April 30, 2012—Northern Illinois Food Bank’s West Suburban Center is the first new-construction food bank in the country to receive LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized mark of excellence that provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
The 147,000 square-foot building, located in Geneva, Illinois, opened last fall. By taking the steps needed to secure LEED Gold certification, the food bank was able to realize an energy savings of 25 to 30% over a traditional energy spend, said food bank president and CEO Pete Schaefer. These savings benefit the people the food bank serves just as much as its bottom line. As a result of the bank’s cost-saving measures undertaken to secure LEED Gold, Schaefer says the bank will be able to provide 300,000 additional meals this year to those in need.
A variety of sustainable and energy-saving elements, including a white roof, air-cooled heat pumps, motion-controlled lighting, high-performance glass, and recycled products are among the key features that helped the food bank attain this prestigious designation. Bike racks and preferred parking for carpooling and energy-efficient vehicles encourage alternative transportation. The building’s most significant energy-saving feature utilizes a heat-recovery operation that takes energy generated by an expansive cooler system and uses it to heat the warehouse, says the food bank.
In another attempt to provide more food to hungry neighbors, the food bank chose refurbished office furnishings, saving $15,000, the equivalent of 90,000 meals, not to mention saving hundreds of pounds of furnishings from being relegated to a landfill.
