Our Services

Green Campus Building Services

The HGCI offers the following Green Campus Building Services to assist any Harvard University Faculty or Department:

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification Support

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System has quickly become the number one green building standard in the United States, with projects in 11 Countries worldwide, and all fifty states in the US. As of April, 2004, LEED has certified 105 projects, and registered 1300 projects.

LEED Certification requires a full commitment from the project team at the earliest stages in the design process. Team members must commit to achieving a range of building performance goals and following LEED submission guidelines.

The HGCI provides the following services to support design teams in their efforts to achieve LEED certification:

  • The provision of language for initial design team RFPs
  • Basic training and education of design team to support LEED
  • Early Design Team Charrettes to identify design solutions and approaches
  • Allocation and Oversight of team data collection and submittal responsibilities for LEED
  • Assistance in registering projects with the USGBC for future certification
  • Ongoing evaluation of project to assess LEED performance
  • Review of design to assess opportunities for improvement
  • Administration of the LEED application process

LEED is a very useful tool for sustainable building design at Harvard. However, LEED alone is not enough. LEED works best when:

  • Design teams are selected on the basis of their previous environmental design experience,
  • Sustainability commitments are made at pre-design,
  • Clients undergo extensive education about green building design (including tours of local examples)
  • Design charrettes are used to explore team based design solutions
  • Adequate time is put into researching, modeling and thoroughly considering alternatives to standard design solutions
  • Full life cycle costing is undertaken and
  • The integrated performance of building systems are considered

The HGCI has gained much experience in managing LEED projects at Harvard.  This experience has been invaluable for Harvard as it grows its capacities for green building design.

Past and present HPBS-led LEED projects include:

The HGCI works to encourage the wide-scale incorporation of LEED standards across Harvard University while also offering direct support and assistance for addressing other elements that have proven to be pivotal to the success of any LEED project.

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Building Management Profile and Occupant Surveys

Building profiles serve as a tool to document vital building management and utility consumption information. In general, building profiles capture the following information:

  • Historical utility consumption
  • Current utility consumption
  • Management and budgeting structures
  • Current contract specifications and protocols
  • Vendors and partners in the building's operations
  • Occupant demographics and schedules
  • Historical changes in building use and capital projects

Energy Conservation Measures Project Identification

Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) are projects that yield clear energy savings, and are funded based on payback periods and returns on investment.  The HGCI will identify "low hanging fruit" ECMs, which have quick payback periods, as well as ECMs that will benefit the building's longer term life-cycle. 

A partial sample of "low hanging fruit" ECMs include:

  • Lighting upgrades
  • Motor replacement
  • Variable Speed Drive installation
  • Insulation and air sealing
  • Simple HVAC controls (time clocks, outside air sensors, thermostats, self-actuating valves)

A partial sample of longer term life-cycle ECMs include:

  • Building envelope upgrades (green or cool roofs, windows, wall insulation)
  • Energy Management Systems (Direct digital control, centralized computer software)
  • HVAC upgrades or replacements

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Green Campus Loan Fund and Rebate Analysis

All projects reviewed by the HPBS will be screened for Green Campus Loan Fund (GCLF) and NSTAR rebate eligibility.

Projects that are eligible for a GCLF meet the following criteria:

  • Conservation as a major project focus
  • Energy or material savings payback of five years or less - either as single projects or as bundled projects

NSTAR offers prescriptive, comprehensive, and other rebates for energy efficient lighting fixtures, controls, high-efficiency mechanical equipment, and other energy saving strategies. Up-to-date information is available at http://www.nstaronline.com/your_business/solutions.asp.

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High Performance Contract Language, Specifications and Guideline Support

The HGCI evaluates opportunities to institutionalize new protocols in contract language, specifications, and guidelines that support high performance building operations.

Specifications can be highly technical, broad and "principle driven," and/or defined by established product certifications and best practices.  

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Training and Education

High performance building technologies and management strategies are continually changing and evolving. The HGCI offers a variety of high performance training and education services that are directly applicable to on-the-job needs. 

Key training seminars include:

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LEED Workshops

HGCI occasionally organizes private LEED workshops (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design). The LEED rating system is fast becoming the standard green building rating system in the US. The workshop may be taken as a precursor to taking the LEED exam and becoming LEED accredited, or simply to learn about green building design.

The workshop also counts towards 7 AIA HSW continuing education credits.  Following is an overview of the material that is covered:

  • LEED at Harvard
    A brief overview of LEED projects undertaken at Harvard University, key lessons learned and in-house resources available.
  • Introduction to LEED
    This section will provide an overview of the concept of green design, outline the benefits, and use case studies to demonstrate core concepts and strategies.
  • LEED Technical Review
    We will discuss how the LEED rating system is designed to quantify the benefits discussed in the previous section.  Each credit within the five environmental categories in the LEED rating system will be presented, summarizing the technologies and strategies for achievement.
  • LEED Resources and Process
    We will discuss the LEED resources available to workshop attendees, including the referenced standards list, documentation requirements, the LEED Reference Guide, the LEED technical support web site, the LEED accreditation exam study guide, and other LEED program materials.
  • LEED in Practice
    This section of the workshop will review how to integrate LEED into your practice, and how to manage the LEED process.
  • LEED Rating System
    The LEED Green Building Rating System version 2.1 is the second edition of the standard that improves environmental and economic performance of new construction.  We will discuss the five environmental categories covered in the rating system.

Peer to Peer Energy Conservation Seminars

The peer to peer energy conservation seminars are forums for building managers and facility directors to share research and project experience related to high performance buildings.

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) Building Operator Certification Courses

The Building Operator Certification (BOC) course is a competency-based training and certification for building operators designed to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings. Certification is offered at two levels: Level I emphasizes energy efficient building systems maintenance, while Level II focuses on equipment troubleshooting.

For more information on NEEP and the BOC course, visit the NEEP or BOC web page.

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High Performance Project Management

The HGCI offers professional project management to implement high performance building projects. Project management services typically include:

  • Budget development and administration
  • Development of requests for proposals (RFPs)
  • RFP response review and vendor selection
  • Contract writing and management
  • Project team facilitation
  • Project closeout

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