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Building Green

Building green can also mean saving some green. Our team is trained and experienced with respect to commissioning and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements. We work with clients to implement appropriate energy-efficient design and materials selection that is sensitive to budgets and long-term operating goals. We focus on providing solutions through green buildings that are good for the environment and provide immediate and long-term financial benefits for developers, building owners and occupants.

As a company, we fully embrace the concept of sustainable design and LEED Certification as developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Currently, 90% of our project management staff are fully qualified in the area of Building Design and Construction (LEED AP BD+C) by the USGBC. Russell Construction currently holds the title for having the most LEED AP BD+C Accredited Professionals, at one company, in the entire state of Iowa.

Our experience with green construction can be seen at James Van Allen Elementary School, the first LEED certified school in the state of Iowa.

In order to “Go Green” and have a minimal impact on the environment, an extensive waste management plan was implemented on the First Army Headquarters project to reduce the amount of job-site waste generated. This plan entailed the Russell project team to recycle an assortment of jobsite materials such as: carpet, metal, wood, glass, drywall, ceiling tile, paper, cardboard, concrete and other general waste materials.  In total this project generated 1,123.237 tons of waste materials. However, 916.942 tons, or 81.63% of construction waste was diverted from landfills for this project alone.

Russell Construction is proud to be recognized by Allied Waste as a participant in their 2011 Construction Recycling Program. During 2011, Russell helped recycle 775 tons of construction debris from local construction projects through extensive job-site waste management plans.  The debris recycled was enough to save 13,175 trees, eliminate 395 tons of air pollutants and save 2,558 cubic yards of landfill space
 

Living Green

Internally, we strive to do our part to give back to the environment, by incorporating the following features or practices:

• Overhead occupancy sensors on all overhead lights and switches
• Recycled carpeting
• Energy efficient HVAC system
• Recycling programs, including jobsite materials such as wood and metal
• Prohibit the use of harmful cleaning substances, only all natural substances are used

As an environmentally friendly company, we began a "paper friendly" campaign in early 2008 to help reduce the amount of copy paper used internally. Since then an estimated 15 cases per month has been saved, which allows for additional storage space and lower office supply costs. A few of the procedures we follow internally are:

• Digital imaging of all project information
• Centralized electronic file management
• Email distribution of information
• Electronic payment approvals