Integrating Green Rating Systems: a Case Study for Ferry Terminals

When attempting to achieve sustainability goals for integrated facilities, many green rating systems are available to guide the design, construction, operations and maintenance of a project. Due to the large number of sustainability tools that are available or mandated, it can be confusing to determine which set of guidelines to follow. For the Washington State Ferries (WSF), there is no green rating system which correlates perfectly with the unique intermodal challenges presented by ferry terminals. This paper focuses on five rating systems applicable to WSF: GreenLITES, LEED, Sustainable Sites Initiative, The Port Authority of NY/NJ Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines (draft), and the draft Marine Vessel Environmental Performance Assessment (MVeP). These rating systems are integrated with a developing set of sustainable ferry guidelines in a green rating integration platform (GRIP). The GRIP readily relates credits and guidelines across multiple systems, aiding WSF in making decisions in accordance with sustainability goals. The GRIP format might similarly be applied to other integrated projects to more effectively and economically address sustainability across all aspects of projects and facility operations.