Looking Beyond LEED

Sustainable business practices become more routine as design firms ‘green up’ for the future

By Melissa Leslie

A/E/C firms are embracing the benefits of going green by pushing beyond sustainable designs and integrating sustainable business practices as standard processes.

Sustainability is not new in the business world. Recycling programs, car-pooling and attempts to reduce company waste have been around for decades. Many industry experts say that the real focus on sustainability began in the 1970s when an energy crisis similar to the current one blindsided American businesses and consumers.

Higher heating bills and long lines at gas stations forced the nation to look at the causes of reduced natural resources, not just the effects, says Cheryl Marks, Green Team leader at WHPacific Inc., an Alaska-based engineering and architectural firm with offices in Colorado.

Today, businesses see their energy costs skyrocketing and are searching for profitable solutions that will sustain them into the future, says Jim Bradburn, director of sustainability for The RMH Group, an engineering firm in Lakewood. “Sustainable business practices require us to review what we’re doing now and ask ourselves what we can be done better,” he says.

“In the construction industry, the focus on the causes of reduction has developed into an understanding that new construction needs to be sustainable,” adds Marks. “And it is our responsibility to make changes happen by creating awareness through management and employees alike.”

Watching the Three P’s The past decade of changes has evolved into having green practices managed by a sustainable coordinator, committee or team.

Bradburn believes the effort involves following the three P’s of the bottom line: people, planet and profits. “A business must be cognizant of how it treats its employees, the community, clients and other stakeholders; how it treats the Earth’s finite resources; and how these two contribute to the company’s overall financial prosperity,” he says.

Architecture, construction and engineering have answered the call of stakeholders and clients by creating innovative, green structures that set the standard for the future of sustainable construction. And though these structures cost, on average, 3% more to build than traditional buildings, the U.S. Green Building Council reports that they save 30 to 40% on utility costs through the life span of a building.

“In our industry, things that used to seem unthinkable now seem like good business ideas,” says Travis Beck, principal of Eco-Savvy Design and Landscapes in Denver. “The dialogue has definitely shifted from ‘if’ we as an industry should go green to ‘how.’”

Considering the Impact In 1987 the United Nations defined sustainable development in its “Brundtland Report” as “...development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

This has become the universal standard for defining sustainability in all its forms, and for many firms, it has also become the standard for creating green business practices.

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“These practices are going well beyond an inner-office recycling program,” says Bradburn. “I think we all agree that designing high-performance, climate-adaptive projects cannot be done in a vacuum.”

The next step for the A/E/C industry is to integrate green practices into all aspects of a firm’s work.

“Businesses should be questioning the way they have been doing things and begin to understand the environmental impact of their decisions,” says David Schafer, a principal at OZ Architecture in Denver. “When they do this, they are likely to change the way they operate.”

OZ now has a Sustainable Design Team to oversee its green practices. “The committee was created because the firm recognized the need to be organized and focused in our efforts regarding both sustainable design and environmental responsibility,” Schafer says. “The committee is responsible for bringing sustainability to all aspects of our work, from reducing our carbon footprint to educating staff on design and the personal aspects of sustainability.”

A Culture of Sustainability The understanding that everything the industry does must be sustainable is partly why many firms have created a sustainability coordinator or committee.

“In our industry, the creation of a green project must begin at the earliest conceptual phase,” says Jeff Hall, sustainable coordinator at Gensler’s Denver office. “Sustainability is a basic principle that ties us into our culture.”

In 1988 Gensler designed the American headquarters for Epson America Inc., a global technology company based in Japan. Back then, it was the first large-scale office building to use under-floor air systems, an innovation that launched Gensler into more sustainable design practices. The firm’s founder, Arthur Gensler, assisted the USGBC as a board member in writing the LEED standards for commercial interiors.

“The leadership of the Gensler sustainability group is actively involved in education about sustainability, both inside the firm and to our peers and clients,” says Hall.

In 2003 Denver’s David Evans and Associates underwent a firm-wide effort to identify a core purpose: “to be stewards of the built and natural environment,” says Paul Horton, director of sustainability for the consulting and planning firm.

“After the core purpose was identified, it was clear that an individual was needed to organize this overall stewardship effort, with a major focus on the sustainability program,” he says. “A key responsibility for this person is to foster a culture of sustainability among all of our employees.”

For many firms, the culture of sustainability is now going beyond recycling programs and carpooling. It can be found in internal greening efforts for the buildings the firms are housed in as well as making green education accessible.

“I think a new element in this movement is management’s recognition of the benefits that coincide with working in green environments,” says Marks. “Lots of studies show a reduction in health costs and that natural lighting increases happiness.”

Practicing Practicality Previously, many firms understood the need to be stewards of the environment, but many people didn’t know how to do that on a practical level, Horton says.

“The industry is at a critical threshold where it needs to re-examine, and in some cases jettison, old working habits and assumptions and form new, more deeply collaborative relationships with stakeholders, including landholders, academic institutions and NGOs,” he adds.

Although the future financial viability of green construction is uncertain, the way firms do business will almost certainly be affected by the need for increased sustainability.

“I believe there will be a systematic change in the way buildings are designed due to the green movement and improvements in the available design tools,” says Bradburn.

He and his architectural counterparts believe the next step for building innovations will go beyond LEED certification into net-zero or even net-positive energy buildings becoming commonplace.

“LEED is not a trend, and the business market is changing,” says Hall. “If you aren’t on board with sustainability, you are behind. The technology is available, and practices are quickly leading us beyond LEED.”