Dr. Duygu Erten, derten@sabanciuniv.edu
ABSTRACT: The Buildings Sector accounts for 30-40% of global energy use – 10 Gt CO2 equivalent – and with unchanged policy and practices would grow to 14.3 Gt CO2 by 2030. 76% of all power plant-generated electricity is used to operate buildings globally. 36% of energy used in Turkey annually is for the buildings. The largest amount of carbon dioxide emissions in Turkey comes from the burning of fossil fuels for buildings. This makes buildings the single highest contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change – as well as locations of some of the most effective opportunities to reduce these emissions. In order for building industry to reduce CO2 emissions, we need to build green and retrofit to make existing buildings green. In order for green movement to spread faster, we need to make green buildings financially easier to design & build through incentives. Government also needs to raise the bar through codes improvement. Codes application and execution are uneven - any policy initiative should start with a codes component to set the baseline and require jurisdictions to build permit review and inspection infrastructure. Certification systems like LEED, only cover a small portion of the market but play a vital role in testing new technologies and promote innovation.
1. INTRODUCTION: AN OVERVIEW OF TURKISH GREEN BUILDING MOVEMENT
Turkey’s building industry has recently been in a process of rapid development. Commercial high-rises are increasingly advertising “green” and green building case studies are growing. Government policy is becoming more aligned with Turkey’s energy deficit and external pressures further encourage environmentally responsible development. Also, international investors and non-profits are importing an environmentally conscious ethos to some of Turkey’s high-profile developments.
In many ways, green building in Turkey has reached an unprecedented peak. Unheard of several years ago, now major commercial developments advertise an awareness of environmental issues, or a design premised on sustainable principles. Malls and major office developments are engaging in green retrofit processes. For the eco-conscious tourist, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has mobilized hotels and resorts with its White Star program, based on established green building standards. These recent developments, however limited, signal the entrance of green building into Turkey’s mainstream building industry. But for the green building movement to be a grassroots movement and for an average citizen to built green, we need government incentives.
i. Case Study Houses
Not all green buildings in Turkey are class-A commercial properties, nor are they recently built. The METU Solar House in Ankara, built in 1975-6, is Turkey’s first green building case study. Several solar houses followed, including Cukurova University Solar House and the (MTA) Solar House in 1981, the Greater Ankara Municipality Solar House in 1993, TUBITAK National Observatory Guest-House and the Erciyes Active Solar House in 1996. The Diyarbakir Solar House, sponsored by the Diyarbakir Municipal government in 2008, shows a recent continuation of this trend. The houses use a variety of solar technologies such as direct-heated ventilation air, solar flat-plate collectors, photovoltaic cells, and passive solar heating systems. Besides the METU example, they were all built to display the potential to use solar energy in Turkey’s residential development (Hepbasli, et. al).
ii.Commercial Sector
The recent development of green building in the Turkish commercial sector has been closely tied to the international architectural community. Indeed, much of the green building projects and ethos has been imported from top firms abroad. The Kaplankaya project, for example, is a nearly 5 million m2 eco-tourism resort planned near Milas in southwestern Turkey. Renowned international architects such as Steven Holl, Lord Norman Foster, and Robert A.M. Stern will bring green design expertise on a level currently still gestating in Turkey. In Istanbul, Zaha Hadid and Ken Yeang each have a major urban project with green ambitions on the horizon as well. Two of Turkey’s largest retail developers, German-based Metro and the Dutch-based REDEVCO, have corporate-wide sustainability policies and construction companies like AGAOGLU, ECZACIBASI, SOYAK, SIEMENS, TEKFEN, and ZORLU are developing theirs. More locally, in 2007 Erginoglu & Calislar Architects built an ecologically designed telecommunications company headquarters in the Tübitak Marmara Research Center Zone near Istanbul. These developments indicate that “green” design and operations are achieving cache for both building owners and potential buyers alike.
iii.Government
As a political entity, Turkey first engaged with the environment in 1978 with the establishment of the Undersecretariat for the Environment. Five years later, the 1982 Constitution included the “right to live in a healthy, balanced environment,” and in 1983, the first Environmental Law was passed. Several environmentally directed laws followed, including regulations on pollution and the Mass Housing Law of 1984. Then in 1992, responsibility for Turkey’s environmental management was given to the new Ministry of the Environment, which still exists today (Okumus). A key piece of legislation was the Environmental Impact Assessment law of 1992, requiring municipal approval of all public land development. Generally, however, development interests have trumped the environmental intent of this law. (Calguner 1999). Recently, regulations for Turkey’s accession into the EU have increased incentive on environmental reform, though little progress has been found (Turkey Progress Report). Another motivating factor for green building and environment came from the UN-HABITAT II forum, held in Istanbul in 1996. This international event was a watershed for ideas on improved urban habitat and building.
Turkey’s energy dependence and the need for energy efficiency has also prompted regulatory and rhetorical changes. Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan announced 2008 as the “Year of Energy” (Akkaya). Also in 2008, the central government finished implementing insulation requirements for both commercial and residential buildings. One hundred percent compliance would be expected to save billions of dollars and 70% of the country’s heating energy (Kaygusuz 2003). Though not directly related to the environment, per se, these measures to represent an advancement of the building industry.
2. THE ROLE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS IN GREEN MOVEMENT:
When we discuss green buildings, most people immediately think about new buildings. The reason we want to built green is to reduce the CHG gases the buildings emit and all the other savings that will be gained through less use of water, materials and energy. Existing buildings are the major resource of CHG emissions.
3. GOVERNMENT POLICIES: Governments all around the world especially USA started coming up with a number of deployment policies that can deliver cost effective emissions reductions such as: State and Local Building Codes & Incentive Programs, Federal Appliance and Equipment Efficiency Standards, Utility-based Public Benefits Programs, Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Programs, The Energy Star Programs and Federal Energy Management Programs. According to U.S. Conference Of Mayors Survey: 2007, 87% of cities require, or anticipate requiring in the next year, that city government buildings undergoing major rehabilitation to be energy efficient, healthy and environmentally sustainable. 56 % of them have a policy in place and 31% anticipate they will adopt such a policy in the next year. 78% of cities are undertaking efforts to encourage green building in the private sector and 88% of cities are undertaking efforts to educate the public about the importance of green buildings.
4. GLOBAL GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS: Stakeholders of construction industry are demonstrating their commitment to solve environmental problems by building in a more environmentally friendly way through using environmental standards for their buildings. Construction sector’s sense of social responsibility is also generating a demand for certification systems to measure the environmental performance of buildings and neighborhoods. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is one of the most popular and widely used certification systems in North America. Municipalities all around the world give incentives to construction projects which are built to receive LEED certification. They also have rebate and incentive programs for renewable energy technologies.
5. STANDARD 189: This is an ANSI-accredited standard that can be incorporated into the building code. It was sponsored by ASHRAE, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and USGBC. This standard provides minimum criteria that applies to new buildings and major renovation projects (new portions of buildings and their systems) a building or group of buildings, including on-site energy conversion or electric-generating facilities, which utilize a single submittal for a construction permit or which are within the boundary of a contiguous area under single ownership and address sustainable sites, water use efficiency, energy efficiency, the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). A similar standard needs to be developed for Turkey.
6. GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES :
The City of Santa Monica uses financial incentives to support Santa Monica’s Sustainability Plan to reduce greenhouse emissions and promote resource efficiency and alternative energy installations. Santa Monica’s Green Building Program offers grants for LEED projects that are new construction or major renovation. Depending on the level of LEED certification, buildings that receive expedited permits are also eligible for $20,000 to $35,000 building grants and Innovative Technologies Grants covering 50% of projects material costs up to $5,000. Innovative Technologies Grants are for energy efficient systems and urban runoff mitigation technologies. Funding for the grants comes from the municipally owned water and solid waste utility through a rate payer fee designated for environmental programs. Grants must be refunded to the City, if the project fails to acquire LEED certification within six months of acquiring its Certificate of Occupancy. Developers must refund a portion of the grant if their buildings are not certified at the level they applied for in their grant application.
The County of San Diego has a green building incentive program that promotes the use of water conservation, sustainable construction materials, and energy efficiency in new and remodeled residential and commercial buildings. San Diego County reduces building permit and plan check fees each by 7.5 percent. Building permit and plan check fees are waived completely for photovoltaic systems. The County grants expedited plan checks for projects that exhibit conservation measures (natural resources, water, or energy). The County’s program is supported and financially linked to other California state utility and government agencies rebate and incentive programs.
A prerequisite to participate in San Diego Gas and Electric on-bill financing program, a utility loan program for energy efficiency measures that is paid back on the utility customer’s bill, is to sign up for one of their complementary rebate or incentive energy efficiency program. Cities can enact similar incentives to utilities, giving a combination of loans, rebates and tax credits on weatherization techniques.
Austin Energy offers a low interest 10 year term loan to install a PV system up to $20,000. In addition the utility gives a Solar Photovoltaic Rebate calculated at $4.50 per watt, which helps pay between 45-75 percent of the cost to install a system. The typical cost of installing one kilowatt (1,000 watts) PV system is $6,000 - $10,000. To illustrate savings, $4.50 per watt x 1,000 watts would equal $4,500 rebate.
7. CONCLUSION
Turkey’s green building industry exists in a nexus of market forces, NGOs, academia, technology, and politics. Currently, these forces do not equal more than the sum of their parts. Though Turkey’s green buildings are more of a presence than ever, incentives are needed to make an average citizen go green. Commercial buildings are taking the lead in green movement, but they are not enough to make a real impact for reducing GHGs. Green development of mass housing and retrofitting existing housing stocks are needed in order to combat global warming.
A national green building model code, similar to STANDARD 189 in USA which sponsored by ASHRAE, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), USGBC should be prepared for Turkey by CEDBIK, ASHRAE-Turkey and Turkish National Committee on Illumination.
