American Honda’s commitment to green building now shifts its focus to existing buildings, with its Gresham, Oregon, LEED for New Construction Gold facility earning Platinum certification under LEED for Existing Buildings
By Barbara van Gaasbeek, LEED AP
National Administrator, Green Building Programs
American Honda Motor Co., In
December 2008
By John Schwab
Western Regional Facility Services Administrator
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
December 2008
Honda’s philosophy of practicing sound environmental stewardship wherever it does business is embodied in its Northwest Regional Center in Gresham, Oregon, its first green building in the USA. This 212,000 square foot facility, sited on 17.1 acres, comprises a technical training center, warehouse, and zone office. Honda management’s firm commitment to green building was rewarded with a LEED for New Construction Gold certification in 2002, the first in the USA for a mixed-use industrial building.
In the design, construction and operation of the new facility, the project team used the innovative environmental features found in many of Honda’s products, such as energy efficiency, reduced emissions, recycled materials, and environmentally sensitive engineering. As a result of these energy saving measures, the Gresham facility operates 48% more energy efficiently than a comparable non-green building.
Gold Building
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The building harnesses local natural resources wherever possible. One half inch of rainwater harvested from the warehouse roof fills a 90,000 gallon underground tank. The water is filtered and used to flush toilets and irrigate landscaping. Potable water usage is further reduced by the installation of low-flow toilets and urinals and infra-red sensor faucets, and through the use of native species and plants with low water needs. The annual fire suppression system flushout is scheduled for August, one of the driest months of the year, so that the water replenishes levels in the underground tank. These efforts resulted in a 50% reduction in irrigation water usage, and a 20% reduction in building water usage.
There is a passive heating and cooling system in the office area. The outside air is brought into the building via vents placed around the perimeter on the exterior. The concrete slab in the office area is depressed by eighteen inches to allow for the installation of a raised access floor. This permits the outside air to pass under the office floor, where it is heated or cooled as needed, then up into the office space itself through grilles flush with the finished floor. From there the air is drawn up via chimneys and expelled through large turbines on the roof, which are turned by local Columbia River Gorge winds.
The training center shop area has a radiant underfloor heating system which is a much more efficient way to heat the space than by forcing hot air down from the ceiling. The exhaust from the cars in the shop bays is captured and run through an air handler unit, where it is heated or cooled as needed, thus saving energy.
The office lighting is zoned and controlled by an intelligent system, so that as natural daylight levels increase or decrease, sensors will automatically dim or turn up the light fixtures as needed. Light shelves at each office window bounce natural daylight up onto the office ceiling, and then down into the work space. Louvers at each window reduce glare.
Light fixtures have energy efficient T5 lamps, which reduce power consumption, generate less heat, and require less cooling. There are motion sensors in all conference rooms, automatically turning lights off when there has been no activity for several minutes. In the warehouse, light fixtures in the aisles will only be on at full strength when there is activity in the aisle, otherwise lights automatically dim down to 50%.
The warehouse has 123 skylights, giving a reading of 50 footcandles at 30″ off the floor, as opposed to the standard 20 footcandles. The use of natural daylight, along with reflectivity from white insulation on the warehouse walls, often permits work to be carried out without having to turn on the lighting in the daytime.
Recycled and recyclable materials were used extensively, from crushed sunflower seed table tops to recycled rubber tire flooring. The concrete slab and footings have a flyash content of up to 25%. Building materials, finishes and components were specified based on their proximity to the job site to reduce emissions from truck traffic. Products were specified from manufacturers who are committed to producing their products in an environmentally responsible manner. 99.8% of construction waste was diverted from the landfill.
Honda uses the Gresham facility as an educational tool, to inform and inspire others to build sustainably. To date more than 2,500 visitors have toured the site, from as far away as China, Japan and India, and from across the country.
Platinum Building
The Gold building provided a solid green platform from which to launch the Platinum effort under LEED for Existing Building, which was successfully concluded in June 2008. The facilities team was responsible for providing much of the essential records and paperwork for the LEED for Existing Building submittal. Once the LEED for Existing Building program was explained to the staff and vendors providing services to the building, all were eager to assist as much as possible.
The LEED for Existing Building program required continuous tracking of product information. This included supplies, furniture and fixtures purchased for use in the facility as well as on-going sustainable programs for the maintenance of the building and grounds. All staff with authorization to purchase these items and services followed specific guidelines in order to meet LEED for Existing Building criteria. The Green Seal approved products and California Code of Regulations websites proved very useful for the rapid evaluation of products.
Other key areas, including janitorial, landscaping, lighting and painting, underwent evaluation. These services are outsourced and each vendor implemented a program that complied with the LEED for Existing Building standards. To assist with this, a class room was provided at the facility for the vendors to hold training classes on a quarterly basis for new and current staff.
The thermal comfort survey and the recycling program are other examples of the facility staff’s commitment to the project. A waste stream audit was conducted using one week’s worth of trash generated by the facility occupants. The audit revealed the recycling program is effective and is being supported by the building occupants. Recycling containers are provided at individual work stations, in the mail room, lunch room, each copy machine, and the centralized recycling room. These efforts resulted in the facility compactor being emptied only 2 to 3 times a year.
Commissioning of the facility’s mechanical systems took three weeks. Results from the commissioning report required only one action item to be accomplished, the relocation of one carbon monoxide sensor, before the performance period was completed.
The efficient use of energy to operate the facility resulted in achieving 19 points in the Energy and Atmosphere category. To calculate energy performance, the alternative calculation methodology had to be used since the facility is not EPA Energy Star rated. Under the alternative calculation the facility received an equivalent to an Energy Star rating of 87. Additional E & A points were awarded for the purchase of Green Power.
The most challenging category was Water Efficiency. Seven separate meters were installed to calculate water usage: one to record the gallons of rain water harvested and held in holding tanks, two for landscape irrigation, one for toilet/urinal supply lines, one to record processed water used in the building cooling system, one to record city water used for sinks and water fountains, and lastly one for use during extremely dry summers when the harvested rain water runs out, and the building automatically switches over to city supplied water. Each meter was calibrated and integrated into the Tracer Summit building automation system. The Tracer Summit software was programmed to provide water usage reports from each water meter in the LEED for Existing Building format. Based on the data reported the facility received 3 points for water efficiency.
The janitorial service implemented the Green Cleaning program. Only Green Seal or California Code of Regulations approved products are used in the facility. Other changes include increased cleaning frequency of walk off mats and high traffic carpeted areas and switching to approved sustainable cleaning equipment. Only cleaning chemicals needed for each day are stored on site. Every quarter cleaning staff receive a class on ‘How to Clean a Green Building”.
Honda is committed to green building because it is the right thing to do, and because it is sound business practice, since the payback from reduced energy and water costs lasts the entire lifetime of the building.
About Honda
Honda marks its 50th anniversary of U.S. operations this year. The world’s largest engine manufacturer, Honda products also include motorcycles, automobiles, power equipment and an advanced light jet.
Honda has five other LEED for New Construction certified buildings. Four have attained the Gold level — Honda R&D Americas Central Plant Building in Raymond, Ohio; Honda Aircraft World Headquarters in Greensboro, N.C.; Troy Midwestern Consolidation Center in Troy, Ohio; and Acura Design Studio in Torrance, Calif. The North American Data Center in Longmont, Colo, earned Silver version 2.2 Certification, the first data center in the country to do so.
For more information, go to www.Honda.com.