With LEED v4 Warehouses and Distribution Centers will get Standards of their Own
The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system has effectively promoted sustainability building practices for the last decade. But for warehouse and distribution centers, implementation has been more challenging.
Without an official LEED rating system tailored for the industrial environment, firms have had to adapt traditional LEED models to meet rising demand for sustainable operations. With the pending approval of LEED v4 later this year, warehouse and distribution centers will get standards of their own, thanks in part to the work of firm’s such as KSS Architects who started to identify such changes as far back as 2006. As the market demands more energy efficiency, more daylight, more thermal comfort, and careful site selection/planning, sustainable warehouses and distribution centers have become reality.
Several years ago, KSS Architects embarked on mission to understand how sustainable design could be applied to warehouse and distribution centers in a meaningful way. With a grant from Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP), they chose to examine LEED rating system given its ubiquity and prevalence. They concluded that LEED could be used for warehouse and distribution centers with some modification to better align the sustainable principles that apply in a manner unique to distribution centers.
To share their findings, they put together a report for NAIOP that looked carefully at the overall issues that set warehouse and distribution centers apart from other building types in relation to sustainability and identified ways to incorporate sustainable design that paralleled the intent of the LEED rating system. KSS and NAIOP then approached the USGBC, who embraced the concept of creating a market-specific rating system for warehouse and distribution centers.
Convening a group of architects, engineers, building users and development partners, KSS and NAIOP identified specific LEED credits to modify/eliminate. Through the process, three main areas of difference emerged: Site impact, daylighting and views, and workplace demand for more comfort. It was recognized that in focusing in these areas, the greatest sustainability value could be realized by adapting standards to meet the unique aspects of warehouse and distribution centers.
LEED v4 modifications offer opportunities within the unique characteristics of distribution centers.
Site planning – Site planning and response to urban opportunity and industrial heritage are sustainable design aspects distinctive of distribution centers. Industrial development has the potential to revitalize former contaminated lands, which is a good use in terms of restoring the environment and in providing an economic base to towns. Better land planning leads to reduced energy use throughout the entire supply chain, further extending the sustainable impact. Yet it is clear that industrial buildings, while a critical part of an urban plan, occupy and urban landscape differently with differing needs for land mass and infrastructure. The new LEED v4 rating system recognizes industrial development for its unique opportunity to be a part of a larger, brownfield remediation plan.
Daylighting – Lighting makes up an enormous percentage of overall energy use in a warehouse. Replacing high-intensity discharge (HID) fixtures and incorporating occupancy sensors can significantly reduce energy usage and have early paybacks. Daylighting strategies can have a significant impact on energy use and the quality of the environment. Employed correctly, the daytime needs of an entire facility can be met with daylight. Yet daylighting space in a warehouse is different than in an office. To encourage a significant sustainability impact, there needs to be an emphasis on energy and an understanding of sourcing in a large volume. In LEED v4, the bulk storage, sorting, and distribution portions of a building must meet daylight and quality views requirements for 25 percent of the regularly occupied floor area.
Energy & Thermal Comfort – Distribution centers are no longer huge expanses of empty storage. They are active workplaces. Building users expect and deserve workplace environments to have thermal comfort. Systems like radiant flooring, circulating fans for destratification, passive systems such as nighttime air, heat venting and/or wind flow, localized active cooling or heating systems, and localized, hard-wired fans to provide air movement for occupant comfort can have a significant impact. Understanding the unique energy characteristics of warehouses, the LEED v4 system offers the benchmark of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool or ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010, as well as the benchmark of national or historical average data for energy performance.
Even without LEED v4, many of today’s sustainable warehouse and distribution centers are pushing the envelope, incorporating sustainable strategies and techniques into their building design process.
Coca-Cola Refreshments LEED Silver Distribution Center
The Coca-Cola Refreshments Distribution Center in South Brunswick, NJ, developed by Forsgate Industrial Partners, is one of Coca-Cola’s largest distribution centers in the U.S. It consolidates operations from Neptune, North Brunswick and Parsippany, NJ. Home to a staff of about 650 drivers, merchandisers, account managers, distribution, sales and warehouse personnel, the 226,000-square-foot distribution center is largely dedicated to moving product, but does include 20,000 square feet of office.
Features key to achieving LEED Silver included the project’s innovative daylighting strategies, which accounted for 15 LEED energy points alone. The new distribution center features a fully day-lit interior, using perimeter clerestory windows and daylighting tubes with daylighting sensors. The combination of these technologies virtually eliminates the need for artificial lighting during daytime building operations. The project also features a rooftop photovoltaic array on more than 40 percent of the roof. Together, the photovoltaics, lighting systems, and high performance HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) units are saving over a million kWh of electricity, almost 900,000 therms of gas, and producing almost 590,000 kWh of power annually. The energy saved is the equivalent of annual energy used by almost 1300 cars or 500 homes, according to U.S. EPA calculations.
In addition, water efficient plumbing fixtures have reduced water usage by 35 percent of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. A white roof mitigates heat island effect and interior finishes include both renewable and regionally manufactured materials.
With a fast-paced construction schedule of less than one year, the new Coca-Cola Refreshments Distribution Center exemplifies a cost-effective, efficient, sustainable and high-performance design solution for the industrial sector.
SKECHERS LEED Gold Distribution Center
The SKECHERS LEED Gold Distribution Centerin Rancho Belago, California was designed and built by developer Highland Fairview to the highest environmental standards, the 1.82 million-square-foot facility is the largest LEED certified building in the United States to have received LEED Gold.
Key features include:
280,000 square-feet of solar power generation systems on the roof.
Lighting that operates as needed, regulated by motion sensors and powered in part by solar panels.
A warehouse ventilation system that utilizes outside air drawn through louvers facing the prevailing winds, plus energy efficient heating and cooling systems.
A solar reflective white “cool roof” and light colored on-site pavement to help reduce heat and global warming.
Water efficient and drought tolerant landscaping that reduces irrigation by 50 percent.
A Water Pollution Prevention Program that captures and treats storm water runoff from 90 percent of annual rainfall.
Low-emitting paints, coatings, glues, and sealants that comply with LEED standards were used during construction. Recycled and regional building materials were sourced within 500 miles of the construction site. The majority of on-site construction waste materials were recycled as well.
LEED V4 will provide a path for warehouse and distribution centers to better meet the challenges of LEED. A system that responds to the unique opportunities within this building type will further sustainable design and development across the industrial landscape.
