By Ray Birch
ST. LOUIS—With so many options for a credit union to go green, to reduce its carbon footprint and take steps to reduce the impact upon the environment, what actions return the greatest bottom-line benefit to the CU? And what are some of the expensive mistakes to avoid?
With Earth Day here, two design and build experts acknowledge it can be difficult to gauge ROI and determine the most effective steps worth taking, but they offered some insights into what’s working well for both the environment and for credit union wallets as well as insights into investments credit unions might want to rethink.
“Green: it’s a word with so many connotations and meanings,” said Derek Maschek, director of design at L. Keeley Construction. “For credit unions, it could be related to cash, rookie employees, or maybe it has something to do with buildings. Even after narrowing the framework down to buildings, green still means different things to different people.”
To one credit union it might mean a friendly, natural environment or a healthy interior space, Maschek said. To others it might mean aggressive steps to limit their carbon footprint.
But no matter what “green” means to each credit union, what makes the difference in the long run to the bottom line and the environment is the CU’s commitment to its green efforts, according to Maschek.
“In the years we’ve been working on buildings, whenever the subject of green comes up, the difference between those that do something and those that just talk about it comes down to commitment,” said Maschek. “It’s only when the client understands what their green goals are and they commit to achieving them that they have success.”
Derek Maschek
The Options
Maschek noted that a green building goal can be a hyper eco-friendly location filled with sustainable materials that don’t pollute the work environment.
“Or, it could be a super energy-efficient building that simply saves you money over time to operate,” he said. “Maybe it’s some highly obvious moves that shout to the community that your credit union cares deeply about the future and the environment. All of these are valid, but they are also prime drivers of design and construction, so it is critical that you commit early and stay the course. It’s almost a guarantee that if you don’t, these features will be dropped entirely due to cost and complication. Or, those features will be unnecessarily expensive, and you’ll be left regretting ever considering green in the first place.”
While there are many opinions on what is the best green route to take to save money in the long run, focusing simply on energy efficiency can return the most measurable results, Maschek said.
“What we see most clients pursue is the strategy of energy efficiency. Why? Because there’s an easily quantifiable and very direct cost-benefit,” he said. “Your return on the investment can typically be calculated out with some reasonable accuracy.”
Steps to Take
Maschek said there are a number of critical steps to take when designing an energy efficient building.
“The first step is to build no more volume than you need,” he said. “Carefully evaluate actual use patterns and area needs to compress spaces down to their minimum square footage. Avoid unnecessarily duplicative functions and find ways to overlap them. These opportunities are very specific to each credit union, but it’s doubly advantageous to get them right.”
The next step is to make sure what is constructed is the most effective building possible.
“This means you are likely spending a bit more to design and incorporate products and systems that help you avoid spending excess energy every day,” Maschek said. “A great example would be lighting. Design your building to allow the free sunlight to do most of the work by using proper building orientation, smart window sizing and placement, reflective surfaces, and smart technology to gauge needs. Then install LED fixtures—which are about 90% more efficient than the old incandescent bulbs and are twice as efficient as fluorescent lighting. Additionally LEDs last for decades, versus months for the old bulbs and only a few years for the tubes, all while producing better light.”
Most-Effective Strategy
The most cost-effective strategy for saving on energy consumption, noted Maschek, is having a quality building thermal envelope.
“That primarily means wall, roof, and even floor insulation,” he said. “There are many other important components in a thermal envelope to consider, such as windows—the weakest thermal performer—and being careful to avoid thermal bridging (the movement of heat across an object that is more conductive than the materials around it). This critical stuff is rarely obvious and much of it is totally hidden, therefore providing no advertising value. But the cost-benefit is clear as you save money by buying less energy to actually use your building. Plus, there are lots of utility and government programs available that may help offset the additional initial costs.”
Maschek said the green building approaches he outlined just scratch the surface of what can be done.
“Since the cost-benefit equation changes depending on your needs, goals, and where you are located, what’s right for you is a conversation best had with your chosen design/build professional,” he said. “Set your green goals and stick to them. A good team will help you build something of great value for years to come.”
John Hyche, Level 5
Difficult Balance
John Hyche, SVP and principal at Level5, told CUToday.info that as credit unions have embarked on green initiatives, they have faced a tough chore in balancing member value, financial performance and social responsibility.
“In years past, we saw financial institutions embark on aggressive, environmentally conscious design and construction projects,” said Hyche. “At the end of the day, many of these initiatives prove to be too far-reaching to be practical—the cost to the credit union exceeds the benefits, driving down financial performance and member value.”
To avoid those kinds of mistakes, Hyche outlined what have been some of the best and most straightforward ways credit unions have embarked on green efforts and saved money in the process.
“Within the scope of green practices and sustainability, there are several things that make sense from a cost/benefit perspective,” he said. “Higher SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) values on HVAC equipment are always a smart, easy choice. Higher R values of insulation is another. Simple things like energy efficient appliances and pipe insulation of hot water runs work well. Insta-hots or tankless water heaters verses the conventional water heaters can provide cost savings over time. And, things like entry vestibules are simple design components that help, both in green building and in wellness.”
Employee Environmental Wellness
Hyche added that along with attention the attention to green initiatives, Level5 has seen growing interest among credit unions in employee environmental wellness—construction and design elements that make for a more healthy work environment.
Hyche said design and build features in this area include:
- Air filtration and ionization: “COVID-19 has caused some interest in air quality, including air exchanges, air filtration and possibly air ionization. These changes are not proven effective but theoretically should help,” he said.
- Sustainable materials: “Bamboo rather than hardwood floors, for example,” Hyche said.
- Healthy materials: “The off-gassing problems in many materials have been dealt with at this point, but this is an example of what’s being looked at,” he said.
- Natural light: “At times, this can work at cross-purposes with energy efficiency,” Hyche explained.
- Daycare centers: “They are making it easier on employees to manage work/life elements,” Hyche said.
- Fitness centers: “Of course, these focus on employees’ physical wellness,” he noted.
- Apartments: “They provide temporary housing for dislocated employees due to fire, flood, tornado, relocation, etc.,” he said.
“Some of these things I have talked about have calculable ROI; others are rather intangible,” concluded Hyche.