Technology

The greening of schools is leading the green building trend. With large numbers of public schools deteriorating, boards across the US are taking a serious look at new green schools and retrofits that save energy as well as improve learning. In the US, Federal incentives are already helping boards to green their schools. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s fiscal stabilization fund, $48.6 billion was awarded to the US Department of Education. The construction, renovation and repair of green school buildings qualify for these government funds. In the future all levels of government as well as new building codes...

The kind of ventilation we see in green schools, promotes wellness and supports a healthy learning environment.Poor ventilation is often behind sick building syndrome, which is known to cause symptoms including eye, nose, and throat irritations; headaches; fatigue; difficulty breathing; itching; and dry, irritated skin.The primary purpose of a building’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is to provide comfort for the occupants by meeting thermal requirements and diluting contaminants. HVAC systems accomplish this through the conditioning of outside air coming into occupied spaces and the removal of irritants and pollutants.Green school guidelines typically address HVAC systems as they relate...

The use of natural light in green schools benefits students, teachers and administrators. By reducing energy requirements, natural light also offers an environmentally friendly means of bettering the bottom line. The sun provides higher light levels than traditional lighting while reducing energy costs. Natural light affords excellent illumination of educational materials and this appears to improve test scores. A well known school-building study, completed by the Heschong Mahone Group, identifies test scores 7-26 percent higher for schoolchildren in classrooms with plentiful natural light than for those in classrooms with little or no daylight. A study from Alberta Education, titled A...

Green schools are designed to use water efficiently, provide clean air and be well insulated. Green buildings are also designed to remain dry, comfortable and quiet.Many green schools have visible features like more windows to let in natural light, but green schools also have less visible features like effective insulation that reduces condensation. By managing excessive moisture green schools have reduced asthma and respiratory disease in schoolchildren.Vivian Loftness is a professor of architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. She serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Green Building Council. In...

Whether new or retrofits, green schools are on the increase. Green schools offer a wide range of advantages. Perhaps most importantly, they reduce a school's environmental footprint, while improving health and learning.Through things like good ventilation and reduced noise, green buildings are able to improve test scores while reducing absenteeism, asthma and allergies. A report titled, "Review and Assessment of the Health and Productivity Benefits of Green Schools," concluded that a number of green-school attributes are vital to health and learning.Green schools are not only healthier for people and the planet, they are good for the bottom line. According to...

Cititec is an IT recruitment solutions company that has earned ISO 14001, one of the leading international environmental management certification processes.Created by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 14001 was developed by an international selection of business groups, environmental bodies and governments with the aim of facilitating environmental improvement in the private sector. Companies implementing ISO 14001 are independently audited, thus ensuring the integrity of actions and the authenticity of improvements. Cititec was audited by Bureau Veritas, the world`s leading ISO 14001 certifier, assessing companies in 80 countries.Cititec delivers IT recruitment solutions to the world's leading investment banks, corporate treasuries...

ISO 14040 series deals with the product life cycle; it covers the guiding principles of life cycle analysis, inventory, impact assessment, and interpretation, and provides some sample applications. Credible environmental labeling is dependent on an understanding of the life cycle of a product; consequently, there is a close linkage between the 14020 series and 14040 standards. ISO and IEC guides are designed to help those developing technical standards to consider the environmental aspects of their products and operations (eg ISO Guide 64). Here is a brief review of ISO's three types of environmental labels: Type I environmental labeling — Principles...

These principles are part of ISO 14020, they serve as a prerequisite for all the other standards in the series.1. Environmental labels and declarations shall be accurate, verifiable, relevant, and not misleading.2. Procedures and requirements for environmental labels and declarations shall not be prepared, adopted, or applied with a view to, or with the effect of, creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade.3. Environmental labels and declarations shall be based on scientific methodology that is sufficiently thorough and comprehensive to support the claim and that produces results that are accurate and reproducible.4. Information concerning the procedure, methodology, and any criteria used...