A growing community investment in sustainability By Mikael Krummel
Local business leaders and social trendsetters have been sending a loud message to our community: We can no longer afford to sidestep our responsibility to reduce our environmental footprint. Some might say it’s a matter of respecting the symbiosis between our consumer lifestyles and the diminishing resources of the planet. Others say it’s a call to action: Recycle, redesign, reduce, reuse, rethink!
To the extent that budgets allow, many local business owners want to create sustainable buildings: structures that are energy efficient, use environmentally sound materials, easily adapt to the climate and adjust energy usage accordingly, and ultimately, reduce impact on the surrounding environment as much as possible.
Green and gold, silver and platinum
Building eco-smart often demands complicated strategies and technical considerations, and the United States Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification process offers a roadmap of standards for measuring a building’s sustainability quotient. Silver, gold, or platinum LEED certification denotes just how effectively a building plan has satisfied dozens of environmental considerations pertaining to land utilization, water conservation, energy efficiency, materials use, and the quality of interior building spaces. Though budget constraints sometimes prevent builders from meeting stringent LEED standards, most green-minded builders still use the standards as essential planning tools.
Eugene and Springfield boast better than a half-dozen gold-certified buildings, including the Crescent Village housing complex, the Royal Caribbean Call Center, Slocum Orthopedic Center, and the new Army Reserve Armory.
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Kendall Toyota is the first LEED gold rated automotive dealership on the West Coast, and only the second in the U.S. Its new dealership incorporates an impressive list of green features, including a sophisticated system for collecting and recycling stormwater in cisterns—the system supplies 100 percent of the onsite carwash and landscape irrigation needs and reduces water use by a staggering 50 percent. Solar panels on the roof generate 30 percent of the energy for the 59,000-square-foot building, and the smart HVAC system will reduce up to 30 percent of normal operating costs for a building of similar size.
“It is important that we do everything in our power to lessen our environmental impact,” says Kendall owner Paul Skillern. “The construction of our facilities is something that we can control, and this is a positive way for us to give something back.”
Sometimes giving back means not taking in the first place. Between 10 and 20 percent of the building's finishes will be post-consumer recycled products, including tile flooring, carpet, wood ceiling panels, and Corian countertops.
Smart architecture
Typically, plans leading to green building construction wind through a forest of both new and old-school ideas for architectural design. For example, it’s a no-brainer that you can increase a building’s average inside temperature by orienting the building for maximum southern exposure.
Not surprisingly, increasing the size and number of windows in a structure increases the quantity of natural interior light; in modern green-speak, it’s a feature called “daylighting.” Similar principles
apply to using windows for natural ventilation and inside temperature control.
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Of course, there’s also a virtual warehouse of more contemporary green design innovations to pull from: low-emitting building materials that offer minimal or no toxin release, use of dense thermal mass and high-efficiency materials for insulation, floor designs allowing for flexible use of interior space, low-flow water fixtures, interior shade screens, surface materials cleanable without solvents, high-efficiency water pumps and underfloor air distribution systems, localized room temperature controllers. . . .
The Royal Caribbean calls center in Springfield is a great example of a local facility that incorporates many high-tech green components. For example, an underfloor ventilation system has local controls so occupants can set their own temperature and humidity levels. And, Royal Caribbean signed an agreement with a green energy provider, so all of the building's loads are supplied by renewable sources, such as wind power.
Living ecosystems
Green values are not just reflected in physical buildings―they manifest in the surrounding environment, too. The design of the East Campus (Moss St.) Childcare Center, which was established to serve the needs of University of Oregon families, took careful consideration of two large old trees--a Ponderosa pine and an immense water oak tree in the center of the site.
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The childcare center teaches composting and recycling as part of its regular curriculum, in response to a broader university effort to reduce waste. Peggy Veltman, assistant director at the center, says, "We have significantly reduced the amount of garbage as a result, and plan to downsize our dumpster."
Sustainable features are the backbone of the building's design, including wood from renewable forests, natural light from energy-efficient windows, and sensor-controlled sunscreens to reduce glare. Staff and kids enjoy the floor made of radiant concrete slabs that heat and cool the building. Rainwater is collected from the roof to feed a rock-filled streambed in the children's play area; a retention basin and bioswale reduce the need for water to flow into the city's sewer system.
Bioswales, living roofs, open space preservation, landscape restoration, and other green site strategies have been adopted by many environmentally proactive businesses around town. The Wayne Morse U.S. Courthouse, Slocum Orthopedic Center, LTD Springfield Station, and Royal Caribbean are exemplary commercial sites where low maintenance landscaping, landscape restoration, minimal pesticide use, and native plantings all contribute to the eco-value equation.
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Wind and plenty of sunshine
When green-building proponents discuss alternative energy sources, they might reference thermal-differential climate control, passive solar heating, wind turbine power, or various other non-conventional forms of power generation.
If you want to follow the conversation, Eugene’s The Green Store is a local springboard in the journey of understanding alternative energy. Described by its owners as a “small, environmental department store,” it’s a one-stop shop for renewable energy products and green goods, and store staff design and install hardware for increasingly popular solar heating and power systems.
You can further confirm solar power’s burgeoning appeal with firms such as Pepsi Bottling (with the second-largest solar array in Oregon), Emerald Laundromat, Burton Saw, Guaranty RV, EWEB, and Good Company. Industrial Finishes boasts the largest solar array in the Pacific Northwest, and Bulk Handling Systems, Market of Choice, Globe Save, Rainbow Valley Design, Chase Gardens, and Advanced Energy Systems are among the many other photovoltaic energy consumers and advocates in the Eugene area.
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In the last 18 months, George Rode, president of EuroAsian Auto and Autohaus Precision Repair, has installed 137 PV collector panels on the roofs of his two shops; the combined costs exceeded $100,000. Ask Rode what motivated him and he’ll cite a quartet of reasons—not necessarily, he says, in order of importance.
“If everyone did just a little for our environment,” says Rode, “we wouldn’t be in the trouble we’re in with global warming. Another reason I did it was because I like gadgets. There was also a very good tax incentive for doing the installation—and therefore I wasn’t sending money to Iraq. And too, it offered a marketing advantage and at the same time it was socially responsible.”
Sustainable goods
BRING Recycling has been a player in the local green scene since 1971―long before green values started working their way into the mainstream. Given BRING’s mission to promote recycling and reuse of all manner of goods― particularly building materials―was it any surprise when BRING constructed its new Planet Improvement Center by remodeling an extant building and adding a host of green features using recycled materials? As education director Jo Rodgers likes to tell her teams of volunteer “BRING Ambassadors,” “We are creating a culture of conservation.”
The new WaterShed building near Skinner Butte is a strikingly different example of how recycled materials can benefit green building projects. The impressive three-story structure wraps residential and retail space inside a postmodern European style that leans heavy on artisan-crafted cabinetry, windows, doors, and other casework tooled from recycled and salvaged timber. And that’s just one of the building’s many unique green features. In fact, WaterShed pushes the environmental and aesthetic envelope on so many fronts that it earned the 2008 People’s Choice award from the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
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WaterShed owner Jeff Wilson-Charles says that the building required extra time and expense to meet its unusually high standards for both artistry and use of innovative green technology. “But,” says Wilson-Charles, “it will all be worth it if WaterShed can help convince other developers that there are better ways to design projects than simply fast and cheap.”
Team green
When all is said and done, businesses looking to build green or institute environmentally friendly policies in their organization might be best served if they frame their green goals as team goals. Our local community is rich with green ideas, experience, and guidance waiting to be shared.
Many local green building designs include features that encourage employees or building occupants to practice ecologically smart behavior: preferred parking for carpoolers; incentives for public transportation use; shelters, lockers, and showers for bike commuters. Some businesses, like the Slocum Center, maintain employee green advisory teams. Slocum's team is constantly reviewing and developing sustainable policies and practices. Sometimes, the consequences of those policies extend beyond our own community. For instance, during the construction phase, the green team required PVC-free signage. It was a challenge for one vendor, but meeting that challenge allowed the vendor to use PVC-free signage materials for other clients.
"Physicians focus on health," says Slocum physician Thomas Wuest, "so it's natural for us to protect and enhance our community's environmental health in the construction and operation of The Slocum Center." Wuest says that at least 85 percent of the construction materials will be recycled.
Business networking
Networking activities connecting environmental advocates and experts can offer advantages to green-minded businesses. The Construction Specifications Institute sponsors local gatherings and workshops on green construction topics. The Eugene mayor’s office, Eugene Chamber of Commerce, and State of Oregon all sponsor awards programs for businesses participating in activities promoting sustainability. Green Lane, an open association of business leaders recently organized under the auspices of NextStep Recycling, works to educate and encourage the business community to promote sustainable practices among its own ranks.
It would seem the opportunities for local businesses to participate in green networking activities are deep and wide—as, too, are the many benefits enjoyed by joining the expanding circle of local green businesses.
“Sustainability is what will keep businesses moving forward during this hard time,” says Lorraine Kerwood, founder and director of NextStep Recycling. “And connection with the community’s sustainability interests will be critical for future business success.”
Others say it’s a call to action: Recycle, redesign, reduce, reuse, rethink!
