Sustainable building is not just a passing trend; it is a construction strategy that is here to stay. Sundt is proud to be a leader in sustainable building. We don't just advise our clients about options for green building -- we are committed to using sustainable building practices in all of our projects.
Our culture of sustainability is simply an extension of our corporate philosophy, to have an elevated awareness of how we use the resources in the environment.
While we believe building sustainable projects is part of being a good corporate citizen, the rewards of "being green" go beyond helping the environment. They have economic advantages as well.
- By using fewer resources, you save money. Green building practices reduce energy consumption and waste along with their related costs.
- On average, green buildings use 30% less energy than conventional buildings. Plus, operation and maintenance costs are less.
- Sustainable building also improves indoor environments and overall air quality. Creating a good working/living/learning environment increases productivity and profitability.
One study found that the minimal increases in upfront costs to support green design would, on average, result in lifecycle savings of more than ten times the initial investment. By incorporating green building features and best practices early in the design phase, implementation costs can be lowered significantly.
Sundt has built a number of environmentally friendly projects for our clients, including the first LEED Platinum certified building in the desert Southwest, The BioDesign Institute at Arizona State University, Building B. Among our recent projects that were constructed using sustainable practices are the Arizona Game and Fish Building, and Tucson Fire Station #22. Recent projects that contain significant sustainable features include the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Education Facility and the University of California, San Diego East Student Housing Complex.
Sustainability is not just something we talk about at Sundt. Our new corporate headquarters in Tempe, Arizona, was constructed to meet the LEED Silver certification.
We have built numerous other projects using sustainable building practices and have over 75 LEED accredited professionals on staff. In fact, Sundt was named the nation's 11th largest builder of sustainable "green" buildings according to statistics complied by ENR, a leading magazine covering the construction industry. In addition to that, Sundt was named the 4th largest builder of green educational facilities, and the 5th largest builder of green multiunit residential structures.
Sundt is also directing its sustainability efforts inward. We're working to turn ourselves into a greener company by making our offices, jobsites and work habits more sustainable. From offices and jobsites to construction equipment and suppliers, we've established short- and long-term goals for making each area more sustainable by using less energy and reducing waste. Some potential strategies include:
- Converting all paper to 30 percent, or greater, post recyclable product
- Establishing a recycling program in each office and jobsite
- Encouraging video conferencing for meetings where travel to the destination is less than four hours via automobile
- Rewarding employees who bicycle to work
- Equipping all office lights with timers and/or motion sensors
- Using re-usable mugs, cups and silverware instead of paper and Styrofoam
- Establishing a goal of recycling 60 percent of the waste stream at offices and jobsites
- Providing jobsite trailers with sufficient day lighting
- Switching to biodiesel or low-sulfur fuels for construction equipment
- Converting company vehicles to use alternative fuels