Building Green is Gaining Steam:
How LEED Accreditation improves communication

by Colin Coyne, COO at Melaver, Inc.

The original LEED story

Discussions of green building among architects, builders and developers typically conjure up visions of rabid environmentalism and increased building costs. Until recently, that is. The concept of sustainable development is gaining support in pockets around the nation due in large part to an increasing base of LEED-accredited professionals. As a result, the most unlikely champions are developing LEED projects because there is a growing understanding that sustainable development is an intelligent, affordable way to build that actually returns value to the bottom line.
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System® is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. It provides a framework and standards for evaluating building performance within the industry. LEED is scientifically based and according to the USGBC, “emphasizes state of the art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.” The LEED system also, “recognizes achievements and promotes expertise in green building through a comprehensive system offering project certification, professional accreditation, training and practical resources.”

A company’s involvement: Melaver ‘goes LEED’

The professional accreditation mentioned in the LEED definition ensures that building professionals have the necessary tools to participate in the design of sustainable structures. Ideally LEED-accredited professionals also help project teams streamline their LEED application and certification process.

At Southeast-based Melaver, Inc., a real estate developer in the office, retail, showroom and warehousing sectors, company executives have seen the benefits of the professional accreditation first-hand. Nearly 80 percent of the 18 full-time employees and vendor partners are LEED accredited, which has provided three tangible benefits: a common, company-wide building vocabulary that improves return on investment (ROI), corporate integrity and closer attention to LEED details. The building process is already complex, from site selection to tenant recruitment and building permitting to code compliance. But complying with LEED requires an even greater attention to detail.

Melaver has seen the benefit of having a high number of LEED accredited professionals within the company, as this commonality has improved the team’s ability to deliver sustainable projects on time and within budget. Because of a common vocabulary, the finance department understands the need for separate waste containers on a demolition site without needing the construction manager to explain that separating wood, metal, brick and glass earns LEED points and benefits the local waste stream. And the real estate broker can use LEED as a marketing tool to potential tenants, highlighting the benefits of using low VOC paints, which are safer and off-gas less over time, creating a healthier working environment and a better place to shop. Because the brokers are LEED-accredited, they can easily inform potential tenants that their ROI will be greater than a typical buildout because the improved daylighting design reduces energy costs by producing more than two to three times the target illumination. In retail projects, one of the most critical design elements is the lighting because studies show a direct correlation to sales. LEED gives incentive to energy efficient lighting and advanced lighting design, and the accredited professional is the one who guides the design team beyond convention.

Having a deep bench of accredited professionals ensures that Melaver is “walking the walk and talking the talk.” Without the internal knowledge, Melaver’s goals for sustainable building would just be lip service. Being LEED-accredited ensures that the firm’s rhetoric is met with integrity in the finished product.

And finally, being LEED-accredited keeps the Melaver team on track and creative. Every department understands the LEED-certification process ensures that important details don’t fall through the cracks. Perhaps even more importantly, LEED keeps the employees from getting into professional habits that limit their ability to envision future projects in new and exciting ways. In other words, the team members’ involvement in LEED keeps the challenge ongoing to remove functional blinders.

By investing in LEED accredited professionals firm-wide, Melaver has been able to more fully-connect corporate vision and core values for sustainable development with real world practices. In late 2002, the company gathered to determine its corporate values. Together, a long list was created and divided into four principles that held the most meaning– ethical behavior, learning, service and profitability. What was most amazing was how precisely the final values matched with those held most precious by the Melaver family business for the past 60 years.

Projects with a passion

Since that important meeting, Melaver has tackled two unique LEED developments: The Whitaker Building and Abercorn Common. The Whitaker Building, in Savannah’s Historic District, has been reopened following a comprehensive restoration of the 10,000-square-foot space. Originally built in 1892, the Whitaker Building was returned to its original charm following historic preservation guidelines, while also being transformed into a modern, energy efficient building.

Whitaker was renovated pursuant to the National Park Service’s guidelines as well as LEED’s, resulting in a historically accurate structure that is expected to be 15 to 18 percent more energy efficient than energy code requirements. At times, balancing the requirements of preserving a historical structure with those of creating an environmentally sound building proved challenging. For example, historic preservation guidelines require the retention of existing windows because they add character to the buildings. To meet LEED guidelines however, the windows had to be highly efficient, providing insulation and reducing energy costs. Melaver was able to find a happy medium, installing a combination of double-pane insulated windows that feature 72 percent less ultraviolet light transmittance than standard clear glass. While transmitting roughly 48 percent less total radiation, the glass allows in 88 percent as much visible light as standard glass.

Additional features of the Whitaker Building include low VOC paints and finishes, high-efficiency lighting, and cabinets constructed using wheat-board (both the binders in the wheat-board and the adhesives used to apply the laminate tops were water-based low VOC products). Several original elements salvaged and reused included bead-board and tin ceilings, brick pavers and interior wood trim.

The Whitaker Building was awarded LEED-certification in November, making it one of the first historic buildings in the Southeast and one of only a few nationwide to receive LEED designation.

Abercorn Common, a $30-million LEED Core and Shell re-development of an existing shopping center, was another challenge and success for Melaver. The Core and Shell rating system ensures that base building elements like structure, envelope and building-level systems, such as central HVAC, are designed and built to LEED standards. According to the USGBC, the Core and Shell rating system recognizes “the division between the owner and the tenant’s responsibility for certain elements of the building varies between markets…and the tenant, not the owner, controls the interior design and fit-out.”

The center, located at Savannah’s busiest intersection—Abercorn and White Bluff roads—will be a unique destination shopping experience that combine a variety of tenants. The original shopping center facility demolition is complete, with the resulting materials being either salvaged or reused, diverting 95 percent from the local waste stream. And Abercorn has already attracted national retailers like Circuit City, who have agreed to their first-ever LEED Core and Shell facility. When completed, Abercorn Common should be one of the first all-retail LEED facilities in the United States.
From Savannah to California, sustainable development is gaining prominence because more people are becoming LEED-accredited, which expands the knowledge of the LEED program’s environmental and fiscal benefits. Most recently, the cities of Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco have passed ordinances requiring that future government buildings comply with LEED guidelines. LEED is picking up steam as more architects, developers and legislators are realizing why sustainable development is good for customers, employees, the environment and our communities. Those involved with LEED projects see that building green can create more efficient communication while bringing in the green—producing returns on the bottom line!