Known by its customers as one of the best providers of third-party logistics services, States Logistics Services, Inc. has grown to accommodate more than 100 customers and over two million square feet of warehouse space company-wide.  Since the company’s inception, the vision to provide outstanding services to a wide variety of industries in Southern California and Arizona has expanded to include a significant focus on sustainability opportunities that reduce the impact of the company on the environment.  Their vision of sustainability is employed in daily operations and procedures, and has expanded to include environmentally-conscious building development.  The commitment to green building is showcased in their first LEED registered facility, which is anticipated to achieve Silver level certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Rating System for New Construction.

States Logistics Services’ new sustainable facility provides office and warehouse space to serve the growing warehousing, transportation, and packaging needs of Arizona.  The 417,000 square foot facility has multiple environmentally-responsible facets including design, construction, and operations. Green operations include an extensive corporate recycling program, buying regional products and materials to support local businesses. and raising sustainability consciousness within the staff.

As a major supplier of packaging services, States Logistics Services, Inc. recognizes the benefits of reducing waste sent to landfills and reducing transportation of products and materials.  This is one of the company values that led to the use of building products and materials with recycled content sourced from local providers.  Steel, a material having high post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content, was used extensively for the skin and structure.  It enabled long roof spans which were needed for the open floor plan.  Additional specified materials having recycled content include miscellaneous metal frames and doors and acoustical ceiling tile made from old ceiling tiles and mineral fibers.

To reduce the amount of transportation energy required to deliver building materials and products, the new facility incorporates products sourced from local providers within 375 miles of the project site (LEED credit requires that they be within 500 miles of the project site).  The combination of locally-specified paving material, landscaping material, rebar and concrete represented over 45 percent of the project’s materials value.  This significant achievement exceeds the requirements of LEED by over 20 percent, and that allowed the project to apply for an Innovation and Design credit.  The company’s desire to reduce the negative impact of long-distance transport of building materials and products is a natural extension of their expertise in efficient transportation, which includes regional service areas and utilizing alternative fuel products.

The use of highly efficient energy systems to operate and maintain the new facility was a goal arising from the project’s simple program and energy use requirements.  As straightforward structures with low energy use relative to other building types, warehouses have the potential for unique opportunities in saving energy.  Lighting for the warehouse space includes efficient T-8 lamps aided by 156 skylights for an extremely efficient overall warehouse lighting power density of 0.6 W/sf.  Additional efficiency is also achieved through occupancy sensors that automatically turn off lights between pick rows when there is no activity.

The large roof area of the new facility provides an optimal, secure location for a photovoltaic (PV) system.   The clean, inexhaustible power from PV can offset significant amounts of a building’s energy use.  States Logistics has installed a 217 kW PV system that is expected to produce over 453,000 kWh per year – almost 30% of its annual power needs.  The system is easy to maintain, does not produce air pollution, and does not require the use of fuel or hazardous resources to operate.  The combination of a good lighting design and a substantial photovoltaic system is expected to produce an annual utility savings of $70,000 for the new facility and reduce nearly 95 tons each year in its carbon footprint.

During the process of preparing to submit their LEED project, States Logistics Services, Inc. exceeded their original environmental goals, not only by adding systems that increased the LEED point total but by providing education along the way.  Part of that process, which has continued into the occupancy phase, has been to raise awareness of environmentally-friendly building strategies and systems among the design and construction teams, the company staff and the greater community.

Strong corporate dedication plus design and construction expertise have resulted in a world-class sustainable warehouse building which is both built and operated in an environmentally-conscious manner.

 

 



About Green Ideas Environmental Building Consultants

Green Ideas, established in 2000, is a full-service green building consulting firm offering educational programs, product evaluation services and world-class LEED consulting services. Its clients are building owners, architects, engineers, contractors, utilities and green product manufacturers. With a vision as bold as the results they achieve, Green Ideas is dedicated to transforming the market by promoting buildings that are designed, built and operated in a manner that improves the health, well-being and productivity of people and the environment.Green Ideas is proud to be one of the leading companies specializing in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Consulting including charrette facilitation, programming assistance, LEED registration, documentation and certification services. Green Ideas develops and implements marketing programs that will enhance companies’ images and visibility in the green building marketplace with a positive return on investment.