The U.S. Green Building Council, the leading authority in green building, on Tuesday presented MarBorg Industries with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certificate for existing buildings at 11:00 AM on May 28 at 728 E. Yanonali St., Santa Barbara.
The event included a plaque presentation by Kenneth Simpson from USBGC’s national office and acknowledgements by Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider and Matthew O’Carroll, an intern with UCSB Sustainability (a program that works closely with MarBorg in the diversion of campus waste).
After the ceremony, MarBorg provided a falcon demonstration as an example of its integrated pest management policies as well as a guided “eco tour” of its LEED certified headquarters and Construction and Demolition Facility, where UCSB Sustainability students witnessed the recycling operations up close.
“We see firsthand the tremendous waste we as humans generate,” said Kathleen Borgatello Koeper of MarBorg Industries. “MarBorg is part of an industry that can make a big impact environmentally, and we take that role very seriously. We want to do everything we can to encourage community-wide resource conservation and lifelong sustainable operations. It made sense to incorporate that philosophy at the heart of our operations with a Platinum LEED certification.”
O’Carroll acknowledged a strong partnership with MarBorg.
“UCSB is a leader in sustainability efforts among institutions of higher education thanks to the hard work and dedication of our UCSB community and our partnerships with sustainably-minded businesses such as MarBorg,” he said. “Our pre- and post-consumer scraps and compost program was ranked 14th in the country, composting over 80 tons of food scraps and organics a month; an accomplishment that would not have been possible without MarBorg’s help.”
Over the course of two years, MarBorg worked with sustainable planning and design consultants to improve the green standards of their 5,000 square foot facility. In achieving the LEED Platinum standard, they implemented programs and technologies that achieved:
» 40 percent decrease in water usage
» Energy Star score of 82 out of 100
» Applied integrated pest management policies
» Policies that resulted in 90 percent of sustainable purchased products and foods
» Exclusive use of Green Seal certified cleaning chemicals and paper products
» 100 percent diversion rates for landscaping waste
» 86 percent diversion for landfill waste
» 23 percent reduction in vehicle emissions with the use of CNG (compressed national gas) trucks
“As a definitive leader in waste management, MarBorg Industries has established a tremendous reputation for their services and a focus on sustainability,” said Perrin Pellegrin, LEED consultant with Innovative Workshop. “This team was committed to using their own headquarters as a model of green efficiency and a symbol of the standards they apply in their daily operations.”
MarBorg provided a Silver Greens buffet lunch created with sustainable ingredients.
— Erinn Lynch is a publicist representing MarBorg Industries.