Building Green: New Sustainable Business Efforts To Watch

Building green is becoming more important to an ever-growing number of businesses in North America and around the world. In addition to building new green structures, many businesses are also interested in retrofitting existing properties to make them more environmentally friendly. There are a number of sustainable business efforts worth contemplating when it comes to making a company and its place of operations more environmentally friendly.

Green Construction for a 21st Century Business

When a business is embarking on a construction project, there are a number of strategies that can be employed to build green. Building green not only renders a building more environmentally friendly in its construction, but also in its use as well. For example, when green construction practices are employed, a building should be systematically designed to require the use of less energy over the course of its life. In addition, a building should be designed to take advantage of renewable energy options, like solar panels and power, whenever possible.

When constructing a building to be used by a business enterprise, an eye should also be on utilizing the greenest or most environmentally friendly materials possible. This focus on green materials can extend to all elements of a construction project, including a commercial building’s insulation. There are companies like Knauf Insulation that have established themselves as committed to ensuring the availability of environmentally friendly materials and products that are well-suited to different types of construction projects.

When it comes to green construction, as well as retrofitting later on, there can be some tax breaks and benefits that may be available to a business. As part of an overall due diligence process, a business definitely needs to invest the time to identify different strategies and tactics that can be employed in constructing or retrofitting a building that not only benefit the environment but can provide tax benefits as well.

Tips on Saving Energy

One of the most important steps a business can take to lessen its negative footprint on the environment is to lower its energy use. There are some specific tips a business should consider implementing that work to save on energy.

An initial step that a business should consider taking is to obtain an energy audit. By obtaining a professional energy audit, a business is able to arm itself with accurate information about its current energy use. A company is in a far better position to make wise decisions regarding energy use when the team at a business has reliable data in hand about what currently is occurring in regard to this issue.

Once an energy audit is complete, a business may discover that the insulation used in its building may not be up to par. An immediate step that can be taken to enhance energy savings is to improve a building’s insulation. A key ensuring that a business’ insulation is crafted from environmentally friendly materials and is highly effective at regulating a building’s temperature is to engage a reliable product provider like Knauf Insulation.

Another step to greening a business is to replace outdated equipment and appliances. A business should look at everything from HVAC equipment to appliances to standard office equipment and evaluate whether the time has come to replace. The reality is that if equipment and appliances at a place of business are 10 years old or older, the odds are definitely in favor of having more environmentally friendly, energy efficient options available in this day and age.

Yet another tip to bear in mind when it comes to not only building green but retrofitting and keeping green is to take full advantage of natural light and cut back on the use of artificial light whenever possible. Not only can this practice cut back on energy use and costs, but it can make improve the overall work environment.

Conclusion

Whether a business is in need of a new building or retrofitting an existing one, attention must be paid to the fact that some architects, contractors, subcontractors, and others are more environmentally focused than others. Building green and retrofitting or remodeling with an eye to the environment necessitates ascertaining everything from construction practices to materials proposed to be used in a specific project.