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By Jesse Brimmer
Sustainable Business Consultant

Thanks to the active engagement of our business and educational communities, West Michigan in general and Grand Rapids in particular is gaining a reputation for building green that reaches far beyond our state.

Grand Rapids stands head and shoulders above much larger urban areas as an acknowledged sustainability leader. The city currently is ranked first nationally in the number of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings per capita and fifth overall. The United Nations University recently cited Grand Rapids as a Regional Center of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development, and the city was the winner in the 2010 Siemens Sustainable Community Awards in the Midsize Community category.

It makes sense that our homegrown contract and office furniture industry has been a longtime green building leader. For example, Herman Miller’s GreenHouse office and manufacturing facility, designed by renowned green architect Bill McDonough, was a LEED Pioneer building. Several local competitors, suppliers and others also were early adopters, and the ripple effect continues to this day: Our region now boasts the first LEED certified manufacturing plant, school, YMCA, Habitat for Humanity home, public transit station and art museum.

The ever-increasing demand for LEED buildings is enabling local construction and design companies to profit from sustainable design research. The green building R&D underway here by established and emerging companies is paving the way for projects across the country.

The USGBC West Michigan Chapter is now preparing to kick things up a notch. We are inviting organizations across the country, ranging from those focused on architecture to city planning, to visit West Michigan in September for tours of some of our most exceptional green buildings. We look forward to sharing what we’re learning about the newest developments in sustainable building design.

We are also using the event as an opportunity to compile and make public a variety of information about our region’s LEED buildings. Statistics regarding energy use, water efficiency and other key facts and figures will be entered into the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Portfolio Manager. In addition to proving how green design benefits our area, the database will enable users to compare LEED certified projects with traditionally designed and constructed buildings in terms of their environmental impact. Through their participation in this project, LEED building owners in the West Michigan area are also helping the USGBC further refine the LEED certification standards.

Something I find particularly impressive is the role our area colleges are playing in advancing green building principles. A number have incorporated sustainability into their operations and curricula. In fact, Aquinas College, Calvin College, Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Valley State University are all members of Mayor George Heartwell’s Community Sustainability Partnership, a groundbreaking organization focused on embracing sustainability in social, environmental and economic endeavors.

GVSU already has several LEED buildings on its campus, and is committed to constructing all future buildings per LEED requirements. Consequently, it’s no surprise that the university has embraced the USGBC West Michigan database project. GVSU students took on the task of compiling the efficiency data for the school’s Niemeyer Learning and Living Center. This was particularly challenging because the databases weren’t initially set up to easily evaluate multi-use buildings. The team’s persistence and passion for the project helped them overcome this obstacle and their work has set the standard for the future of the project.

The opportunity to be at the forefront of the worldwide movement toward sustainable design and construction opens a new realm of possibilities for our business community and resident workforce. It also shines a bright light through the dark economic clouds that have hung over Michigan for the past few years. Local awareness of our region’s contribution to sustainable design and construction principles has become an essential force behind our project. It is important that our citizens continue to learn about and support green building across our region because projects like these will lead to a brighter future for West Michigan.

Find out more about the USGBC West Michigan Chapter database project and September’s Green Buildings of West Michigan Tour at www.usgbcwm.org.

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