WHAT ARE BIG BUSINESSES DOING TO GO GREEN?

• Coca Cola
  o Replaced lighting at a large portion of their offices all over the country- which lowered electric use by 50%
  o Installed solar light pipes in certain parking lots.
  o Lowered their carbon footprint by 11.5% since 2007
  o Reduced the amount of water they use
  o Increased recycling
• IBM
  o Updated plants and labs to enhance the environmental performance
  o Invested over $96 million in operating expense to do that….
  o Has already saved an estimated $152 million!!!!!
• Ford
  o Now using foam derived from soy.
  o Has helped to avoid more than 6 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions ANNUALLY!
• Best Buy
  o Reduced Greenhouse Gas emissions by 14.8% in FY 2010 based on the baseline of 2005 numbers. Their goal was 8%.
  o Increased the retail square footage but did NOT increase energy usage.
  o They educated their employees on the importance of energy management.
  o Their long term improvements include:
   The use of skylights
   Low VOC paints
   Cleaning supplies
   Low-flow water fixtures
   Lower fleet fuel use
  o Best buy ALSO accepts used electronics for recycling
• Kraft
  o Cut waste by 30% by recycling, composting, and turning food scraps into animal feed. They recycle or reuse 90% of their waste.
  o 9 facilities send NO WASTE to landfills. 5 of these facilities are plants in the USA, 3 are plants in Canada, and the last is a US distribution center.
• Purina UK
  o Reducing the boxes for Go-Cat food by 10%, they are removing the space from the top of the packaging. Expected to save 195 tons of cardboard each year.
• BMW
  o Using PPG Industries’ B1:B2 waterborne paint technology. The B1 layer provides primer and filling and the B2 layer provides color. Neither layer requires baking or heating, which reduces energy use.

What is a LEED building?

When you hear of a LEED certified building, do you wonder what it means and why it’s important? The LEED program was developed by the United State’s Green Building Council (USGBC) to help builders build green. LEED stands for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

The Green Building certification, LEED program, gives building builders, designers, owners, and operators a clear framework to identify and implement green designs. These designs are practical, and measurable. This certification program is globally recognized because it provides third party verification that the building was designed and built to be environmentally friendly.

The LEED program measures sustainable site, water conservation and efficiency, energy efficiency, green materials, indoor air quality, and innovation in design. This program is flexible, taking into consideration different types of buildings. The program runs on a point system. There is a 100 point scale and credits are weighted to reflect potential environmental impacts.

A LEED Bronze Certification, like the Barksdale Air Force Base Physical Fitness in Shreveport, LA, requires 40 points. A Silver Certification requires more than 50 points, like the Target Field, the Minnesota Twins new ballpark. Sixty points will get you a Gold Certification like the Frito-Lay Jim Rich Service Center in Rochester, NY and a Platinum Certification, as the Home Depot Smart Home in Durham, NC has, will require you to have at least 80 points. Recently, a new milestone has been reached for the LEED program. The first ever private home has passed LEED Platinum Certification; this 7,500 square foot home is located right in our (Naturally Green Products) backyard in the neighborhood of Snell Isle in St. Petersburg Florida.