monitor the buildings’ water consumption, their electricity use and have even installed drought tolerant landscaping in some of the bank facilities. Of course, there’s also each building’s construction and renovation materials to consider and that’s a big part of our job.” The green evolution Over his past 20 years with the bank, Edson says he’s witnessed enormous changes in many aspects of bank building construction, renovation and physical plant operation. “When the green movement was just getting underway, we were already changing out light bulbs that used a lot of energy and replacing them with more
related efforts throughout the state. “It essentially was established by the Building Standards Commission,” he notes, explaining that its purpose is to improve public health, safety and general welfare by enhancing the design and construction of both residential and commercial buildings. “The goal is for positive environmental impact and the encouragement of sustainable construction in every aspect of these buildings’ planning, design and operation.” The little things mean a lot CB&T’s ongoing commitment to green standards and sustainability doesn’t always refer to big designs and big projects. Rather, as Edson describes it, it’s smaller efforts that collectively add up to a big result. “What we see for our CB&T building standards involves continuing to address the many opportunities for embracing sustainable practices,” he says. “For example, it’s the type of carpets you install and whether or not they contain recycled material. Or if we can find appropriate areas to implement LED lighting. Or if we’re installing building systems that have economizers that draw in outside air before we turn on air conditioning that will use more energy. It’s not always these grand-scale, skyscraper-level projects
economical lighting,” he said. The idea of sustainability in building practices really hit its stride in 2011, Edson recalls, when CALGreen was born. Edson adds that CALGreen really advanced the notion of environmental sustainability in construction- and building-
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