G

Going Green – The Prince of Wales Foundation International Tourism Partnership (ITP) program is a primer and an excellent starter program to develop energy, water, and waste conservation programs.

Green – Making decisions based on an environmentally-friendly philosophy and conservation of natural resources

Green Field – A piece of undeveloped land.

Green Globe – Specific to hospitality, this international benchmarking and certification program is based on the Agenda 21 principles of Sustainable Development, providing a framework for managing sustainability programs and monitoring performance and improvement.

Green Globes – The green Building Initiative’s green management program includes an assessment protocol, rating system and guide for integrating environmentally-friendly design into commercial buildings.

Greenhouse Gases – Atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect and sustain life on earth. Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are altering the habitat humans evolved to thrive in; this is a process called global warming or climate change. Greenhouse gases include: carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, ozone, methane, and CFCs.

Green Key – The Canadian Hotel Association Eco-Rating Program is a graduated rating system designed to recognize hotels, motels, and resorts that are committed to improving their fiscal and environmental performance.

Green Power – This is a term used to describe sources of energy that are considered to be environmentally friendly and non-polluting, such as geothermal, wind and solar power.

Green Seal – An environmental standard for the hotel industry that focuses exclusively on developing environmental standards, and certifying products, practices, and operations.

Green team – Interdisciplinary team comprised of representatives from various operating departments that is committed to improving the environmental sustainability of the property.

Greywater – Wastewater that does not contain sewage or fecal contamination and can be reused for irrigation after simple filtration.

Gross Square Feet (GSF) – The total area occupied by a building when measured from exterior to exterior.  This area included all mechanical areas.

H

Halons – Man-made substances (also known as bromofluorocarbons) that are chlorofluorocarbons containing bromine.

Hardscape – Paved areas such as streets and sidewalks, large business complexes and housing developments, and other industrial areas where the upper soil profile is no longer exposed to the actual surface of the Earth.

HarvestedRainwater – Rain that falls on a roof and is channeled by gutters to a storage tank or cistern.  The uses of this water depend on the existence and nature of pollutants that may have been picked up from the roof’s surface.

Heat Island Effect – “Heat island” refers to urban air and surface temperatures that are higher than those of nearby rural areas.  Many American cities and suburbs have air temperatures up to 10º F (5.6º C)  warmer than their surrounding natural land cover.

Heat Recovery Systems – Building mechanical systems that capture waste heat from another system and use it to replace heat that would otherwise come from a primary energy source.

HVAC – Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment that controls the ambient environment (temperature, humidity, air flow, and air filtering) of a building.  HVAC systems must be planned for and operated along with other data center components such as computing hardware, cabling, data storage, fire protection, physical security systems, and power.

 HVAC&R – Heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment.

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) – Compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine.  HCFCs originally were intended as replacements for CFCs, but they are only a temporary solution because they still contain chlorine and have the potential to destroy stratospheric ozone.

Hyrdonic HVAC – Water based HVAC.

I

IACC – International Association of Conference Centers.

IEEE – Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

IEQ – Indoor Environmental Quality section of the LEED rating system.

In Situ Remediation – The clean up or remediation of a polluted site performed by using and simulating the natural processes in the soil, in contrast to ex situ where contaminated soil is excavated and cleaned elsewhere off site.

Incandescent Light – An electric lamp in which a filament is heated to produce artificial light.  Incandescent lighting consumes more energy and is less efficient than CFLs or LEDs.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) – Pollution from gases or particles released into the air is the primary cause of indoor air quality problems.  Inadequate ventilation can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor air to dilute emissions.

Infill Development – Real estate development that occurs in a previously built area.

Integrated Design – Multi-disciplinary teams of building professional work together from the pre-design phase through post-occupancy to optimize a building’s environmental sustainability, performance, and cost savings.

Irrigation – Supplying water to grass, trees, and other plants.

ISO – The International Standards Organization provides an internationally accepted specification for an Environmental Management System (EMS).  The ISO specifies requirements for establishing an environmental police, determining environmental aspects and impacts of products/activities/services, planning environmental objectives and measurable targets, the implementation and operation of programs to meet objectives and targets, checking and corrective action, and management review.

K

Key Card Energy System – An occupancy sensor system that used an inserted computerized card to activate or deactivate equipment (e.g. heating, cooling, lighting).

Kilowatt Hour (kWh) – A unit of energy measured at 1,000 watt hours.

Kilowatt Peak (kWp) – A measure of peak kilowatt output (e.g. of a photovoltaic system).

L

LCD – Liquid crystal display.

LED – Light emitting diode.

LEED – The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building rating system.  LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based, national standard based on a four level certification program that encompasses design techniques for the building envelope and throughout the interior for new construction and renovations, as well as their operational program for existing properties.

LEED AP – LEED accredited professional.

Life Cycle Cost – The amortized annual cost of a product, including capital costs and installation, operating, maintenance, and disposal costs discounted over the lifetime of the product.

Low E-Windows – Low emissivity windows reflect heat, not light, keeping spaces warmer in winter and cooler in summer.