Order Reprints

Sustainability Desk

By Rich Antonini
Managing partner, Grand Rapids office,
Plante Moran

Three years ago, Plante Moran moved into newer, larger and greener offices in downtown Grand Rapids.

While we expected to reap concrete benefits from our decision to use sustainable building principles, we were surprised at the number of intangible benefits we also achieved.

In 2006, we realized Plante Moran had outgrown its office space. As one of the largest public accounting firms in West Michigan, we were adding clients and expanding our regional presence, but we were landlocked by the configuration of our longtime offices.

When we began looking at options, four key drivers influenced our decision-making process:

• We were committed to staying downtown.
• We wanted office space that would better facilitate team collaboration and our ability to serve clients.
• We wanted room to grow.
• We wanted our new offices to reflect the importance that we — and our clients — place on the principles of sustainability.

The answer became clear: Plante Moran would sign a long-term lease for the new office building on “stilts” built to LEED specifications. This allowed us to utilize environmentally friendly products, materials and building methods, including:

• A “white” roof to reduce energy usage and the urban “heat island” effect;
• Selection of water-efficient plumbing fixtures;
• Use of highly energy-efficient heating, ventilation, cooling, lighting and water systems;
• Use of a “green” housekeeping program to protect the health of occupants and the environment;
• Using locally made and recycled materials, allowing us to minimize transportation and related energy costs.

We completed construction just in time to celebrate our 20th anniversary in Grand Rapids and moved into our new offices in December 2008.

Three years later, the resulting benefits have far exceeded our expectations. We have 10 percent more space, yet our heating-cooling and electricity costs are down 25 percent.

One of the biggest contributors to our energy efficiency is that more than 75 percent of our occupied spaces have direct access to windows. When you walk through our offices, you’ll notice a high percentage of staff do no turn on their overhead lights. They prefer the natural light, while we save money. Lights in our offices and the adjacent parking structure also shut off automatically — just in case someone forgets.

Plante Moran reduced water usage by nearly 28 percent, in large part because of the water-efficient fixtures we installed. We have also eliminated plastic water bottles in the office and replaced them with beverage glasses. Our staff has also transitioned to using more washable utensils in the lunchroom.

In fact, our staff is driving many additional improvements. We feel every idea, no matter how big or small, has an impact to our environment. These ideas extend from exploring removing office wastebaskets to a continued focus on a more paperless office. For example, we no longer bring portable printers into the field when we are on a client engagement. Instead, we bring portable monitors to help eliminate the need to go through reams of paper on-site as we focus on the electronic exchange of information that technology offers us.

The addition of a state-of-the-art training center located at the heart of our fourth floor has also proven itself invaluable. We are now able to do staff training onsite, saving travel time and reducing our carbon footprint simultaneously. We encourage clients and associations to use our training center as well, which has allowed us to establish stronger relationships. As a firm, Plante Moran has balanced the number of in-person seminars we offer with online webinars, again allowing time and money savings for both our staff and clients.

We have noticed recruiting benefits, too. As the market for top-notch accounting students continues to be very competitive, we have found that our LEED gold certification resonates with the environmental sensibilities of new graduates.

Transitioning to this new space has allowed us to more effectively and efficiently serve our clients. We have reduced our impact on the environment and saved money in the process. Our staff is more conscientious, engaged and aware.

Ultimately, we have changed some of our work habits permanently, and everyone feels better about coming into our new, greener offices.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. Please send comments and column proposals to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

  Order Reprints

TAGS:

• column
• rich antonini
• sustainability
• sustainability desk
• tbl