ABA Banking Journal - August 2007 - (Page 29)

This is a “green” branch? Yup. One of two renovated by Wainwright Bank. The glass wall uses lowenergy LED lighting, and changes colors. Two banks take the LEED viously, this will, to some extent, dictate your material choices and layout. But sense of place extends to geography, as Bily noted. It may be common sense that tells a designer to avoid the look of a Swiss chalet in Florida, but there are other considerations. “This concept is partially about material choices and making sure they work with the broader environment even as they tell the brand story,” says Lippincott’s Stone. “Opt for finishes and fixtures that don’t contrast in an unappealing way with the landscape and look false or misplaced.” His example of this is a classic one, a building in the Sedona area might pick up on the desert stone and sand, while a building in New England reflects colonial values. DEI’s Bily adds, “This concept leaves room for creative interpretation of those values. It doesn’t say you have to always do the classic adobe structure in the desert, but it does say that you work with certain colors or materials or architectural references.” Sense of place can also mean sense of stewardship Gary Saulson’s reaction to the phone call was probably typical. A representative of a local environmental group had heard that PNC Financial Services was building a new operations center in Pittsburgh and wanted to know if the bank would consider making it a “green” building. Saulson, director of corporate real estate for the big regional, responded, “We’ve already ordered the steel; maybe next time.” Undeterred, the person asked for half an hour of his time anyway, and he agreed. The half hour meeting became two and a half hours, at the end of which Saulson was convinced that green was the way to go. Completed in 2000, PNC’s Firstside Center was the largest building at the time to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, which administers the LEED rating system. (LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.”) PNC is a member of the group, and was instrumental in getting USGBC to adopt a volume certification provision to enable companies to have several branches (or stores) that are substantially alike certified as a group. PNC at present has more buildings LEED certified—27—than any company in the world, with more than 40 others already designed and built to USGBC standards. Getting LEED certified, even for the basic level (there are four: certified, silver, gold, platinum), is a rigorous process, and people have asked Saulson, why bother? “We go through certification to prove the case,” he said. “Otherwise, anyone can claim they have a ‘green’ building. It’s like a U.L. listing for electrical appliances.” Much lower operating costs The company happens to believe it is doing the right thing for its employees, customers, community, and shareholders, but even if it didn’t, there is a powerful economic justification for going green. The cost to operate a LEED certified branch, is 25% to 30% lower than a conventional branch, according to Saulson, who has benchmarked a green branch against a traditional branch in the same utility market. Wainwright Bank, Boston, another LEED certification pioneer, has two branches certified—one silver, and one gold—according to Steven Young, senior vice-president, consumer banking. The first branch he estimates cost 13% more to build in order to be certified. But, he says, there was a steep learning curve the first time. The second branch went much more smoothly. The estimated payback for the certification cost is ten years or less, Young says. Predictions are for that to drop to three to four years. Saulson says that while there used to be a “green” premium for environmentally friendly products and materials, PNC now finds that its green branches, which use prefabricated components, can actually be cheaper to build. USGBC has five categories of criteria for which points are awarded: sustainable site 2. Convey key brand values but leave room for regional variation, if you are a big bank. Lance Boge points out that PNC has made use of his company’s flexible system that lets banks with big retail networks adjust universal brand to reflect geographic and community standards. Many firms, including Newground and BrandPartners, offer kits that allow for a menu-based approach to the ultimate look and feel of a given location. “Beyond changes in color palette, our system allows for easy changes in facade www.ababj.com/subscribe.html ABA BANKING JOURNAL/AUGUST 2007 29 https://www.pnc.com http://www.usgbc.org http://www.wainwrightbank.com http://www.ababj.com/subscribe.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ABA Banking Journal - August 2007

Contents Editor's Column The Unbankers Snapshot: Do Share Repurchases Signal More M&A Activity Sleight of Mind Goals Behind Proposed ABA/ACB Merger ABA Resources ABA Chairman's Position Should You Sell Those Nonperformers Pass the Aspirin Branch Design - Evoking a Sense of Place Two Banks Take the LEED Move Over, Buddy Service Feature: Bankers' Banks Directory Websites: What's State of the Art for Banks? Citi Mobile to Go Strong with iPhone? Date First, Marry Later Mailbox Banker's Mart To Advertise/Index of Advertisers The Economy

ABA Banking Journal - August 2007

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