Climate change, rising energy costs, and changing consumer tastes have businesses large and small taking a closer look at their supply chains. When they do, they’re seeing green, taking a more sustainable approach to their sourcing, storage, and logistics needs. That also means rising demand for greener, more eco-friendly approaches to manufacturing facility construction, and for businesses in Illinois, that means enlisting the help of Rockford Structures. 

How Do You Know It’s Eco-Friendly?

Luckily for builders and our clients alike, we don’t have to guess at whether a manufacturing facility or any other structure is environmentally friendly. There are criteria we can use — known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED — to certify our green bona fides. LEED is an international standard used in more than 165 countries and territories, setting out building principles and standards as well as sustainability benchmarks for new buildings and retrofits alike. In the United States, LEED certification is overseen by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). 

Building a LEED-Certified Manufacturing Facility

Rockford Structures undertakes green construction to LEED standards on a routine basis. The evaluation starts at the beginning of the planning phase, and we’re routinely called to account for various stages of the process. There are five main criteria for LEED certification, with a score assigned based on how well each of the criteria are met. These are: 

• Site sustainability 
• Water efficiency 
• Use of materials and resources 
• Indoor environmental quality 
• Energy and atmosphere 

These principles manifest in a number of ways. Some of these are mundane (like our efforts to control waste and a concentration on renewable resources), but others can take unexpected forms, including the use of renewable energy to light, heat, and cool your manufacturing facility, or reliance on native plants that require less water. 

Because each stage of this process — architecture, planning, building, and certification alike — can be labor-intensive, we find that green construction works best with open lines of communication among all stakeholders. 

Benefits of the LEED Standard

Now that we have a clearer idea of what the LEED standard is and what it looks like in practice, how can your business benefit? 

• Lower use of energy and resources means lower operating overhead 
• Developers and property managers find it easier to lease LEED-certified properties 
• Should you choose to pull up the stakes, you should enjoy a higher resale value 
• Your manufacturing facility will have a smaller environmental footprint 
• Your brand will be burnished by your LEED certification, helping you meet consumers’ increasing demand for environmentally-conscious brands  

Get Started On Your Next Project 

If you need another reason to build an eco-friendly manufacturing facility, we’ll leave you with this: green structures that are eco-friendly also tend to be very people-friendly. You can take better care of your employees even as you take better stewardship over the planet we all call home. And if you need an Illinois company that can take on your next facility build or other LEED-compliant projects, Rockford Structures is here to help.