Green or eco-construction is the practice of maximizing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use and/or harvest energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal—the complete building life cycle.

Green building is also sometimes known as "sustainable building" or "environmental building". The benefits of green building include reduced operating costs by increasing efficiency and using less energy and water, improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and reduced environmental impacts by for example, extending building life, reducing waste, lessening storm water runoff and the heat island effect.

Green building is an essential component of the related concepts of sustainable design, sustainable development and general sustainability. Practitioners of green building should seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural environment. The appearance and style of sustainable buildings can be nearly indistinguishable from their less sustainable counter-parts.

Green design often emphasizes taking advantage of recycled materials, renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic techniques and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and for reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other techniques, such as using packed gravel for parking lots instead of concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water, are used as well.

What makes RainTube green?

Environmentally sensitive architects, designers and builders are specifying RainTube because it makes many contributions to truly sustainable projects. A few of RainTubes outstanding eco-friendly qualities are:

• Rainwater harvesting: RainTube is hydraulically designed for maximum rainwater collection and should be installed as the first upstream element in any efficient, high quality rainwater harvesting installation. RainTube is made from organically inert HDPE and is unaffected by sunlight, water or other natural elements and is completely neutral on the quality of the collected water.
  
  
• Durability: 1) RainTube has a service life in excess of 100 years and 2) by improving the water collection performance of the gutters it is instrumental in controlling the destructive forces of rainwater thus extending the life of the home in general and many of its components (roof, siding, foundation, paint) in particular.
  
  
• Solid waste reduction: RainTube products are made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials (primarily milk jugs), and are completely recyclable so there is no waste—ever.
  
  
• Economy: Using recycled materials keeps costs low. RainTube is 100% American made using American materials, machinery, labor and ingenuity. RainTube is exported around the world thus creating jobs for Americans and doing a small but important part toward improving the balance of trade.

What is LEED?

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System(tm) is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings' performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

If you are designing or buiding a "green" structure RainTube can help gain LEEDS credits directly in the following categories: WE 1.1 Rainwater harvesting (1 point); MR 4.1 Durability (1-5 points); MR 5.2 Environmentally preferred products (.5 points). In addition, the use of RainTube will assist in gaining points in SS 4.3 Permanent erosion controls (1-3 points); MR 6.1 Waste management (2 points); and ID 1.1 Innovative design (1 point).

LEED provides a roadmap for measuring and documenting success for every building type and phase of a building lifecycle. Specific LEED programs include:

• New commercial construction and major renovation projects
• Existing building operations and maintenances
• Commercial interiors projects
• Core and shell development projects
• Homes
• Neighborhood developments
• Guidelines for multiple building and on-campus building projects
• LEED for schools

What is LEED Certification?

The first step to LEED certification is to register your project. A project is a viable candidate for LEED certification if it can meet all prerequisites and achieve the minimum number of points to earn the Certified level of LEED project certification. To earn certification a building project must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks ("credits") within each category. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification depending on the number of credits they achieve. This comprehensive approach is the reason LEED-certified buildings have reduced operating costs, healthier and more productive occupants, and conserve our natural resources.

Note for Product Manufacturers and Service Providers:

Although USGBC does not certify, promote, or endorse products and services of individual companies, products and services do play a role and can help projects with credit achievement. (Note that products and services do not earn projects points.) Go to the LEED website to learn about how you can help advance green building, while also achieving your own environmental and economic goals.

Who Can Use LEED?

Everyone: Architects, real estate professionals, facility managers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, lenders, government officials...

The LEED program also includes a full suite of training workshops and a professional accredidation program to develop and encourage green building expertise across the entire building industry.

Questions?

Contact LEED Customer Service at 202-742-3780 or leedinfo@usgbc.org. Web address is www.usgbc.org.