Transforming is
....altering
....changing
mutating...
So many companies in Michigan are making transformations which are beneficial to employees, clients and the environment.
Today I would like to SPOTLIGHT....
CASCADE ENGINEERING headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan who announced in a October 2007 press release that they have achieved LEED EB (Existing Building) Certified "Platinum" by the USGBC becoming the FIRST Commercial building in Michigan to acheive Platinum designation, the highest certification possible.
I was privileged to be in attendence at the Open House Cascade Engineering hosted in October. Had I not already been a fan of LEED the facts and figures given in the presentation by Sam Pobst with ECO Metrics LLC, green building consultants, would have been enough to tip the scales and make me a fan. Sam DID reinforce why I follow this path!
Incidently, Sam is one of the founding members of West Michigan USGBC and currently serves as Chairman. Sam should be applauded for his efforts. West Michigan currently has the highest leed projects per capita in the US.
Cascade Engineering remodeled a building they purchased that was built in 1987 and had fallen victim of neglect. Through the process of LEED certification Cascade Eng realized many of their practices were already in alignment with LEED Standards. To me that speaks volumes about the company and it's chairman, president and CEO Fred Keller.
Among the changes they have implemented are programs to make their campus user friendly to bicycles, carpools and public transportation to reduce pollution and land development impacts by autos. They have purchased a hybrid vehicle which employees can check out for business purposes.
Recycle, Recycle, Recycle: Cascade Engineering has recycling stations set up throughout the buildings. They are proud to recycle as much as possible - 91.8% of EVERYTHING is recycled. The list includes
- Paper, glass, metal, plastics, cardboard, batteries, etc
- Kitchen Scraps!! Cascade Engineering has a kitchen that Goodwill uses to train and cater to outside functions. In fact, the food at the open house was tasty and delicious and was made by the Goodwill Crew! They have a vermiculture composter which Sam says in his case study "is staffed by worms and paid in kitchen scraps."
- Cascade Engineering collects items like woman's clothing, children's coats and clothing, old computers, eyeglasses, etc
Employees now empty their own trash into the recycling bins. No longer does a cleaning service take care of that! It was explained that there was a little culture shock at first about emptying their own trash but they have adapted!
Also noteworthy is that due to IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) improvements employee absenteeism is down by 59%. Additionally employees out of pocket health care costs have been reduced by 34%.
Cascade Engineering also
- is committed to 100% Green E Certified Power
- they are looking to a wind generator in the future
- they have planted native prairie grasses on much of the property to reduce landscaping and irrigation costs
- they have reduced domestic water by utilizing waterless urinals and sensors
- they have occupancy sensors on lights to reduce electricity consumption
There is so much more. When Sam gets the link up to the case study I will update this blog so those interested can download it.
So what is the bottom line?
What did this cost Cascade Engineering to implement and what are their savings?
The cost to implement these features added about $96,000 to their remodeling budget. This number reflects an additional 4% in costs.
SAVINGS??? Based on conservative numbers from data assessment in the first two and a half months the annual cost savings to Cascade Engineering is $476,594.58.
THAT NUMBER TAKES MY BREATHE AWAY!!!
Over 15 years the savings will be in excess of 7.1 Million. The entire capital investment will be recovered in 5 years.
Now THAT is why I like LEED!!! It is better for the environment and better for the business / home owner.
In an Oct 2007 press release Fred Keller concludes, "Maintaining a truly sustainable environment is a continual evolving process that requires taking a close look at all aspects of our operations and community involvement. Thanks to the dedication of our employees we plan to remain at the forefront of these practices for many years to come."
It is great companies like Cascade Engineering and led by people such as Fred Keller that are Transforming West Michigan and make me proud to be a part of such an exciting community!!!!
IMPORTANT UPDATE TONIGHT FROM SAM POBST:
Doing the math manually provides a six-month return, not the two months we had expected. The results are still in the “Phenomenal” category, but it is still a disappointment to find this out so late in the story. We are in the process of recalculating the values, and expect to be able to provide the new data shortly. I will keep you posted. -- Sam Pobst
I will also keep all my AR friends posted when Sam gives us new figures. This is not disheartening...It demonstrates the lengths the people involved in LEED projects will go to provide accurate and detailed information. Thank you Sam for the update this evening!!!
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