Green Manufacturing for Green Construction

HITT Contracting is one of the largest commercial builders in the Mid-Atlantic region and a leader in the burgeoning market of green construction (which is becoming known by an acronym, LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED certification, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, “is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability.”¹

A view of the atrium in the Catholic Relief Services headquarters building in Baltimore, MD. The building is LEEDcertified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Throughout the recession, HITT has seen a boom in LEED-certified projects. In August 2009, HITT project manager Christian Zazzali gave Bread for the World Institute a tour of a large office building in Northern Virginia that HITT had nearly completed. He explained how LEED standards are now affecting the U.S. construction industry and by extension the manufacturing sector.

Fresh from a meeting the day before about new LEED requirements, Zazzali reeled off the latest information about the rapid growth of LEED converts. “Hundreds of towns, counties, and cities are now requiring all new building to be LEED certified. Dozens of universities require it. Nineteen federal agencies now require some type of LEED certification. You have to update the numbers practically every week to stay current.”

There are four levels of LEED certification—certified, silver, gold, and platinum—based on a system of points awarded for a building’s sustainability. Points can be earned for the building’s energy efficiency as well as for its materials and where they are manufactured. The LEED rating system requires that at least 20 percent of the construction materials be manufactured within a 500-mile radius of the building. This is intended both to support the regional economy and to lower the building’s carbon footprint by minimizing shipping over long distances.

For manufacturers of products used in building construction, success could start to sound a lot like the real estate mantra: location, location, location. A city like Birmingham, AL, never before known as a green hub, is suddenly considering the economic development prospects of its location—within 500 miles of 15 states.²

The map is wide open for now. Opportunities in green manufacturing abound, according to Zazzali, because as he says, “You probably have a greater chance of winning the lottery than you do of walking into a commercial office building that is LEED certified.” Nonetheless, he appears confident that green suppliers for his projects will be available within the 500-mile limit.

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