for a lifetime of outdoor adventures and stewardship. The
co-op, which boasts 6 million members, operates 148 retail
stores across the country and runs a healthy online business
selling gear for hiking, climbing, cycling, snow sports, and
the like. It is also heavily involved with organizations that
promote environmental stewardship.
“Sustainable operations are part of REI’s ethos,” says
Rick Bingle, the co-op’s supply chain vice president. In
order to stay true to the co-op’s values, REI made choices
aimed at limiting the DC’s demands on natural resources,
he adds. “The Goodyear facility
was envisioned from day one to be
sustainable.”
To design the facility and the
various energy-efficient systems it
houses, REI sought input from
both employee teams and outside
experts. Bingle characterizes the
endeavor as a truly collaborative
process that didn’t have the usual
“handoff” from architect to build-
ing contractor. “Having everyone
at the table allowed us to [achieve] a net-zero [energy]
facility. It was very interactive,” he says.
FUELED WITH SUNSHINE
One of the project’s goals was to reduce the building’s
energy consumption. After all, energy is among the greatest
expenses in a distribution center—particularly in Arizona,
where it can cost a fortune to cool a large building. To
power the 400,000-square-foot facility sustainably, REI
installed 280,000 square feet of solar panels on its roof. As
Bingle puts it, “We designed the building so that everything
below the roof is powered by everything above.”
The system is rated to produce 2. 2 megawatts of electric-
ity when the sun is shining—roughly the amount required
to power 390 homes in Phoenix—though it actually pro-
duces slightly more. The solar panels have a return on
investment of five years, but REI expects them to last 25
years, which would translate to about 20 years of free elec-
tricity at the facility.
REI’s solar array produces more than it consumes in
a year, making the building a “net-zero” energy facility.
It uses the public electric grid as a “continuous battery”
The design teams originally calculated that four mega-
watts would be needed to power the building. But when it
became clear that the solar panels wouldn’t be able to gen-
erate that much electricity, the teams worked to reduce con-
sumption wherever possible to get
below the 2.2-megawatt threshold.
“Everything done inside the build-
ing was designed to reduce elec-
tricity usage and heat creation,”
Bingle notes.
For example, a traditional facility of this size in a desert climate
would need about 100 rooftop
air conditioning units. On top of
that, it would require a great deal
of water—a valuable commodity
in this region—to cool the units. REI’s facility, by contrast,
uses only four units cooled with a closed-water evaporative system. Not only does this minimize the amount of
electricity required, but the closed system also saves over
1 million gallons of water each year versus comparable
systems.
Further air conditioning savings were obtained by stirring the air within the building to reduce the temperature
differential between floor and ceiling to just a few degrees.
Plus, large fans were installed to exhaust the warmest air
away from the ceiling and out of the building. “The air conditioning design makes it a lot more comfortable for our
workers,” says Bill Best, divisional vice president, supply
chain operations.
The office area of the building was also engineered to
create what the company calls “micro climates.” Many of
the offices are equipped with climate-controlled chairs,
known as Hyperchairs, that incorporate individual fans and
heating elements that allow workers to adjust their temperatures without affecting the rest of the office space. The
chairs’ temperature can be adjusted on control pads built
into the chairs, or via Bluetooth and a smartphone app.
