One of the key objectives of the Green Initiative at the High® companies is reduction of carbon footprint through careful management of greenhouse gas emissions.
A second important thrust of the Green Initiative is to build upon our offering of environmentally responsible products and services aligned with the green movement—applied both to our own facilities and initiatives and to helping customers meet their green-related objectives.
The High companies have LEED® Professionals™, including more than one dozen as LEED AP® or LEED Green Associate™. Additionally, High Construction and its Energy Solutions Group provide energy benchmarking, audits, and analyses as well as turnkey energy-saving retrofits, renovations, and new construction. These levels of expertise within the High companies offer guidance for our own and our customers’ projects using sustainability guidelines and lifecycle analysis. The result is more energy efficient and environmentally friendly projects and initiatives.
Several High companies have been recognized for the strides they have made within their businesses. For example High Construction, Greenfield Architects, High Associates, and High Hotels are Green Plus certified, the highest level of recognition for dedication to triple-bottom-line sustainability by Institute for Sustainable Development. High Concrete Group has the first LEED Silver building in Lancaster County, Pa. Greenfield Architects and High Construction teamed as design-builder for the project.
Another area of service in the field of construction is responsible materials recycling. In High Construction's reconstruction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike plaza in Allentown, Pa., for example, everything that could be recycled was recycled. Concrete and stone facade from the old plaza were crushed and used as fill to bring the site up to grade and as under-slab material for the new building, saving on hauling and reducing the need for new materials. That in turn saved money and energy. Copper pipes, the metal from old food service equipment, structural steel, and metal studs were saved for recycling. Wood retrieved from the demolition was recycled for mulch. Gypsum drywall was recovered so it could be recycled into new wallboard. Re-use like that reduces disposal charges and saves landfill space.
These are just a few examples that help illustrate the direction in which we are moving and the momentum we are building in the area of environmental stewardship. With our robust dedication to our Green Initiative, we will continue to build our portfolio of green-related products and services.