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“...to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” – Bruntland Commission
History has repeatedly shown that societies like the Eastern Islanders or the Anasazi, who senselessly squandered their resources quickly disappeared in an environmental collapse. Other societies, like the Icelanders and Inuit, quickly came to the realization that resources are precious and limited, thus innately understanding that sustainability is a prerequisite for continued prosperity and happiness.
As America has become more aware of the fragile nature of our environment, we have become more sensitive to the concepts of sustainability. As this awareness grows, we begin to notice that the Europeans, primarily the Scandinavians, as well as the Japanese, have been developing sustainable communities for centuries.
Now, in the early stages of the 21st century, America is starting to apply its historic innovation and vigor to these severe environmental concerns. Through the pioneering work of prolific and original thinkers like Dr. Woodrow Clark—Nobel Prize winner and our advisor and partner on sustainability—and creative companies like Intergy, who have integrated sustainability as a company mission into a successful business plan, the idea of sustainable communities is starting to grow.
Originally, the term sustainability was deemed an oxymoron and criticized as, in fact, anti-growth and anti-progress. Today we understand that true sustainability is exactly the opposite. We are after “sustainable development”, that is, harmony between environment and economic development. Sustainable development is the collective effort towards striking a balance between environment, social, and economic equity.
Intergy strives towards remaining an industry leader, as we develop new and innovative strategies to optimizing the interaction of our community’s natural resources with our economic concerns, and infrastructure, ultimately, to protect and preserve the environment.
Intergy recognizes that finding cost-effective, pioneering solutions to the complex task of synchronizing all of these factors provides compelling business-minded reasons for pursuing sustainable development. Because, generally, a sustainable community includes energy efficiency, water conservation, energy renewables, recycling, and transportation planning it is crucial to consider all sustainable projects holistic, considering each factor that impacts our environment and communities. And, the result is healthier, happier residents.
Intergy is involved with several sustainable projects in California, including Southern California Edison’s Sustainable Design Community for 2009-2011. We understand how to help communities become sustainable, and offer key services:
- Master and strategic planning. We can conduct feasibility studies and develop master plans that can server as a “roadmap” to sustainability for your community.
- LEED certification for buildings. We will help you achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy, Environment, and Design) certification for facilities and buildings, both new construction and existing structures. We can also offer guidance in developing LEED certified neighborhoods, and keep your community in tune as the LEED for neighborhoods program develops.
- Guidance on energy efficiency opportunities.
- Energy renewables. We provide research, specifications, bid support, verification, guidance, and related services for energy renewables—wind, solar, biomass, microturbines, etc.
- Water and resource conservation. We can help your community conserve water and other precious resources to reduce operating expenses as well as carbon emissions.
- SB 375, AB 32, and AB 811 compliance. There are several new laws that impact California cities. Some, like AB 811, offer unique funding mechanisms to help residents with energy retrofits and renewables, and others set mandates for reducing carbon emissions. We can provide guidance, research, and support on the best solutions and strategies for your community to achieve all of these ambitious goals.
Building a Sustainable Community
On the local and regional level, sustainable and smart communities must have three components:
- Primarily, there is the need for a Master Strategic Plan for infrastructure that includes energy, transportation, water, waste, and telecommunications along with the traditional dimensions of research, curricula, outreach and assessments.
- Secondarily, there is the array of issues pertaining to the design, architecture and sitting of buildings and overall facility master planning which must be addressed from the perspective of “green”, energy, efficient orientation and be designed for multiple-use by the academic and local community. Developing dense, compact, walk-able communities that enable a range of transportation choices leads to reduced energy consumption. Communities have a broad definition because they can range from college campuses to cities, towns and villages that are self-sustaining and provide for multi-uses ranging from housing, education, family events and religion to business complexes, shopping streets, malls and recreational activities.
- Thirdly, a sustainable, smart community is a vibrant, “experiential” applied model that should catalyze and stimulate entrepreneurial activities, education, and creative learning along with research, commercialization, and new businesses.
Many communities, cities, and other organizations such as academic institutions and private sector businesses, recognize the need for policies that direct their facilities and infrastructures to be “green” based upon some criteria, such as the US Green Building Council (USGBC) certification for achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy, Environment, and Design). The goal is for individual buildings to be “net-zero” carbon emissions.
Many organizations strive to make their whole facilities “energy independent and carbon neutral”. More recently (since June ‘07), the USGBC has created a “community” or LEED Neighborhood standards. This set of criteria reflects the broader concern to create clusters of buildings designed to meet Green Building standards while still integrating basic infrastructure needs.
Distributed Energy Systems
Distributed energy systems on the local and region levels within a nation or state provide an important ingredient for sustainability and its related infrastructures that are designed to built and operate with renewable energy sources. CPH was developed primarily in Europe to meet local needs, reduce the use of fossil fuels, and become more self sufficient. The USA version of CHP is called DG systems for local and on-site power generation. Many communities, regions, and states in the United States are now developing similar programs, focused, in many cases, on co-generation or combined cycle (the combined production of heat and electricity) CPH or DG using renewable energy resources.
The new agile (flexible) local on-site power system is efficient, smart and rooted in renewable energy power generation. The agile systems generate power from renewable energy found in the area such as solar, wind, water, geothermal, bio mass, etc. Some universities, which are small, self-contained communities, are leading a sustainable pathway in the USA. Energy can be a “dispersed” or generated and transmitted in large and small systems. Thus, distributed energy systems can be formed and operated on the local level to serve targeted communities.
Agile Sustainable Communities
The traditional power paradigm has been energy generated from a central grid or plant that produced from fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas among others) and nuclear power that was then transmitted long distances to meet the demand customers. The paradigm change, due in large part to demand but also new technologies, is more local and regional where renewable energy can now be generated on or next to buildings or clusters of them. These new sustainable and green energy systems are “agile” since they can combine green on-site CPH or DG power generation and grid connected power generation. College campuses are perfect examples where local renewable energy generation combines with green buildings by using solar, wind, bio-mass among other local power generation sources.
Sustainable and smart agile communities represent a new paradigm. Nations, states and cities want to control and centralize power and authority. That has been the historical pattern. However, today with the need to meet and address the global challenge of climate change, regional and local level solutions must develop, take action and implement politics and programs now. This issue has never been more obvious in the USA then the conflict with the decision makers in Washington DC versus states like California. While that might change with the American federal government changes in 2008, the problems within states still exist in terms of taking action for sustainable and smart communities.
In the end, agile, sustainable communities must develop and implement strategic plans for energy, waste, water, transportation and telecommunications. Each sustainable community must redefine, for example, the traditional central power plants and unsustainable infrastructure systems that exist today into ones that use on-site renewable energy, recycling, waste control, water and land use as well as green building standards. Downsizing, providing back up and redundant power among other things, is a new and different role for “public” and now “private” companies. Today, the agile sustainable and smart communities are necessary for a less polluted environment and providing a “green” world for tomorrow. The solutions to global warming and climate change exist now, we just need to design and implement them.
Intergy is the leader in developing sustainable and energy efficiency strategies, with unmatched expertise and experience with proven sustainable communities planning capabilities.
