Incorporating green building options into a company's construction or remodeling projects might not be as difficult or as expensive as owners and management might think.

As the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System has become the preferred and most recognizable sustainable building standard in the United States today, trying to achieve LEED certification can add anywhere from $25,000 to $200,000 to the total cost of a building project, said Mike Schoenecker, vice president of Winkelman Building Corp. in St. Cloud.

Winkelman is one of a handful of building companies across the country with accredited LEED architects on staff. The company has been recognized nationally for its environmentally-conscious construction projects, but Schoenecker said a building doesn't have to be LEED certified to be environmentally friendly.

A business can pick and choose which green options from LEED it wants to implement and still reduce a building's environmental footprint without blowing its construction budget.

"We do a lot of buildings with green construction or sustainable design that don't go for LEED certification," Schoenecker said. "A lot of companies say, 'We don't care if it's certified, we just want to save energy.' "

The first step businesses should take when looking for creative ways to add sustainable building standards into construction is to check out www.dsire.com for any incentives or rebates that could be applied, Schoenecker said.

He recommends that businesses also talk to their power company to find out what kind of energy rebates, incentives and low-interest loans are available as well as touch base with their trash removal company to find out about recycling programs in the area.

And then there is the obvious choice to use recycled materials in the construction of the building, he said.

Contacting an architect and builder who is experienced in green construction is also a very important step, Schoenecker said.

"A lot of builders don't know about this stuff," he added.

Other green building options include installing low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) carpets, using solar tubes or sky lights to bring light into the building from outside or installing low-water use toilets that use one-fourth the amount of water as regular stools.

"These are all little things that don't cost a lot of money," he said.

The only building in the city of Golden Valley targeting LEED certification incorporated many of those options.

Dr. Rebecca Thomley, CEO of Orion Associates at 9400 Golden Valley Road, runs a company committed to human services and wanted to carry her concern for healthy lifestyles into the workplace.

"I don't want to be responsible for any kind of workplace that's not healthy for employees," she said. "We're a social service agency that provides services to the community. We need to live it from the top to the bottom."

When her company took on the remodeling of its current building and an 8,000 square foot new addition - including an on-site daycare center for employees' children -- they worked with TDB Builders in Forest Lake.

It was TDB Builders' first venture into green construction, according to project supervisor Steve Johnson, but they and their workers and vendors studied and researched to come up with green components: recycled building materials, acoustical ceilings, carpeting, low-wattage lights with sensors, environmentally-friendly paints and low-energy electrical and heating systems.

"It was a great project all around for both them and us," said Johnson, whose company is now a member of USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), has a green link on its website and is working on a green campaign to promote the concept to other businesses.

Schoenecker points to the recent construction of Globe University's Woodbury Campus as an example of how doing the little things can result in a big impact.

With input from the school, Winkelman Building constructed the building to include such energy efficient devices such as lighting and ballasts, motion detectors and light sensors to turn lights on and off. The cost to include the devices came out to $154, 810, but after receiving a rebate of $40,540 from the Xcel Energy Incentive program, the final cost paid by the school was $114,270. An independent audit conducted after construction determined the building would save Globe University $33,722 in annual energy costs and the school would recoup the money it spent on the energy efficient devices in 3.4 years, Schoenecker said.

The amount of money a business could recapture from investing in green building will depend on the options it chooses, Schoenecker said. And while businesses likely will have to pay more up-front to include sustainable building options, the long-term savings - along with the impact on the environment - make the decision to go green easy, he added.

"It really is a no-brainer," Schoenecker said.

Comment on this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.

The only building in the city of Golden Valley targeting LEED certification incorporated many of those options.

Dr. Rebecca Thomley, CEO of Orion Associates at 9400 Golden Valley Road, runs a company committed to human services and wanted to carry her concern for healthy lifestyles into the workplace.

"I don't want to be responsible for any kind of workplace that's not healthy for employees," she said. "We're a social service agency that provides services to the community. We need to live it from the top to the bottom."

When her company took on the remodeling of its current building and an 8,000 square foot new addition - including an on-site daycare center for employees' children -- they worked with TDB Builders in Forest Lake.

It was TDB Builders' first venture into green construction, according to project supervisor Steve Johnson, but they and their workers and vendors studied and researched to come up with green components: recycled building materials, acoustical ceilings, carpeting, low-wattage lights with sensors, environmentally-friendly paints and low-energy electrical and heating systems.

"It was a great project all around for both them and us," said Johnson, whose company is now a member of USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), has a green link on its website and is working on a green campaign to promote the concept to other businesses.

Schoenecker points to the recent construction of Globe University's Woodbury Campus as an example of how doing the little things can result in a big impact.

With input from the school, Winkelman Building constructed the building to include such energy efficient devices such as lighting and ballasts, motion detectors and light sensors to turn lights on and off. The cost to include the devices came out to $154, 810, but after receiving a rebate of $40,540 from the Xcel Energy Incentive program, the final cost paid by the school was $114,270. An independent audit conducted after construction determined the building would save Globe University $33,722 in annual energy costs and the school would recoup the money it spent on the energy efficient devices in 3.4 years, Schoenecker said.

The amount of money a business could recapture from investing in green building will depend on the options it chooses, Schoenecker said. And while businesses likely will have to pay more up-front to include sustainable building options, the long-term savings - along with the impact on the environment - make the decision to go green easy, he added.

"It really is a no-brainer," Schoenecker said.

Comment on this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.