Friday, November 20, 2009

Building a Green Warehouse

We leave a carbon foot print in everything we do, eat, and utilize. Although, progress is considered a good thing, too much of a good thing can be bad for you. Society is much more aware of how the earth and its resources are used and abused. With this added awareness, it is essential that organizations realize that they need to be perceived as socially consciences.

Sustainable building is becoming the rage. Old buildings are often retrofitted and new buildings tend to reflect alternative methods during construction to save energy in a variety of ways. From top to bottom, there is opportunity to use sustainable methods within the development of the building such as using low-pressure toilets and waterless urinals. Other methods involve upgrading insulation, using recycled materials, the use of skylights, solar panels, and motion detector light sensors to eliminate energy waste. Installing energy efficient windows and using floor based air conditioning and heating units help save power and money once the warehouse is in operation. Installing a geothermal energy system is efficient and better for the environment. During the build out, consider using building materials from the local area rather than shipping from abroad and recycle as much construction waste as possible. This only scratches the surface of how you can accomplish a goal of building a green warehouse.

Granted, the initial expense of building a sustainable warehouse tends to be approximately 2% more that the average cost of construction, but over the next twenty years, on average, you can save up to ten times the cost of energy alone.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a timely post. I believe that green warehousing will become required in the very near future. Heading in that direction now will place you ahead of the game and relieve some of the pressure of finding green materials when the mandates rain down.

AAlbright said...

Agreed.

 
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