The concept of green (or sustainable) buildings is a relatively new phenomenon in the U.S. building industry. Green buildings are those that reduce energy use and associated energy costs, reduce environmental impacts, improve indoor air quality, and improve the health and comfort of occupants. An ever increasing number of state governments are realizing that green buildings are integral for achieving long-term development, particularly in large urban centers. Stimulated by a number of state and federal incentives, green buildings concepts have come into sharper focus within the design community.

Safe building designs have always required an approach that anticipated and protected buildings and their occupants and resources from a number of threats, including vandalism, fire, natural disasters, and a range of manmade catastrophes. The bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City caused the federal government to reevaluate security around buildings. Many roads near public buildings, including the White House, are now inaccessible to motorized traffic. But physical barriers are not always practical or optional in some locations. Therefore, a building's design, including its construction materials and operational systems, must be the first line of defense against attacks.

One of the first steps in designing a safe building is to conduct a comprehensive threat assessment and risk analysis. The assessment and analysis identifies the assets or persons to be protected, examines possible threats, and assesses the risk of those threats. Once threats have been examined, designers can select appropriate safety measures depending on security requirements, acceptable levels of risk, the cost-effectiveness of the measures proposed, and the impact those measures have on the design, construction, and use of the building. Obviously, the intended purpose of a building will dictate to a large extent the safety and security measures instituted in the design.

The United States General Services Administration (GSA) engages in this sort of risk analysis each time it seeks to design a building. However, safety is but one factor the GSA considers. According to the GSA's "Standards for the Public Buildings Service," the GSA is also committed to incorporating principles of sustainable design and energy efficiency into all of its building projects. Sustainability is a concept that seeks to design, construct and operate buildings to reduce negative impacts on the environment and the consumption of natural resources. Sustainable design improves a building's performance while ensuring better health and comfort of building occupants. Although federal buildings must be safe and secure, they are also designed as much as possible to accommodate sustainable designs.

Typically, a building's safety measures are selected from three categories of methods: operational, technical, and physical. To ensure a given facility is protected from unwanted intruders, an operational approach might provide for guards at all entry points. A technical approach to safety involves the use of surveillance cameras and/or the installation of an alarm system. A physical approach involves the use of locks and/or gates or other barriers to block entry into all or parts of a building.

Safety and security measures are not just limited to keeping people out of buildings, they are also geared toward protecting building occupants. An effective, secure building provides for mitigating measures to limit hazards and prevent catastrophic damage should an aggressor be successful. Safe building design balances operational, technical, and physical principles to achieve the best mix for a given location.

Green building and safe building designs actually share much in common. The major security functions of the electrical system are to maintain power to essential building services, especially those required for life safety and evacuation and to provide lighting and surveillance to deter criminal activities. The main objectives of sustainable design are to avoid resource depletion of energy, water, and raw materials, prevent environmental degradation caused by facilities and infrastructure throughout their life cycle, and create environments that are livable, healthy, and productive.

If a widespread chemical or biological attack occurs that affects ambient air, those buildings with positive pressure ventilation systems and/or high efficiency particle air ("HEPA") filters will be the ones people seek for protection. These particular ventilation systems are designed to improve indoor air quality, but because these systems can also prevent impurities from entering a building or trap them if they do, they can also make a life-saving difference in the event of a chemical or biological attack. So long as the substance can be isolated, a well maintained HEPA filter installed as part of a building's heating ventilation and cooling ("HVAC") system would even be effective against the terrorists' weapon du jour - Anthrax.

Of course, any mechanical device is only as good as the power used to run it. Therefore, it is even more important to install alternative power generating systems, such as photovoltaics and fuel cells. While these are typically thought of as purely green components, they are equally applicable as a safety and security measure. Simply put, the longer mechanical systems, including HVAC and lighting, remain operational, the more likely people will be able to function inside the building or have sufficient visibility to evacuate, if necessary.

Redundancy is often the key to survival. On a modern aircraft carrier (often referred to as a floating city), for example, if power is interrupted because of a fire or explosion, the onboard system finds a way to route power to the affected area or to other areas in the energy grid from other sources, so that the ship remains operational. Buildings can be designed the same way. Unlike modern aircraft carriers, buildings do not come equipped with their own nuclear propulsion systems, but designers can think of buildings as self-sustained units in much the same way, and design them to use alternative and self-sustaining power generating systems.

While it is important to have self-sustaining systems in place, their placement is another factor to consider. Building owners and developers should position these systems in a way that will provide safety for the system itself. For example, if the backup power system is located in an area most vulnerable to attack, it may not be useful if an incident occurs. The GSA is well aware of the need for system protection and provides guidance on the placement of systems and services (including mail services) so as to protect those services and result in minimal impact to the remainder of the building and its occupants. The GSA advises that equipment be located away from high risk areas such as loading docks and garages. The system controls and power wiring to the equipment should also be protected. Equipment should be provided with stand-alone local control panels that can continue to individually function in the event the control wiring is severed from the main control system. Again, while we may not want buildings to take on the look of a military command post or warship, certain of the military's fundamental principles are applicable to building designs.

The green buildings commissioning process also provides a means to assess the mechanics of a building. This process requires that an examination of all mechanical plants be conducted to verify they are installed and working properly to achieve peak energy savings and air quality results. Whether this process if formally used to obtain a tax credit, other government incentive, or simply used for information, the green building commissioning standards provide a process by which building owners can assess weaknesses in a building's mechanical systems. A natural extension of the commissioning process might be to evaluate whether a building would be suitable as a safe haven from certain threats.

Building owners should seriously consider the benefits of green technology as an available means of making buildings more safe. As terrorism escalates, tenants will demand a safe and secure environment. At the same time, these measures will improve indoor air quality and increase peace of mind, thereby enhancing worker productivity. One of the many benefits of going green is reduced energy consumption, which ultimately results in less dependence on foreign oil and other natural resources. While nationwide energy saving results may not be measurable for the foreseeable future, we should begin now to make buildings cleaner, greener, and safer.

David J. Freeman is the Chair of the Environmental Law Group of the New York Office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP. He can be contacted for more information at (212) 318-6555 or reached by email at davidfreeman@paulhastings.com; Robert L. Wegman is an Associate in the New York Office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP and a member of the New York State Environmental Business Association's Green Buildings Task Force. He can be contacted at (212) 318-6499 or by email at robertwegman@paulhastings.com.