corporate image, LEED provides an opportunity to have
their green claims validated by an outside party. “The benefits of LEED are that you get a third-party observer who
will confirm [that you’ve carried out your design plan]
and the promotional value you get from it,” explains Gary
Hisel, senior design manager for Gray, a distribution facility
design-build company based in Lexington, Ky. Often, the
choice to pursue LEED certification is tied to a company’s
commitment to cut its carbon footprint. “It usually aligns
with a corporate value that drives them to fulfill that value
with a LEED building,” notes James Kirkland, a senior
project manager for H&M Construction Co., a commercial
builder in Jackson, Tenn.
While LEED recognition carries a great deal of prestige, the process of obtaining a certification is not cheap
or easy. “It’s not for the faint of heart,” observes Richard
Murphy, president and CEO of Minneapolis-based Murphy
Warehouse Co. His firm is a fourth-generation third-party
provider of warehouse services that operates 13 facilities,
some owned and some leased. All of the company-owned
facilities are LEED-certified, with three having attained
Gold certification. Murphy says the certification process has
cost his company $80,000 to $100,000 per facility. For him,
it’s a worthwhile investment. As Murphy sees it, it’s not just
the right thing to do from an environmental standpoint,
but it also sets his firm apart.
“As a 3PL, we have to work with clients,” Murphy
explains. “Our customers have their own green initiatives
that they can’t meet if their partners can’t help them. We
want them to say to us, ‘What you do green helps us with
our corporate goals and that is why we choose you.’”
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS
For companies that decide to seek LEED certification, consultants agree that the groundwork should be laid in the
earliest stages of the planning process, as it is much harder
to go back and make changes later. “You are going to get
the biggest bang for the buck at the planning level. That is
when the most opportunities are open to you,” says Don
Derewecki, senior engineer at St. Onge, a supply chain engineering and logistics firm in York, Pa.
The project’s point people should also be prepared with
a strong business case. “Working toward a LEED certifica-
tion is the right thing to do,” says Lou Cerny, vice president
of Sedlak Consultants, a supply chain consulting firm in
Highland Hills, Ohio. “It is good citizenship to have a green
facility; however, the majority of decisions [when building a
facility] are actually based on business reasons.”
Often as not, that means decisions come down to money.
“Managers want to see some economic benefit,” says Dean
Starovasnik, practice director, distribution engineering
design for Peach State Integrated Technologies, an Atlanta-
based engineering and consulting firm.
While green projects can bring significant savings in the
long run, their return on investment (ROI) often compares
unfavorably with the returns on nongreen expenditures.
That can make them a tough sell—particularly to publicly
traded companies, which typically seek a return on investment of three years or less. “It usually takes a corporate culture that is willing to extend the ROI out a few more years,”
Starovasnik observes.
GOING GREEN ONE STEP AT A TIME
While obtaining a LEED certification gives a company a
certain cachet, it’s not for everyone. Many companies are
deterred by the time, cost, and effort involved. But that
doesn’t mean they have to give up on their environmental
dreams. Though they won’t receive formal accreditation for
their efforts, they can still pursue a green program on their
own. As Michael Stewart, project engineer at St. Onge, puts
it, “They [might decide they] want to be more energy effi-
cient, but they don’t need that LEED plaque on the wall.”
“A lot of things can be done to make a building more effi-
cient [outside of] LEED,” adds Dale Harmelink, executive
vice president at Tompkins International, a supply chain
consulting and implementation firm.
So how do you go about making your DC operations
more sustainable? Whether you intend to apply for LEED
certification or not, there are many actions you can take
to reduce the operation’s environmental impact. Here are
some things to consider:
b Site selection and facility construction: When choosing a
location for your facility, look for a site that won’t require
extensive site alteration or construction of a lengthy road
to reach the building. As for building materials, use local
products that don’t have to be transported long distances
to reach the site, saving fossil fuels. Wherever possible,
select eco-friendly building materials or, better yet, recycled
materials. Collect and sort construction waste by category,
and introduce the materials into the recycling stream.
