Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): A view from the office

Could green be the new black? In commercial office buildings, things seem to be heading that way. As business tenants seek to minimize their environmental footprint, create a healthier workplace for their employees and lower their operating costs, the office furniture industry is working to meet these new performance demands. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), has become the national standard by which a building and its commercial interiors are evaluated. LEED for New Construction (NC) addresses the site topography and includes the building envelope, where LEED for Commercial Interior (CI) has some additional furniture and furnishing-specific credits and provides office tenants the opportunity to make sustainable choices even if they don't control the entire building. Of the five key categories in the LEED-CI criteria, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality, the contribution from the office furniture industry comes mainly through the material and resources and indoor environmental quality categories. The material and resources section largely focuses on reducing, reusing and recycling as many materials as possible. The key impact areas include: * Sourcing salvaged, refurbished, or used furniture and furnishings. * Designing flexible, efficient workspaces that allow tenants to make long-term lease commitments. * Sourcing materials made with high levels of recycled content. * Using manufacturers within a 500-mile radius of the project. * Sourcing furniture and furnishings made from rapidly renewable resources. * Sourcing wood-based products and materials where a minimum of 50% is certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council's Principles and Criteria. The indoor environmental quality section seeks to establish good indoor air quality by minimizing the sources of indoor pollutants and ensuring thermal comfort and system controllability. Another focus is to provide a connection to the outdoor environment for the occupant of the space. The key impact areas include: * Using composite wood and agrifiber products that contain no urea-formaldehyde resins. * Using systems furniture and seating made with low-emitting materials. * Providing lighting controls for individual occupant (i.e. task lighting) and multi-occupant spaces. * Providing occupants with a connection to the outdoors through daylight and outdoor views. LEED also allows design teams to earn points for exceptional performance above the requirements set by the LEED Green Building Rating System and/or innovative performance in Green Building categories not specifically addressed. For example, to achieve one point for LEED-CI Credit 3.3, refurbished, salvaged or used furniture and furnishings must amount to at least 30% of the total furniture and furnishings budget. An exemplary performance point would be awarded if the project achieved a 60% level of the furniture and furnishings budget, or a doubling of the standard performance requirement. The reasons for green design are numerous; core values, lower operating costs, positive publicity, employee recruiting and retention to name a few. With LEED providing the benchmark for building sustainability, companies and institutions are now making environmental goals an ever increasing priority. Understanding and embracing these green standards will be the key to partnering environmental stewardship with professional success. Mark Miller is chief operating officer of EthoSource, LLC, Morgantown, Penn.