000 hits within the first six months
• Mentoring small, minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses globally, including training 500 Sri Lankan construction workers in safety and quality
• Donating more than $10M to non-profit organizations
• Implementing a new reclamation process for a wastewater treatment facility producing the highest-quality reclaimed water
• Saving $200M at one of the U.S. Department of Defense’s largest and most complex cleanup sites and reducing CO2 emissions by 4,500 tons annually by implementing innovative remediation technologies
• Decreasing per-employee paper usage 21 percent, reducing CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 82 cars from the road annually
• Working with the U.S. Department of Energy to help 25 cities accelerate the adoption of solar energy
• Designing a system that will divert 650 million to 1.3 billion gallons daily of fresh water from the Mississippi River to restore Bayou Lafourche
• Quantifying ecosystem services for Damascus, Oregon, providing a tool to evaluate expansion options without sacrificing the City’s natural resources
• Identifying sustainable ways for an Australian water utility to add 7-13 million gallons per day of potable water to its drought-stricken supply while reducing operating energy and chemical usage
• Designing a LEED Silver certified hangar for the U.S. Air Force resulting in 42 percent less energy usage and savings of $60,000 annually

For more information visit www.ch2m.com/SD.

About CH2M HILL
Headquartered near Denver, Colo., employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in engineering, procurement, construction, management and operations for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. With $6.4B in revenue and more than 25,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record (2008). The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of energy, water, transportation, environmental, nuclear and industrial facilities. The firm has long been recognized as a most-admired company and leading employer, including being named by FORTUNE as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For (2009). For more information visit www.ch2mhill.com.