Sustainability

Technical Visits International has coordinated many visits in the past for overseas groups interested in studying the latest trends and best practices in sustainability, including sustainable building practices.

LEED Platinum Certified Building Tours

The Audubon Center at Debs Park  provides educational programs for the 50,000 schoolchildren who live within two miles of the park. It includes a multipurpose “Discovery Room,” for teaching and displays, a library and meeting room, a reception area, a gift shop, and a catering kitchen. The Audubon Center at Debs Park is the National Audubon Society’s first nature center in California to be constructed from the ground up using environmentally sensitive design techniques. It is also the first building in the U.S. to achieve the LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Center is operated entirely off-grid, using only power generated on site. The Center is designed to use 70% less water than a comparable conventional building, and to treat all wastewater on site. More than 50% of the building materials were manufactured locally.

     1.   Name of Group:           Society of HVAC and Sanitary Engineers
     2.  Size of Group:               20 + 1 interpreter
     3.  Time:                            2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
     4.  Host:                             Audubon Center at Debs Park
     5.  To Meet:                       Director
     6.  Contents:                       Facility tour highlighting building’s eco-friendly features

ClimateWorks Foundation is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization founded in 2008 to slow global warming. The ClimateWorks Foundation’s office is one of the highest-scoring LEED for Commercial Interiors projects in California. Among the many features of the LEED-Platinum-certified space, the offices include extensive daylighting and advanced lighting sensors; sustainable building materials, including locally manufactured furniture, Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood products, and materials made from recycled cork, denim, and office paper; and operable windows, which take advantage of San Francisco’s mild climate to minimize the need for air conditioning. The resulting office has a bright and healthy atmosphere and uses two-thirds less energy for HVAC and one-third less energy for lighting, compared to a typical California office interior.

     1.   Name of Group:          Society of HVAC and Sanitary Engineers
     2.  Size of Group:              16 + 1 interpreter
     3.  Time:                            3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
     4.  Host:                             ClimateWorks Foundation
     5.  To Meet:                       – Associate Director of HR & Operations
                                                – Operations and HR Associate
     6.  Contents:                      Sustainable green building design tour