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AS THE PUBLIC POLICY DEBATE OVER GLOBAL WARMING CONtinues, sustainability initiatives in business seem alive and well. That’s so
despite the economic travails of the past two years. There are good reasons
for that.
In this issue, we feature a story on one of the newer sustainable building
initiatives in our segment of the business world. Jackson Family Wines, the
Santa Rosa, Calif.-based winemaker that produces Kendall-Jackson and
other wines, has opened a sprawling new distribution center in American
Canyon, Calif., that will likely receive a silver—if not a gold—LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Earning LEED certification does require some extra
costs up front. But what companies like Jackson Family
Wines understand is that designing a building to conserve energy and water, minimize emissions, and protect the health of workers and neighbors pays off
throughout the facility’s life. One example: the building cuts energy consumption—and costs—by 61 percent compared to a baseline used by the USGBC.
LEED certification in DCs and warehouses has
gained significant traction in recent years. It surprises
no one who’s familiar with the companies’ philoso-phies that outdoor-gear retailers like Patagonia and
REI have built LEED-certified warehouses: their customers—hikers, bikers, kayakers, climbers, hunters,
etc.—are likely to be sensitive to issues like that. But
developers that don’t have to answer directly to consumers have taken up
the mantle as well. Two years ago, ProLogis, the giant distribution center
developer, announced that all its new warehouses in the United States
would meet LEED standards. At the time, the company said the decision
was driven in large part by what its customers—bottom line-driven industries—wanted in their DCs. Jones Lang LaSalle, another large developer of
DCs and other commercial properties, says it has more than 550 LEED-certified professionals on its worldwide staff.
The role of government in encouraging sustainable development with
both carrots and sticks cannot be ignored, of course. And certainly businesses must accept responsibility for the effect their operations have on the
environment. Whether or not you acknowledge the science on global
warming, it’s hard to argue that cleaner air isn’t a good thing.
It is true that incentives, rules, and good corporate citizenship provide
powerful incentives to develop green DCs. But as Jackson Family Wines’
experience suggests, it is also just good business.
