For more info, you can read St. Olaf’s press release here.

Artistic Builders is utilizing a related company, Capco Steel, to provide the light-gauge steel framing, metal-clad wall systems and specialty steel and structural fabrication for the highly visible project.  The commitment to sustainable construction has been challenging but is the only way to go for San Antonio and the Pearl complex.

To achieve LEED® certification, the Pearl design called for a minimum of 75% of the project’s waste to be recycled.  The Full Goods site has charged a subcontractor to assist with this phase.  All wood, drywall, cardboard and similar waste is sent to the subcontractor’s site where recyclables are separated.  Materials are then ground into powder for recycling.  Steel waste is recycled as scrap by Capco.  Artistic Builders estimates that through the recycling effort, 80% of site waste has been diverted from local landfills.

Full Goods subscribes to the U.S. Green Building Council’s mandate that sustainable construction should serve to benefit employees and surrounding neighbors.  The company has focused on interior air quality.

Only adhesives, paints and solvents with low-volatile, organic-compound ratings have been used.  This specification was developed in the LEED® design process and will assist with elevating the interior air quality.  During the construction process, all ducts have been capped to better protect the system from construction dust.

Artistic Builders has been impressed with the LEED® guidelines for green building materials.  At the Pearl, 50% of the wood is required to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and must come from areas that engage in re-foresting.  The builder is required to document the wood’s allocation as well as history.

The USGBC has learned that accountability has become a large part of the green construction movement.  With the many financial incentive initiatives accompanying green projects, tracking has become a critical part of the LEED® rating system.

The first two items you might notice could well be the spiffy terrazzo floors and the glass over glass over glass airy look.  The walls are crisp and white and feature 500 year old salvaged wood timber.

Design has been created by environmentally sensitive Envision Design and complies with the USGBC’s “ideas-and-ideals into action” program.  Envision Design is one of the foremost Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) design in the country.

Washington-based Envision Design was co-founded by Kendall Wilson and partner Diana Horvat.  Their first project was the Greenspeace headquarters in 1999.  At that time, green design was more conceptual than practical.  The growth of Envision Design parallels the growth of the sustainable movement and the expansion of the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) rating system.

The sustainable movement took public endorsements from environmental spokespersons Al Gore and Ed Mazria and turned downwind.  LEED® and the USGBC had been the major players in establishing benchmark sustainability standards ever since.

In 2005, the USGBC celebrated the registration of one thousand projects.  In 2008, more than 9,000 projects were LEED® registered.  Actually, the first green standards program was the UK’s Building Research Establishment Assessment Method.  The USGBC’s LEED® original program caused architectural angst and was far from perfect, like the sustainable movement itself.  However, the council willingness to engage, observe and adjust has established the LEED®’s leadership role.

“LEED® really upped the ante for green building.  Everyone complains about LEED®, but there’s no debate that it has been transforming in terms of demand,” said Wilson.  The new USGBC headquarters is worth a visit and well worth a tour.  Where else will you see lighting that consumes less than half a watt per square foot?

Applications have been accepted from many religions, including Roman Catholic, Judaism, Methodist, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Wesleyan and Lutheran. The most recent certification was for a $9 million synagogue project in Evanston, Illinois. The certification was issued in September, 2008, and the congregation opened the doors in February.

Rabbi Brant Rosen explained the direction of the country’s first green synagogue; “It was about making a sacred statement. If we were going to talk the talk, we needed to walk the walk. The whole process forced us to look at our values in a deeper way.” The synagogue was planned by members who believed this was the time to reflect their belief that God calls them to be responsible stewards of the earth.

In addition to a deep sense of environmental and social responsibility shared by many parish members, churches are also finding sound economic reasons to go green. Buildings of worship can reasonably expect a 30% reduction in energy costs. Currently, only 2,000 of the 310,000 houses of worship in the U.S. are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Congregations program.

At the 27,000 member Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, executive pastor Mike Buster reported that implementing the Energy Star Congregations to cut the $2 million bill for gas and water in half. “We are to be good stewards of our resources, our financial resources as well as the Earth’s resources. We take the dollars we were spending with utility companies and now spend them on ministry and missions.

The Reverend Elaine Strawn of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Wayne County in Wooster Ohio added, “We are caretakers. It’s about respecting other life and trying to reduce our impact so future generations have some Earth left to live on.”

What these congregations are finding is that green habits developed inside the parish are re-enacted at home. Many parishioners actively embrace the green movement and pas sit on to children and friends. That is the point, isn’t it?

See http://www.greenefficient.com/creationcare/ for more information.

Nestle Waters began utilizing the LEED® system in 2003 when it earned the first LEED® certification for a food and beverage factory in the United States for its operation in Stanwood, Michigan.  Company executives were so impressed with the environmental and social after effects, that all subsequent new facilities have aggressively pursued LEED® certifications.

The Madison County, Florida, manufacturing plant achieved Silver rating in 2006.  The plant in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee, gained a Silver rating in 2005 while the Cabazon, California, facility became the first food and beverage facility in the world to receive a Silver rating in the country in 2003.

The Nestle plant in Hawkins, Texas, accomplished a Silver rating in 2004.  Presently, there are three Nestle North American facilities pending LEED® certification reviews.

Nestle Waters is proud of its significant environmental achievements.  The company should be and so should the neighboring communities.  Since 2002, the Nestle Waters LEED® certified plants have conserved more than 9 million gallons of water and 1.5 million kwh of energy.  Carbon emissions at these plants have been reduced by 2.1 million pounds and waste has been reduced by a startling 216 million pounds.  108 tons of solid waste has been diverted away from landfills.

The new Pennsylvania facility expects to conserve 220,00 galloons of water a year and save 9.9 billion BTU’s of energy each year.  That is enough energy to heat 125 homes in the area in the course of a year.

These are admirable accomplishments and perfectly suited for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) goals.  The rating system strives to conserve energy and natural resources as well as improve the work environment.  Happy neighbors, happy employees and conscientious employers come together at Nestle Waters North America.