2-20
October 2012
These green building programs typically address water use and efficiency in the fol-
lowing areas:
28
••
Plumbing fixtures and fixture fittings.
••
Appliances (e.g., clothes washers, dishwashers).
••
Water treatment equipment (e.g., softeners, filtering systems).
••
Landscape and landscape irrigation.
••
Pools, fountains, and spas.
••
Cooling towers.
••
Decorative and recreational water features.
••
Water reuse and alternate sources of water (e.g., gray water, rainwater and storm-
water, cooling condensate and cooling tower blowdown, foundation drain water).
••
Specialty processes, appliances, and equipment (e.g., food service, medical, labo-
ratories, laundries, etc.).
••
Metering and submetering.
••
Single-pass cooling.
••
Vegetated green roofs.
••
Building water pressure.
Water -Efficient Businesses
In addition to programs that incentivize green products and buildings, several initia-
tives recognize businesses for their efforts to reduce the company’s impact on the
environment. Many of these programs have a multi-media scope while others are
specifically focused on water efficiency. These programs can help businesses meet
stakeholder demand for transparency and accountability, often called corporate
social responsibility. In fact, many companies are reporting their environmental im-
pacts voluntarily to programs to demonstrate their commitment to the environment
and goodwill toward the community in a more tangible way.
29
Resources are avail-
able at the national, state, or local level, which can assist companies or other orga-
nizations on the path to sustainability and reduced environmental impact.
30
Facility
managers who actively track their water use, implement water-efficiency measures,
and demonstrate savings can contribute to communicating their corporate commit-
ment to sustainability.
2.5
Codes, Standards, and Voluntary Programs for Water Efficiency
28
AWE. Green Building Introduction.
.
29
Pacific Institute. August 2012. The CEOWater Mandate: Corporate Water Disclosure Guidelines Toward a Common Approach to Reporting Water Issues.
30
Ceres. Ceres Aqua Gauge.
.
