SJ0027 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0027 LRB095 09025 CMK 29216 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted the "2030 Challenge" resolution calling for the immediate energy reduction of all new and renovated buildings to one-half the national or country average for that building type, with increased reductions of 10% every five years so that by the year 2030 all buildings designed will be carbon neutral, meaning they will use no fossil fuel energy; and

WHEREAS, The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the national professional organization representing architects has also adopted the "2030 Challenge" resolution; and

WHEREAS, The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the international community's most respected assemblage of scientists, has found that climate disruption is a reality and that human activities are largely responsible for increasing concentrations of global warming pollution; and

WHEREAS, The North American and global building sector has been shown to be the major consumer of fossil fuel and producer of global warming causing greenhouse gases; and

WHEREAS, The federal government through programs fostered within many of its key agencies and numerous state governments as well as municipalities across the U.S. have adopted high performance green building principles; and

WHEREAS, A recent study completed by researchers from Capitol E and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the most definitive cost-benefit analysis of green buildings ever conducted, concluded that the financial benefits of green design are between $50 and $70 per square foot, more than 10 times the additional cost associated with building green; and

WHEREAS, The large positive impact on employee productivity and health gains suggests that green building has a cost-effective impact beyond just the utility bill savings; and

WHEREAS, Studies have indicated that student attendance and performance is higher in high performance school buildings; and

WHEREAS, Recognizing that a building's initial construction costs represent only 20 to 30 percent of the building's entire costs over its 30 to 40 year life, emphasis should be placed on the "life cycle costs" of a public building rather than on solely its initial capital costs; and

WHEREAS, The construction industry in the U.S. represents a significant portion of our economy and a significant portion of the building industry is represented by small business and an increase in sustainable building practices will encourage and promote new and innovative small business development throughout the nation; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that all State of Illinois buildings meet the following targets; and be it further

RESOLVED, That new construction of buildings shall be designed to and achieve a minimum delivered fossil-fuel greenhouse gas (GHS) emitting energy consumption performance standard of one-half the U.S. average for that building type as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the EPA's Target Finder; and be it further

RESOLVED, That renovation building projects shall be designed to and achieve a minimum delivered fossil-fuel GHG emitting energy consumption performance standard of one-half the U.S. average for that building type as defined by the EPA's Target Finder; and be it further

RESOLVED, That all other new construction, renovation, repairs, and replacements of buildings shall employ cost-effective, energy-efficient, green building practices to the maximum extent possible; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois will work to increase the fossil-fuel GHG emitting reduction standard for all new buildings to carbon neutral by 2030, in the following increments:

60% in 2010

70% in 2015

80% in 2020

90% in 2025

Carbon-neutral by 2030 (meaning new buildings will use no fossil fuel GHG emitting energy to operate); and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Illinois Green Government Coordinating Council will develop plans to fully implement these targets as part of the procurement and inspection process and by establishing polices to insure compliance and measure results; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois will work in conjunction with other appropriate organizations to join this effort to develop plans to fully implement similar targets; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to each constitutional officer and the head of each State agency.