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07-20-2007
Idaho Green Building Chapter Makes Gift of Green

The Idaho Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council has issued a nationwide challenge to over 70 regional chapters of the USGBC. Copies of the film, Green is the Color of Money, have been forwarded to each of the chapters with the suggestion that the recent Boise success story it documents could be replicated around the country.

 USGBC Idaho Chapter President Steve Benner stated, “This is an excellent case study of a high performance building from the developer’s point of view, and we wanted to share it with the rest of the country.  The Banner Bank building is one of the first for-profit, multi-tenant, spec office buildings to earn LEED Platinum Certification, and we are quite proud of it here.”

Idaho Chapter founder and board member Bruce Poe, who initiated the DVD gift program, said, “This is exactly the tool USGBC chapters need to convince people in their areas about the value of green building.”

Green is the Color of Money is a recent documentary by Boise-based, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ben Shedd. The program traces the development of the Banner Bank Building in Boise and the process leading to its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the USGBC’s highest level. The 11-story, 195,000-square-foot office building was completed in 2006 by Boise developer Gary Christensen. When the building was certified last July, it was only the 16^th building in the world to achieve a LEED Platinum rating. Christensen didn’t set out to build a green building, but early in the process he and an all-local team of design professionals determined that they could produce a high-performance building that uses far less energy, material resources and water than a conventional building, at no increase in total cost. The film uses an entertaining and informative style to document the team’s LEED-point pursuit and the many innovations that followed.

The U.S. Green Building Council is the nation’s premiere green-building organization, a non-profit composed of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy for occupants. The USGBC administers the LEED building certification system and the LEED Accredited Professional program for individuals accomplished in the LEED certification process. The USGBC Idaho Chapter is based in Boise and has members throughout the state.

Both the Banner Bank and the film have received national recognition. The building recently was awarded Environmental Design + Construction magazine's 2007 Excellence in Design Award/Excellence in Commercial Design and was the magazine’s cover story. Green is the Color of Money just received a 2007 Best in Show/Contemporary Issues from the Accolade Awards. The Accolade Best in Show award notes "the production illustrates the power of a documentary to foster technological change."

DVDs for the USGBC Idaho Chapter gift program were provided by Gary Christensen and Ben Shedd. Distribution was made possible by Capital City Development Corp., Boise’s redevelopment agency, through a Brownfields grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. DVD copies of Green is the Color of Money are available for purchase through www.deepgreen.tv.