A New Home

The biggest investment firms are making as they drive for sustainability is in constructing their own LEED-certified headquarters buildings. Not only are the efficiency of the buildings' electrical, HVAC and plumbing systems rated in the accreditation process, but also the usefulness of amenities designed to help reduce energy consumption, such as accommodations for biking commuters, among a host of other factors. Depending on how many points the building receives, it can be labeled LEED-platinum, gold, silver or certified. Existing buildings also can be modified to reach LEED-Existing Building status and LEED-Commercial Interior status.

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In 2004, Alberici Corp., Overland, Mo., turned a warehouse into an 110,000-sq-ft, LEED-platinum headquarters. According to LEED officials, only 24 buildings in the world have achieved that status since. "We wanted to do something that was going to provide more than just shade or shelter for employees," says Tom Taylor, vice president of Alberici and general manager of Vertegy, an Alberici subsidiary focused on sustainability consulting. "It started with that focus, but our knowledge grew with all the benefits of a sustainable strategy."

The $21-million project includes a wind turbine that provides 20% of the building's electrical energy, a rainwater collection system that is used to flush toilets, solar panels that deliver about 90% of the building's hot water and stormwater retention ponds that capture all runoff. Low-E glass works to insulate and brighten the building, which is oriented due south for maximum solar gain. An automated weather station on the highly reflective roof tells the building controls management system when to open and close the clerestory windows, although employees can also operate office windows from the inside. A parking garage eliminates the need for acres of pavement, and virtually all employees have a direct view to the outside from their workstations, say Alberici officials.

Taylor says John Alberici, the board chairman, explained that the headquarters was being built "for people who aren't working for Alberici yet, people that aren't even born."

By building a 12,000-sq-ft LEED-silver headquarters in Sparks, Md., near its current building, engineering firm KCI Technology has proven that it is possible to convince a landlord to subscribe to sustainability, even though the benefits don't land in his pockets. "Getting LEED adds about 5% to 10% to capital costs, and the energy savings go right to the tenant, so why should [the landlord] care?" says Terry Niemeyer, CEO. But he says the answer to that is more subtle. Right at the beginning of the deal is when the tenant has the most leverage, he says, and Niemeyer knew his firm is an attractive tenant. "Landlords drool over something like this," says Niemeyer. He had four sites to choose from.

"We have many environmentalists who work on environmental impact statements. We have LEED architects, LEED site engineers and LEED MEPs," says Niemeyer. "These are the things we want to do. We want to be a sustainable company."

The building will bring daylight to employees by eliminating about 70 offices from the 110 in the current building, including all corner offices except for those on one floor, he says. "Some of it is facilitated by the type of work we do....It's driven from the top down," says Niemeyer. "It's the right thing to do, with respect to our employees and with respect to the environment."

Other firms are turning their existing spaces into LEED-accredited ones through modifications to achieve LEED-Existing Building ratings. "We just had to convince the landlord," says Jim Bradburn, sustainable service coordinator for design firm RNL, Denver.

RNL designed its building in the 1980s with many environmentally friendly features, including solar water heating, a design to allow maximum sunlighting and a system that recirculates warm air from the top of an atrium to lower floors. "We really didn't have to do a lot to the building" says Bradburn. "If the landlord hadn't agreed to it, we would have moved out eventually. We would have built our own LEED building."

Still, the firm is investing $20,000 in changes that include installation of new plumbing and water fixtures. It also is talking with the landlord about implementing a building-wide recycling plan, even though RNL already has its own third-party recycling program. The company also plans to invest in three 10-kW photovoltaic arrays for the roof, even though it doesn't gain any LEED credits for it because the energy will be sold to an energy provider. "If we are trying to talk someone into photovoltaics, we can invite them over and show them the system," Bradburn explains.

"We think it's the right thing to do, and we're telling our clients it's the right thing to do both economically and environmentally, saving water and energy. But there are soft costs. Studies show increased worker activity, less employee absenteeism, and it will entice tenants to the building," says Bradburn. "We will want to use our building; we want to showcase it. We can say, 'Look, we sold it to our landlord.'"

Sasaki Associates Inc., Watertown, Mass., is seeking LEED-gold status for its Watertown, Mass., office space, a 150-year-old former paper mill and manufacturing plant. If the certification is approved, which the company expects to happen soon, the 95,000-sq-ft facility will be the world's oldest such certified facility, says Meredith S. Elbaum, the firm's director of sustainable design.

Sasaki is researching use of alternative energy such as hydropower and photovoltaics but has not had beneficial feasibility results yet, says Elbaum. But the firm is part of a Massachusetts group that gains energy credits by using wind power. "I would stress the need for a dedicated facilities staff," she says. "People are what makes the difference. Employees are really proud of what we've done."

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The Green Team

Many firms have put together "green teams" and have named them as such. They meet to brainstorm ideas for changes in the workplace, to plan education events for employees and to educate themselves on the environment. They are often made up of volunteers, and most are an "extracurricular activity" for members but are proving to be an effective force in greening the workplace.

At HDR Inc., the green team in the firm's Boise office surveyed the costs of its use of disposable kitchenware. It found that the office would save $4,000 to $5,000 a year by making a switch to reusable mugs and flatware. "It has been proposed as a corporate-wide policy," says Michaella Wittmann, director of sustainable design solutions for the Omaha-based firm. She also describes an instance when a green team made up entirely of marketers decided to create an in-house sustainability logo, as well as a policy on its use.

HDR has green teams in 30 of its 140 offices. It employs one full-time sustainability manager, says Wittmann. "[Executives] know there is a value in sustainability to our clients, so we are supportive. This is an acknowledgement of how important this issue is."

"We've started at the bigger offices, where teams can have the most impact," says Wittmann. "Teams at our Omaha headquarters were asking why we didn't have a consistent employee commute option. Now we're looking at subsidizing public transit, preferred parking for carpools and a carpool program."

Employees can create their own groups, or teams can develop on corporate directive, says Wittmann. "If someone calls up the sustainable manager, she'll go visit the office and get a team started. We try to encourage each office to be creative." Wittmann says she doesn't wait around for phone calls though. Outreach includes "10 Steps to a More Sustainable Office" posters, and flyers saying something to the effect of "Anyone interested? Come to the meeting!" says Wittmann.

She adds that stressing the monetary benefits of sustainability can help quite a bit. "In some parts of the country, it's not as pervasive and prevalent as others. People will say, 'I though sustainability was just about the environment, but I see it's about economics as well,'" she says. "Then you get a lot of buy in, not just from environmentalists."

Green teams at RNL are "open to anyone in the office," says Tom Hootman, the director of sustainability. He also is a project manager, but says "half my time is like a kind of non-billable overhead." He says green teams are there to create a community and a network. "People participate at any level they can," says Hootman. He says subcommittees of the green teams handle different internal and external aspects. The office committee, for example, is responsible for making wind-power purchases and measuring the firm's carbon footprint. "They also have simpler initiatives, like getting Energy Star appliances, ceramic mugs, regular silverware and providing bike storage."

During the energy crunch in the 1970s and 1980s, the firm designed a few energy-efficient buildings, "but the trend kind of went away," says Hootman. "But it's back now. I think it's just an awareness of everyone in the industry."

"I think it's different now [than in the 1970s and 1980s]," adds Nancy Kristoff, RNL's public relations manager, and member of a green team. "It's now becoming an economic and social issue, which was never really part of the dialogue back then. There's more of a global economy. I think a lot of this is driven by the market with energy costs."

"There's a lot of reasons other than the feel-good factor," adds Kristoff. "It can be used as a marketing tool, for employee retention and recruitment. Young people want to work for a firm that is sustainable and walks the walk. I don't think this is a short-term thing."

Bottom-Up Changes

While board-room decisions are clearly having a large effect on the industry's internal practices, the efforts of environmentally conscious employees also shape the workplace. Those on green teams can have an idea for their office, which can then be taken up for consideration as a corporate policy. The Neenan Company, a Fort Collins, Colo.-based design and construction firm, was transformed when three employees went to their president with a desire to enlist in a local, city-run program called Climate Wise that helps people understand what they can do to increase sustainability knowledge.

"The first step was to talk with the president and explain our interest [in Climate Wise]," says Annie Lilyblade, an interior designer with Neenan. "Several of us had recently come out of school and a small group of us championed the effort."

Climate Wise provided a template for evaluating the 180-person firm's greenhouse gas emissions, but the auditing process was left to Lilyblade and her two companions, she says. After completing the process, and seeing where office's resources were going, the next template was the LEED-Existing Building certification, she says.

"It's really difficult to get people to change their patterns. We've approached it in an interactive way," says Lilyblade. "We do Bike-to-Work Day and compete with other offices to see who can get the most participants." She described a competition when the office was divided in half, and at the end of the day the trash from each side was weighed. "People are becoming aware of how little waste they can create during the day. People are becoming aware that it's easier to do than they thought. They can see how it's changed the office. And they're bringing it home and passing it to our clients as well."