So holy BREEAM and Cradle to Cradle folks. Because the best award for Greenest Building is in the Netherlands that went “Cradle To Cradle”. It’s because the head office of dryer and cooler manufacturer Geelen Counterflow in Haelen, The Netherlands most importantly is it. It’s the most sustainable office in the world. Therefore receiving a 99.94% score in the BREEAM certification system.
The building for 50 office employees generates 50% more solar energy than it needs. So that’s for heating, air conditioning, lighting and computers. Now the extra energy as a result is used in the factory. It’s used for laser cutting of stainless steel and recharging of electric forklift trucks.
Furthermore, what better way to start a business? I mean to start off by caring for the environment from the very beginning? It’s quite common these days to hear about more businesses looking to go green in the office.
For example,
Energy Efficiency
Being energy efficient in the workplace takes many shapes and forms. One of the best methods of energy conservation is by installing Energy Star appliances and light fixtures. Energy Star products are able to use up to 70 percent less electricity than older technology, which can significantly cut down on the cost of utilities.
Another option is to replace any artificial lighting with LED or light emitting diode bulbs, which can use up to 90 percent less electricity. Also be sure to turn off any lights when nobody is using the room. Offices spend an average of 44 percent of their annual energy usage on artificial lighting.
By ensuring colleagues remember to turn off lights as they leave a room and are using eco-friendly bulbs, you’re on the right path to greening up the office. If people seem to forget about switching off lights, install a motion sensor that turns off the lights after a certain amount of time without recognizing movement.
Along the lines of turning electronics off, one of the areas excess electricity waste comes from is computer usage. It’s estimated that nearly $1billion is wasted in workplaces. All because employees fail to turn off computers before leaving work.
So the thing many people don’t realize is even though they might not be actively using the computer: not good. I mean without simply turning off any computer electronics, or at least putting it the computer and monitor in sleep mode, ugh. That’s because the devices are still drawing on plenty of energy.
So Set up a universal battery usage plan to place computers in sleep after 10 or 15 minutes of inactivity can make a big difference.
From the type of building you decide to purchase. Then to the very furniture and office equipment that you invest in. All of these are plenty of choices and options. Most importantly all that will allow you to minimize your carbon footprint immediately.
Not for not but as I’ve written before, the U.S. solar market grew 14% in 2019. That’s with over 12 GW of new solar power added to the grid. This increase is attributed to solar interest and anticipation of the 30% federal investment tax credit is now basically eliminated.
Therefore the building materials are “Cradle to Cradle” certified. That which means that they do no harm to the environment. In addition they can be re-used at the end of their lifetime. The building is more noteworthy constructed out of wood. So it’s a material which is considered to having the lowest CO2footprint. That’s of any construction material.
This is also milestone for McDonough and Braungart, the Cradle to Cradle community. This represents a capstone of 25 years of work.
Many of McDonough’s pioneering architectural projects predate LEED. All including the Adam Joseph Lewis Center at Oberlin College. That’s a building harvesting more energy than it uses. As well as cleanses its own water, and even produces food.
The demand for healthy building materials and interest in Cradle to Cradle Certified products is most importantly growing. Well beyond the scale of individually LEED-certified buildings and into larger developments and communities. Jones Lang LaSalle (a global real estate firm with some 1.6 billion square feet of property under its management). Then Delta Development (owner of Park 20|20, a Cradle to Cradle inspired development in the Netherlands). As well as Make It Right; a post-Katrina nonprofit launched by McDonough with Brad Pitt to bring safe and healthy Cradle to Cradle-inspired homes to the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. All have all explicitly stated that they prefer Cradle to Cradle Certified products for their buildings.
The design is optimized for employee health and productivity. All through control of daylight infiltration, air quality, indoor lighting. As well as using healthy materials.
Around the office is a natural garden. Most interestingly a variety of native plants and flowers on the walls. The outside landscaping also including nesting sites for birds, bugs, bats and amphibians.
The office designed moby Architecten en Bouwmeesters. Construction management by Bouwadvies. The technical installations designed by Dubourgraaf and Ad van de Ven BREEAM-NL expert on hand.
In conclusion, BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method; which is USGBC / LEED. So these for buildings and projects are part of more than 540,700 BREEAM certified developments. In the Netherlands, the system is managed by the Dutch Green Building Council.
Finally, Geelen Counterflow develops and manufactures counterflow dryers and coolers. They do this for the food and feed industry. With most importantly 100 associates, the company delivering equipment used to manufacture food. Machines therefore making coffee, cornflakes and croutons, animal feed, aquafeed and petfood. It’s selling and servicing offices are global. So they are in the Netherlands, USA, Argentina and China.
http://www.geelencounterflow.com/en
SOURCE Geelen Counterflow, HAELEN, The Netherlands, April 11, 2016/PRNewswire/
