As part of the initiative, Global Green USA hosted their seventh annual Sustainability Forum, focusing for the first time on Green Schools, at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Several of Los Angeles' education and government leaders were in attendance to discuss the successes and challenges of greening schools, using green schools as a teaching tool, exploring green school effects on health and the learning environment, and reviewing the costs and benefits of green schools.

Studies show that today nearly 6.2 million children, teachers, and administrators—1/5 of California's population—spend their day inside a school.  One half of the nation's 115,000 schools have problems related to indoor air quality.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the nation's average school utility costs are approximately $125 per student per year, taking into account water, wastewater processing and trash. California schools spend nearly $450 million on energy—more than the combined cost of supplies and books. Green schools can yield savings of up to $50 per student per year.

“Given the state of our schools today, there is a very real need to dramatically improve California classrooms in every dimension,” said Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA.  “High performance schools – based on green building practices – provides a strategy that improves student performance, betters the workplace for teachers, reduces energy and maintenance costs for struggling school districts, and provides a real solution to climate change.”

 “The learning environment is a critical factor in shaping a child's sense of self-worth, purpose, and participation in the learning process,” said Wallis Annenberg, Vice President of the Annenberg Foundation.

Green schools lessen the impact of building construction on the environment and set an example for future generations that environmental quality is essential to our long-term well being. They also have benefits in several key performance areas:

• Protect Student and Teacher Health – Schools designed with attention to proper ventilation, material selection, acoustical quality and other indoor environmental factors, can expect improved student and teacher health and higher attendance;
• Better Student Performance – Attention to site planning and adequate day lighting has been shown to heighten student performance by as much as 25%;
• Lower Operating Costs – Operating costs for energy and water can be reduced by 20% to 40%, allowing more money to be used for teacher salaries, textbooks and computers; and important features of science, math, and environmental curriculum.
• Provide a Unique Educational Opportunity – When advanced technology and design in new schools are made visible, buildings can become teaching tools.

Schools districts in Southern California are embarking on a major wave of facility construction, planning to build approximately 200 new schools in the next several years.  The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) alone has plans to construct 150 new schools, and has adopted a policy to achieve a CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) green building standard of 28 points for each new school. Assemblywoman Lonnie Hancock has also introduced legislation, co-sponsored by Global Green USA, to have all schools in California to achieve the same CHPS standard.

The Annenberg Foundation exists to advance the public well-being through improved communication.  As the principal means of achieving its goal, the Foundation encourages the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.  The Annenberg Foundation has offices in Radnor, PA and Los Angeles, CA.

Global Green has been actively involved in Green Building issues for nearly a decade and has worked extensively in promoting sustainable design practices among affordable housing developers. Its work to green schools is an extension of an ongoing initiative to bring cutting edge environmental building technology to areas that will most benefit our children and urban communities.  Global Green is a longtime member of the US Green Building Council, has two LEED accredited staff members, and provides technical expertise and consulting to developers, designers and public agencies.  Through its Green Building Resource Center in Santa Monica, Global Green also provides green building advice, classes and workshops for the general public.

Global Green USA (www.globalgreen.org), headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Washington D.C. and San Francisco, is the US affiliate of Green Cross International, founded by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993. Global Green USA and Green Cross International act as a catalyst, facilitator and mediator encouraging collaborative approaches and crosscutting solutions to environmental challenges in the US and abroad.

For more information contact Christiane Baker at (212) 715-1625, (917) 596-1659, or by email at bakerc@ruderfinn.com.