By Stu Carron.
Director of Global Facilities and Real Estate
JohnsonDiversey
JohnsonDiversey has a long history of sustainable business practices and has reflected this leadership in the design, construction and operation of its global headquarters facility in Sturtevant, Wis. This building was designed to ‘green building standards’ and built in 1997 even before the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) had a rating system for these buildings. Some of the architects helped the USGBC develop the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system based on this experience.
In 2004, as the USGBC was developing the LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) rating system, JohnsonDiversey participated in the pilot program and JohnsonDiversey employees served on the committee to develop the standards.
From Green to Gold
Many of the global headquarters building’s green design and operation features contributed to the LEED-EB certification.
First, the building site was developed with respect for the local environment. Storm water is completely managed onsite for pollution and flood control. Natural plantings not only reduce maintenance costs; they provide benefits to nature. In addition, JohnsonDiversey started a program to promote carpooling and the use of hybrid vehicles by giving employees incentives to participate. The impact of transportation vehicles on the climate is significant, and carpooling and use of efficient automobiles reduces this impact.
The building was designed with many energy efficiency features. Simple items such as occupancy sensors and efficient fluorescent lighting, to sophisticated heat recovery and building automation combine to make the facility more than 30 percent more energy efficient than comparable facilities. JohnsonDiversey also has an ongoing energy management program that involves the entire facility staff, the local utility and outside consultants to continuously look for ways to improve efficiency. Ideas such as daytime and team cleaning, lighting retrofits, equipment operating schedule changes and re-commissioning have been used to control and reduce building energy use.
The building was built with local materials and low-VOC materials, specifically selected for their durability and ease of maintenance. JohnsonDiversey has an ongoing procurement program for low-mercury lamps, low-VOC materials and materials with high recycle content. The intent is to continuously reduce the environmental impact of purchasing decisions and to be very careful about all the materials brought into the building. This program covers everything purchased for facility maintenance and operation, including electric appliances, cleaning supplies, paint adhesives and other maintenance supplies, lamps, carpet, building materials, office paper and janitorial paper. JohnsonDiversey also has a waste recycling program where we track the fraction of solid waste recycled. Since JohnsonDiversey started measuring it, the building’s recycle rate has increased from 50 percent to more than 65 percent.
JohnsonDiversey added a pump into the storm-water detention ponds to irrigate the lawn and flower beds near the building and has reduced the flow rate of automatic flush valves and faucets. These improvements reduced overall city water use by more than 2MM gallons per year.
To enhance the indoor environment, the building was designed with excellent daylighting and views. Beyond this, JohnsonDiversey manages the building air quality with monitoring and improvements in internal conditions (temperature, humidity and CO2 levels) and air filtration. The company also uses its Healthy High Performance Cleaning program developed for customers to improve hygiene and reduce environmental impact with healthier cleaning products and procedures.
The building was certified by the USGBC as a LEED for Existing Buildings Gold building in 2004.
Occupants choose green
In 2005, JohnsonDiversey proved the benefits of the green management program and LEED certification through an occupant survey. The survey compared two JohnsonDiversey buildings, one LEED certified and the other not. The result is a clear preference by occupants for the green building.
We continue to see benefits from the green building operations program. These benefits include lower cost of operations, better indoor environmental quality, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Our program proves again our leadership in sustainable business practice.
About JohnsonDiversey
JohnsonDiversey Inc. is a leading global provider of commercial cleaning, sanitation and hygiene solutions, serving customers in 160 countries in the lodging, food service, retail, health care and food and beverage sectors as well as building service contractors. For more information, go to www.johnsondiversey.com.