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- Spotlight On: Dansko Corporate Headquarters in West Grove, Pennsylvania
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- Legislative Update: Obama Stimulus Package and Federal Renewable Energy Legislation
- State and Federal Incentives for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
- WSJ Reports on “Green Gap”
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- Grand Rapids Community College and West Michigan - Leaders in Green Building Training
- Certifying Your Green Building Knowledge and Skills
- GA In the News...in Grand Rapids, Michigan and in New Jersey
- Green Tips from Sean de Launay of Virginia
- We Want to Hear from You!
Spotlight On: Dansko Corporate Headquarters in West Grove, Pennsylvania
The best green buildings are an extension of a broad commitment to sustainability, community, and a mission of leaving the world better off. The Dansko Company—in the comfort shoe business—calls this drive toward sustainable business practices and products “Our Inner Sole.”
Dansko's recently completed corporate headquarters demonstrates this fundamental corporate mission by achieving Gold Certification under LEED for New Construction (NC). They also earned a LEED Innovation Credit for using Green Advantage-certified contractors, the first project in Pennsylvania to achieve this credit. And Dansko makes fantastic shoes and boots.
The new Dansko headquarters is an 82,000-square foot facility in suburban Philadelphia that houses design, marketing, administration, and a retail outlet with an intense commitment to green building practices throughout that make this an inherently comfortable and beautiful as well as well-functioning corporate home.
A few of the features include:
- Collection of stormwater from the roof and using it to flush all their toilets, waterless urinals and low-flow fixtures resulting in a 75 percent potable water-use reduction
- A green roof
- Energy performance that is rated 28 percent more efficient than the current code requirement.
- Materials with high recycled content such as fly-ash and slag in the concrete, carpet tiles, countertops made from concrete and recycled glass
- Materials that are regionally harvested and manufactured, which supports the local economy and aligned with Dansko’s social mission
- An on-site recycling collection program that offers the community a resource to learn about and drop off their recycling
- Purchase of 100 percent of the building’s annual electric energy from renewable wind-power
According to Laura Raymond, senior designer with Re:Vision Architecture, the best feature of the Dansko building is the clients themselves. Amanda Cabot and Peter Kjellerup, the company's founders, believe deeply in sustainability strategies and stuck with them throughout. Corporate growth demanded a larger facility than the neighboring building and Dansko made sure that the new structure would be built as green as possible.
Laura also cited the importance of having Green Advantage®-certified contractors on staff. The general contractor, W.S. Cumby, Inc., did a “great job getting their staff GA trained.” Fifty-one percent of the W.S. Cumby team was Green Advantage-certified and the company tried to get all the subcontractors GA-certified as well by inviting them to their Green Advantage training events.
Laura notes how essential the Green Advantage certification is because contractors and subcontractors are more aware of responsible construction practices like recycling, awareness of VOCs or toxic chemicals and dust that can contribute to poor indoor air quality to the building’s occupants as well as health risks to the construction team. That knowledge and the high percentage of GA-certified professionals on the project team resulted in the attainment of the LEED Innovation Credit.
For Laura, knowing the team was Green Advantage-certified reduced any fears and provided confidence to the owners and designers that the project:
- would not lose credits that are easily and often lost in the field when the crew is unfamiliar with green building practices;
- would not have to invest more money to accommodate for any lost credits,
- would earn an extra credit without any extra cost to the owner.
Laura points to the Green Advantage certification and the weekly site meetings that reinforced green practices as key to the project success. The commitment to green was a solid thread that wove from the owners, throughout the project team, and down to the contractors and subcontractors.
In Laura's view, greening your building is a high-value action and an outstanding investment. The decision to do so is not high cost but rather highly efficient. She notes that green building techniques pay for themselves in a short time and that they help the local economy and community through smart, sustainable decisions for the long term.
With regards to the Dansko project, Laura notes that “everyone is super happy working there!” Employees benefits from the natural light that permeates far into the building interior, the views that surround the workspace, the air quality (“the building doesn't smell like most new buildings do”), the living wall and vegetation, the green roof, and beautiful artwork throughout.
The result is a building that is a testament to good corporate, community and global practices—and makes great shoes too.