High Performing Buildings - Spring 2009 - (Page 38) Cynthia Smith Leon, Laurel Bane, Carlos Ocampo, Curtis Matsumoto and Stephen Blynn comprised the VSP LEED certification team. Improved Air Filtration VSP upgraded our level of air filtration to help improve the overall air quality in the building by reducing dust, pollen and particulate transfer. Improved Indoor Air Quality LLEES S o n S LLEEa r n EEd SSonS arn d education To meet our goals, we realized that we needed to engage our employees in our efforts to save energy, save water, and use our resources wisely. We set up a campaign to educate our employees in what they could do during their work day to help us meet our goals. We focused on straightforward measures such as turning off lights, putting on a sweater instead of using a personal space heater and making sure computer equipment was turned off at night. We also developed a task force of management and key division employees to champion the achievement of our sustainability goals. Team Perseverance The biggest hurdle we faced was the amount of documentation required for leed certification. even the smallest things, such as purchasing practices, must be documented. facility managers and building engineers must be engaged in the process and motivated to spend time in addition to their normal workdays. if possible, hire an additional team member who can handle the documentation. overall improvements submetering water and energy-consuming systems provides monthly data, which has allowed VsP to identify abnormalities and fine-tune the building. This data documents our continued progress and helps to justify the cost of implementing energy- and watersaving strategies. VSP installed CO2 sensors to ensure optimal indoor air quality for the people in our buildings. Through these programs, we are working to reduce employee sick time. If we can reduce absenteeism by one day per employee per year, we can save an average of $105,000 each year! (Based on 1,750 employees, average cost $60/employee). Healthy People Impact Profits VSP has implemented several pro- grams and measures targeted at employee health and wellness. New Café Vendor VSP’s café serves Conclusion We started this journey with our minds set toward making a difference in our community and achieving LEED Platinum certification. In our everyday operations, we wanted to achieve operational excellence. Through our improvement in operational practices and our LEED Platinum certification, we are well on our way. Energy approximately 600 people each day. A new vendor was selected that could provide freshly prepared menu options every day, using locally grown and pesticide-free produce. No/Low-VOC Finishes VSP created a standard which includes specifying and purchasing finishes and fabrics that have either no- or low-VOC content. Green Cleaning Products The team researched and implemented a green cleaning program that now uses healthier cleaning practices to clean our buildings. Green Guardians VSP developed a Our goal was 20% reduction. We are at 14% including the data center, 27% without. Water about tHE autHorS laurie gilmer, P.e., Cfm, leed AP, is an associate at facility engineering Associates and was project manager of the VsP leed-eB project. maureen roskoski, rePA, leed AP, is a senior professional at facility engineering Associates and was the lead leed AP of the project. Cynthia smith leon, Cfm, was facility manager at VsP during the certification process and was the project sponsor. task force of management and key division employees to champion the achievement of our sustainability goals. Wellness Program VSP’s wellness Our goal was 50% reduction. We are at 42% and continue to improve. Waste Stream program includes diet and nutrition education, on-site exercise opportunities and gym memberships, team sports, and health and wellness evaluations. Our goal was 95% diversion rate. We are at 82% and continue to improve. 38 HigH Performing Buildings spring 2009
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.