This is a follow up to our LEED posting with an article from Environmental Leader. Apparently Sun Microsystems is of the opinion that "Double Carbon Neutral" companies are on the horizon. Companies so "dedicated" to helping the environment that not only do they completely offset their footprint, but they offset it a second time as well are not adding real value along the way. This just goes to show that many environmental programs are no longer about the environment, they are simply marketing strategies.
I'm a fan of helping the environment. I believe that every company should be working to reduce their carbon footprint and impact on the environment within the framework of their business. Sun is doing it precisely the way I believe is most appropriate: looking at their areas where they are most deficient, putting together a business case and budget for improvement and then putting the improvement into place. Humans will never be carbon neutral creatures, especially with the way technology operates today.
Being carbon neutral is a noble goal if approached for the appropriate reasons. Marketing can be a good reason for it, but we have to be careful that a distinction is made between companies in it for the marketing and companies in it for the environment. Any company that wants to could scrounge up funds to purchase enough carbon offsets to make them carbon neutral as many times over as they care to. Is that company really any better than a Sun Mircosystems that isn't carbon neutral but is working towards it organically?
Technorati Tags: LEED, environment, sun, carbon neutral
Showing posts with label LEED. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LEED. Show all posts
October 18, 2007
Environmental Marketing Gone Crazy
October 11, 2007
Green Design and LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) seems to be the coming trend for quite a few businesses. Some companies seem to just be jumping on the bandwagon so they don't get left behind, some are using it as a marketing play and then some see it as their part toward being environmentally friendly. The LEED Certification process is a valuable tool to gaining recognition of your achievement. Fundamentally it is a marketing tool though. Why worry about meeting a LEED standard if the marketing bonus has no value to your business. The important question you must ask yourself as a company is why you are looking for a LEED build-out.
It is easy to find reports and research saying that the cost of building LEED is no more expensive than traditional construction. This is true for ground up buildings. For Interior fit-outs or renovations (the vast majority of projects) this is far from the truth. Due to the overall scale and budget of these projects it is near impossible for the added certification and validation costs to blend into the budget background or be factored out by other design changes. Putting the extra cost down as a marketing expense is the easiest way to justify a LEED project. Almost all other methods lead to the extra expense being non-justified.
The popular environmental news magazines and stories have companies believing that cannot be green without being LEED. This is the farthest thing from the truth. Utility companies and large manufacturers are the clearest example of this. These companies are constantly striving to do their part for the environment through small and big initiatives. Whether it is capturing vent stack CO2 for oil recovery or offering green electricity generation or discounts for cutting your power consumption they are making an impact without the LEED program.
If you decide like most companies to not go LEED, now you must ask yourself: what can I do to help the environment while helping my business? The answers to that question are much easier than most people think. Some solutions are as simple as changing out all the light fixtures in your building to be more energy efficient (the payback is quicker than you would think at 1 1/2 to 4 years). Some solutions are more complicated involving grey water capture for irrigation systems and low flush toilets. It all depends on the payback period that your company requires for investments of this type and taking the time to look at all the costs.
One of the easiest ways to evaluate green systems for your building is to work with a consulting company. Our company is currently applying green systems to every project that we're involved in including environmentally friendly carpet, low VOC paints, energy efficient lighting, and wall systems instead of drywall. Every project and geographic area will have different variations on what is allowed by code, but there is a lot of room to be environmentally sensitive without blowing the budget and actually securing on going cost savings.
Being environmentally aware as a business is a critical challenge for every company large and small. Over both short and long term it can have significant impact on your business. Companies that are not environmentally friendly are going to have a hard time growing in many markets and will be spending more on their infrastructure and operating costs than competitors. LEED is a good way to go about achieving the green goal, but it is definitely not the only way and usually not the best way.
Technorati Tags: green, LEED, design
It is easy to find reports and research saying that the cost of building LEED is no more expensive than traditional construction. This is true for ground up buildings. For Interior fit-outs or renovations (the vast majority of projects) this is far from the truth. Due to the overall scale and budget of these projects it is near impossible for the added certification and validation costs to blend into the budget background or be factored out by other design changes. Putting the extra cost down as a marketing expense is the easiest way to justify a LEED project. Almost all other methods lead to the extra expense being non-justified.
The popular environmental news magazines and stories have companies believing that cannot be green without being LEED. This is the farthest thing from the truth. Utility companies and large manufacturers are the clearest example of this. These companies are constantly striving to do their part for the environment through small and big initiatives. Whether it is capturing vent stack CO2 for oil recovery or offering green electricity generation or discounts for cutting your power consumption they are making an impact without the LEED program.
If you decide like most companies to not go LEED, now you must ask yourself: what can I do to help the environment while helping my business? The answers to that question are much easier than most people think. Some solutions are as simple as changing out all the light fixtures in your building to be more energy efficient (the payback is quicker than you would think at 1 1/2 to 4 years). Some solutions are more complicated involving grey water capture for irrigation systems and low flush toilets. It all depends on the payback period that your company requires for investments of this type and taking the time to look at all the costs.
One of the easiest ways to evaluate green systems for your building is to work with a consulting company. Our company is currently applying green systems to every project that we're involved in including environmentally friendly carpet, low VOC paints, energy efficient lighting, and wall systems instead of drywall. Every project and geographic area will have different variations on what is allowed by code, but there is a lot of room to be environmentally sensitive without blowing the budget and actually securing on going cost savings.
Being environmentally aware as a business is a critical challenge for every company large and small. Over both short and long term it can have significant impact on your business. Companies that are not environmentally friendly are going to have a hard time growing in many markets and will be spending more on their infrastructure and operating costs than competitors. LEED is a good way to go about achieving the green goal, but it is definitely not the only way and usually not the best way.
Technorati Tags: green, LEED, design
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