[July 26, 2011 - Cat Brutvan]
Well, you learn something every day. Some days you don't even have to try. While shopping at the Kohl's in Knightdale recently, I listened to the perky voice of Kohl's on the PA system letting shoppers know that the story is LEED certified and just another way Kohl's is serving its customers and the community.
My first thought was how far LEED has come to make it into the retail chain's promotional loop on the store PA. On equal footing in the loop with a message about Kohl's lenient return policy, the LEED announcment signalled to me that LEED has really hit the mainstream.
Straight off the kohlsgreenscene.com website I found out you can add Kohl's to the list of stores where you can recycle used plastic bags, and that they have 194 LEED certified stores -- that's 13,614,741 square feet of LEED-certified space. Kohl's is installing solar power in 100 stores in six states as a long-term commitment to renewable energy. The Kohl's Photo Studio in Milwaukee, Wis., opened in early 2008, earned a LEED Gold certification from the USGBC in May 2009.
I found out from a recent press release from Georgia USGBC that the USGBC's streamlined LEED certification for large groups of existing buildings graduated from pilot phase to official status this week after five years in development. From the press release:
The volume program, whose pilot stage began in 2006, has two tracks. One covers from-the-ground-up construction, major renovations and commercial interiors. Companies that choose this path first seek pre-approval of a design prototype. After it is obtained, firms can pursue volume certification for projects built according to the pre-certified prototype.
The second track is for existing properties of any age that are run in conformance to a pre-certified set of standards for operations and maintenance. It's not necessary for the sites to share identical physical features. The prototype for this path is a framework for using the same policies, operational practices, measurement tools and documentation methods across a portfolio.
Kohl's, which is participating in both tracks of the volume program, has 194 LEED certified stores; about 40 percent are existing buildings. Overall, about 13 percent of the retailer's stores are LEED certified. On average, the certified properties are 32 percent more energy efficient than baseline stores, use 50 percent less water for irrigation and see savings of as much as 30 percent in general water consumption with use of in-store plumbing fixtures that are designed to conserve water, the company said in a case study of its program participation. Kohl's also found that certification reviews under the volume process take about a third of the time the company had "previously allocated for a one-off certification."
About 20 companies and universities are participating in the volume certification program. As of February, more than 500 properties received LEED ratings through the program. By July 2011, that number had grown to more than 625 projects, according to the USGBC.
