Athletes aren’t the only ones going for the gold this season. At BMI Mechanical, we’re helping our clients go for the gold, too.
But not in the traditional sense.
Rather than gold medals, we’re helping our clients achieve a gold standard in energy conservation and sustainability through a LEED building rating.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building types, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership.
LEED certification is available for both new and pre-existing buildings (no matter what age the building is) and ultimately, helps buildings reduce their environmental impact and become more energy efficient.
Let’s take a few moments to cover what the benefits of LEED are and how your business can pursue LEED certification.
What are the benefits of LEED certification?
Aside from simply conserving energy and reducing your building’s environmental impact, there are many additional benefits of pursuing LEED certification. Let’s address those now.
- You can become more competitive and differentiate yourself from the competition. “Going green” is considered a positive and could play a role in purchasing decisions from your target market.
- A building that reduces waste and saves energy is typically more attractive than a building that doesn’t. If you’re leasing out spaces to renters, this means you could charge more — or at the very least, use it as a selling point.
- With a better-managed and greener building, it’s only “natural” that you’ll benefit from a better indoor (and outdoor) environment. This will lead to happier and healthier employees and occupants, which can improve productivity, retention, and more.
Keep Reading: Learn more about green building trends and how they can improve your building
How to work towards LEED certification
When attempting to pursue LEED certification, it’s best to work with a qualified partner like BMI Mechanical. There are a variety of categories that must be addressed and standards that must be met in order to qualify. Without a knowledgeable partner, this process will be much more difficult (if not impossible) to work through.
Specifically, BMI Mechanical can help your business with design, equipment selection, installation, and maintenance practices. All of these facets earn you “points” — which ultimately decides your rating. Your rating can be anything from certified (lowest) to platinum (highest). Points earned can vary drastically based on how your building performs, what types of materials your building is using, how your building uses energy, and more.
Not interested in LEED certification? Consider pursuing ENERGY STAR certification. This process achieves similar goals (emitting less, saving more money, reducing waste), but it’s focused on energy performance standards that are set by the EPA. However, this certificate is renewed every year — which means standards must be maintained.
Are you ready to go green? Contact BMI Mechanical.
At BMI Mechanical, we have decades of experience helping companies everywhere reduce waste, save money, and go green, and we’d love to help you, too.
We can help you better understand the rules and standards set forth by LEED and ENERGY STAR, make changes to your building and maintenance practices, and collect and report on the appropriate data.
If you’d like to learn more about this process, give us a call or send us a message today.
