SAN DIEGO - It’s widely recognized more credit union facilities are striving to be “green.”
What’s less recognized is what’s involved in obtaining the designation, particularly in new facilities. Being certified as environmentally friendly, or green, is about more than just the finished building or branch–it has just as much to do with the techniques used in constructing the facility.
That much was on display during NAFCU’s recent annual meeting when Clayco Financial Facilities filled up a corner of the exhibit hall with a large display on green facilities. The company, according to Tom Lombardo, has been recognized as the 10th largest green builder in the U.S. by Engineering News Record for the volume of business it does in buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
“We’ve been doing it for years, but it’s just now becoming important to be people to get certified,” said Lombardo. “It’s also important to employees and members.”
Being certified as green begins with the amount of waste generated at the job site. Instead of filling dumpsters with discarded building materials, the goal is to design buildings that generate as little waste as possible, and to recycle the waste that is created. Green certification also involves air quality, natural lighting, and the use of sustainable products in building.
Acknowledging cost is the first question he often gets, Lombardo noted, “How much extra it costs varies with the size of the building and the existing infrastructure in place. It probably adds 2% to 3%.”
The payback, he said, also depends on such variables as the efficiency of the energy system being used and energy costs in the local area. In most cases, according to Lombardo, there is payback on the additional investment within seven years.
Lomardo said Clayco, which has more than 50 accredited LEED professionals on staff, currently has three green credit union projects underway.
Maren Engelmohor, senior associate with Forum Studio, Inc. an architecture/planning/ interior design firm in St. Louis, stressed there are many simple things credit unions can do to be more green.
“It’s low-tech and it’s easy,” said Engelmohor, who was on hand in the Clayco display during NAFCU’s show.
Engelmohor led a tour of a display of various green-friendly building materials now available. “Eight to ten years ago your choices in colors were gray or tan,” she said. “Today, there are many more choices and the price point has come down.”
From the simple to the more complex–Engelmohor talked of using the Earth’s natural temperature of about 55 degrees as one way to geothermally warm a facility, in addition to wind and solar options–she reiterated Lombardo’s statements on the payback that comes with investing in green options.
“You can be green in how you site a building, in making sure there is no empty space that requires heating or air conditioning,” Engelmohor said. “People often think a green facility has to look different, but it does not. I think the market is swinging in the direction of green and that we are coming close to a tipping point. You are seeing green hotels and green airports. One of the reasons we are going green is that buildings use up 60% of our energy.”
For More Information
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