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Atlanta Community Food Bank receives LEED Silver Certification
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A great reason to toast - the Southface Commercial Green Building Services team raises a cup to the LEED® Silver rating received by the Atlanta Community Food Bank building (below). Pictured L-R, David Wasserman, Susan Garrett, Marisa Wilson, Frank Burdette, Candice Groves, Mike Barcik and Kelly Gearhart. |
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The Atlanta Community Food Bank has joined the ranks of LEED-certified buildings with a Silver rating by the U.S. Green Building Council. This distinction allows them to demonstrate the synergy possible between building green and serving the needs of the community. |
In addition to annually deploying more than 15 million pounds of food and other needed products, the Atlanta Community Food Bank also operates seven corollary programs. In their new commercial kitchen they offer culinary-arts training to un- or under-employed individuals. Their expanded warehouse contains a Product Rescue Center to “recycle” goods donated from retailers for cosmetic reasons, as well as a free school-supply store for teachers. Finally, the new facility offers meeting space that serves to expose the public to their mission and the green building concepts utilized.
The building’s urban West Side location is within a ¼ mile of two MARTA bus lines and borders a portion of the proposed Beltline project. In addition, the Food Bank has pursued a rigorous Commuter Efficiency Program to reduce environmental impacts from single-occupancy vehicles.
The Food Bank’s several energy efficiency measures allow it to feed dollars saved on utility bills back into its mission. The facility features compact fluorescent lighting that is 30% more efficient than code-required standards. It also includes an Energy Star white reflective roof, high performance HVAC equipment and windows and waterless urinals.
During construction, additional green strategies included the recycling of 75 percent of construction waste, installing native, drought-tolerant landscape without a permanent irrigation system, and interior finishes selected for their benign impact on indoor air quality.
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Toolkits
More information about the certification process can be found on the Southface website at: www.southface.org/toolkits. The Green Building Toolkit for Non-profits has specific information concerning the Atlanta Community Food Bank building.
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100% Premiere EarthCraft House Builders Lead Atlanta with Major Awareness Campaign
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As the “green” building movement gains momentum, home builders’ efforts to reach and educate consumers needs to mirror their proactive work, raising the bar in constructing healthy, efficient, environmentally friendly homes. Until now these efforts have lacked brand awareness – providing an overall theme that consumers can understand and identify with green building.Four Atlanta builders: Haven Properties, Hedgewood Properties, Monte Hewett Homes and Oakwood Homes, stepped up to the challenge to support a campaign that gives visible identity not only to the EarthCraft House program, but also to the value the program brings to homeowners and the environment. EarthCraft House Premiere Builders exclusively build EarthCraft House certified homes. These builders have also put competitive agendas aside by joining forces in a unique collaboration to promote the EarthCraft House program with a multi-media outreach.
January 9, 2006 was the launch of an impressive advertising campaign on WSB-AM News-Talk radio and WSB websites. WSB radio is Atlanta’s most listened to talk radio station and the flagship of Cox Radio, one of the largest radio broadcasting companies in the U.S., and part of the Cox Enterprises media empire. The promotional marketing campaign features two WSB celebrities as “the voices of EarthCraft House.” Walter Reeves is a respected author of numerous books and is known as The Georgia Gardner. He has a weekly radio show, news column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and regularly featured television shows on Turner South, the DIY Network and GPTV.
Dave Baker, better-known as ‘The Fix-it Guy” is a popular favorite with builders and homeowners alike, as they seek his advice on everything about maximizing the value of homes, including repair and maintenance issues, as well as product and service recommendations. This ambitious initiative promoting the EarthCraft House program and its builders is designed to create consumer awareness of benefits to homeowners which include healthy, comfortable homes that reduce utility bills and protect the environment. As far as we know, this is an unprecedented marketing strategy in the highly competitive residential building industry. Learn more about these visionary builders by visiting their websites!
Eco Office Update
If you haven’t stopped by Southface lately or checked out the live webcam overlooking the Eco Office jobsite, please log onto www.southface.org; you’ll be impressed with the structure that’s taking shape. The exterior walls stand full height now, each of the three floors is in place, and the structural steel roof is being framed. EPIC Metals’ long-span acoustic roof deck will soon be installed as the finished ceiling for the third floor offices. Cherokee Pumping Co. has offered their services to place the remaining concrete at the roof, stairs, elevator tower and nexus.
The next month will find the building “dried in” with American Hydrotech roofing installed by Metro Waterproofing. Sunbelt Glass & Aluminum will be installing Monarch Windows with glazing donated by Cardinal Glass and Sage Electrochromics.
No longer constrained by the weather, The Circle Group will begin framing interior drywall partitions. Dynalectric, Gwinnett Sprinkler and McKenney’s will follow with rough-in of MEP (mechanical, electrical & plumbing) systems. Meanwhile, H&S Masonry will be laying Cemex ground-face block, which in turn will be followed by Southern Wall Systems installing Sto’s Powerwall stucco system over expanded metal lathe donated by Amico.
Southface employees are giving thought to their storage and furniture needs for their new workspace assignments. Special thanks to Gensler Architects for their assistance with planning for the expanded facility.
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Renewable Choice Energy Credits for Greenprints
The green power for this year's Greenprints conference came in the form of a donation of 50,000 kWh from Renewable Choice Energy of American Wind. This donation saved 69,600 lbs. of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. For more information on Renewable Choice Energy visit www.renewablechoice.com
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Interface Receives US EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program “Energy Partner of the Year” Award
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that Interface Flooring Systems is the recipient of the Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) “Energy Partner of the Year” award. It is given in recognition of the company’s role in identifying an opportunity for the City of LaGrange, Interface and other businesses in the South Georgia community to convert methane from a local landfill into renewable energy.
“This project – the first of its kind in our industry and in Georgia — is a true, triple bottom line success,” said David Hobbs, president of Interface Flooring Systems. “By capturing the methane component of the landfill gas (LFG), using it to displace our use of natural gas and converting the excess to carbon dioxide via a flare, the global warming effects of this landfill are greatly reduced. Local businesses, including Interface, have access to a renewable fuel source and the City of LaGrange has realized a new revenue stream through the sale of the LFG. It is a success on every front – economically, environmentally and socially.”
For more information on Interface’s environmental initiatives, visit www.interfacesustainability.com.
To see this press release in full, visit our media room at www.southface.org
Southface Hellos & Goodbyes
Southface welcomes our newest interns:
Maggie McIntosh
Brent Stephens
Southface offers best wishes to departing interns:
Sarah Beth Chernis
Jonathan Feinberg
Abby Mattera
Amorin Mello
John Moore
Adriana Nunez
Southface also offers best wishes to Marci Reed, who is the new Director of Development with Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
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Above: Dennis Creech (far left) of Southface, Jim Jacoby of Atlantic Station / Jacoby Development and Ray Anderson (center) of Interface present Colin Coyne and Martin Melaver of Melaver Inc. the 2006 Argon Award. |
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| Above: The Visionary Dinner program included guest speakers such as Pam Sessions of Hedgewood Properties and Southface Board Chairman, Ray Anderson (center) of Interface and Jonathan Lash (right) of World Resources Institute . |
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Southface's Dennis Creech presents Visionary Dinner Keynote Speaker Jonathan Lash of World Resources Institute the Southface Luminary Award. |
Gervacio Cubenas of Fetzer Vineyards explains the wine pairing choice for each of the meal's courses. |
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| Group photo of the Whole Foods Chefs Panel ,Dennis Creech (far left) of Southface and Gervacio Cubenas (right) of Fetzer Vineyards. The Chefs Panel worked meticulously to prepare the evening's five course meal and Fetzer Vineyards provided a complimenting wine pairing for each course. Click to enlarge |
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