GM Opens First-Ever LEED-Gold Certified

[Flybrian]

GM Opens First-Ever LEED-Gold Certified Automobile Manufacturing Facility

Link to Full Press Release @ GM Media

Lansing, Mich. -- General Motors’ new Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant has received a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The building is the only automotive manufacturing plant in the world – as well as the largest facility and the most complex manufacturing site -- to ever receive any level of LEED certification.

LEED certification is the building industry’s well-respected recognition of superior energy and environmental design and construction. A gold certification recognizes a high level of performance.

Over the first ten years of operations, the facility is expected to save over 40 million gallons of water and 30 million kwh of electricity.

“Lansing Delta Township is the first of the next generation of industrial buildings,” said David Skiven, executive director, GM Worldwide Facilities Group. “It proves that sustainable manufacturing buildings can be economically built and operated. We are extremely proud of the innovative thinking of our employees and partners on the team that made this possible.”

Lansing Delta Township is one of just 550 buildings worldwide that are LEED certified at any level – of these buildings, only a third are certified at the gold level.

“General Motors has a global commitment to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment,” said Elizabeth Lowery, GM vice president, Environment and Energy. “In our older, established facilities, we are constantly making changes as we renovate buildings to keep them current with state-of-the-art environmental practices. At Lansing Delta Township it was a great experience to be able to start from scratch to design and build the world’s most environmentally advanced auto manufacturing plant.”

The plant will produce GM’s new crossover vehicles -- the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave– and will start production during the fourth quarter of 2006.

Commenting on the certification, U.S. Green Building Council President S. Richard Fedrizzi noted that the acceptance of green buildings has been slower within the manufacturing sector than for other commercial uses.

“GM’s Lansing Delta Township Plant is a very good – and large – example of how it’s possible to incorporate sustainable practices into large scale manufacturing facilities,” Fedrizzi said. “Today, not only is it possible, it is cost and energy efficient, and provides a healthy environment for employees. We expect GM’s plant will change the way manufacturing buildings are built in the future.”

Paul Lemley, senior vice president and general manager, Alberici Group, which partnered with GM on the design and construction of the facility, said: “ Alberici is in the unique position of being heavily involved in both the automotive industry and the movement toward low environmental impacts for buildings. Our leadership in these areas allows us to state with certainty that GM has set a new standard for environmental concern with this new facility. No other manufacturer has created a facility of this magnitude with such low immediate and long term impact to the environment. This is a quantum leap forward for the industry. General Motors has done more than just talk about how the industry needs to respond to protect the environment; they have acted in a new and powerful way to demonstrate how this can be done.”

Paul Faeth, managing director of World Resources Institute, an independent nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that studies environmental and development issues, said: "GM has been a leader in the application of efficiency and renewables for quite some time. This award is a well-deserved recognition of the company's commitment to sound environmental management of their facilities." GM is a member of WRI's Green Power Market Development Group.

Some of the environmental highlights of the Lansing Delta Township plant include:

Energy and Atmosphere

*Energy efficiency was designed into most systems, resulting in energy costs that are 45 percent lower than industry standards, with a projected savings of $1 million per year.

*Bright task lighting and lower overhead lighting levels reduced lighting energy used in the plant by 20 percent, or 3 million kwh annually.

*The 1.5 million square foot roof is made of a special white polymer that reduces heat absorption, resulting in reduced costs to cool the building.

*No ozone-depleting substances (CFCs, HCFCs or halons) are used in any of the building’s heating and cooling, refrigeration, and fire suppression systems.

Materials and Resources

*Of the construction materials used for the plant, more than 25 percent was composed of recycled content.

*More than 60 percent of all materials used in the construction of the building were sourced through manufacturers located within 500 miles, supporting the local economy and reducing transportation energy costs.

*Of the waste generated during construction, 80 percent, or 3,963 tons, was diverted from landfills.

Water Efficiency

*Non-manufacturing water use has been reduced by 45 percent, for a savings of over 4.1 million gallons of water annually.

*Rainwater is collected from the roof by a cutting-edge roof drain system. It is then stored in cisterns above rest rooms and is used instead of potable water to flush toilets.

*Waterless urinals that use a filter-based technology save over 1 million gallons of water annually.

Sustainable Site

*50 percent of the site was left undeveloped. 75 acres has been set aside to preserve existing plants and wildlife habitat.

*Storm water at the site is managed through an innovative system that uses unpaved ditches and culverts. This system allows much of the water to be naturally absorbed into the soil and groundwater in the area, and filters out solids before water leaves the site.

*All landscaping added to the site consists of either native species or specially adapted drought-resistant plants to eliminate the need for an irrigation system.

“The good environmental decisions made regarding Lansing Delta Township were also good business decisions,” said Skiven. “The cost to construct the plant was less than a traditional assembly plant, and its operating costs also are significantly lower.”

...

Lansing Delta Township is 2.4 million square feet and will have approximately 3,000 team members when in full production. Lansing Delta Township Assembly is critical to GM's global manufacturing strategy, and sets the world standard for a state-of-the-art, innovative, high-tech automotive manufacturing facility of the future. The LEED certification covers the buildings housing the body shop, general assembly, administration building and visitor’s center. The buildings housing the paint shop and regional stamping activities on site are not covered by the LEED certification because they were previously contracted and constructed.

The U.S. Green Building Council is the nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. More information on USBBC can be found at http://www.usgbc.org/.

[deftonesfan867]

But I thought Toyota was the green company, that hippie down the street told me so.

[loki]

cool...

so if all the plants could save this much money.... the unions would make up for it? lol

[PurdueGuy]

I think that's great. I'm not a tree-hugger, but manufacturing plants should take this kind of responsability, even if just to protect the community from having to deal with a messy facility.

[thegriffon]

But I thought Toyota was the green company, that hippie down the street told me so.

176082[/snapback]

This is more a dig at a certain Ford plant than anyone else.

[toyoguy]

Lansing, Mich. -- General Motors’ new Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant has received a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The building is the only automotive manufacturing plant in the world – as well as the largest facility and the most complex manufacturing site -- to ever receive any level of LEED certification.

Edited August 5, 2006 by toyoguy

[prototype66]

Oh ya, thats right ,uh huh uh huh uh huh !!!home town making good again! this is just phase one of two slated for that property! WE ROCK AGAIN!!!! yah:

Edited August 5, 2006 by prototype66

[ToniCipriani]

176212[/snapback]

This just proves your inability to think logically and all you do is blindly bash and nitpick.

The plant is in the US. So it's normal for a US authority to grant the certification. And if there are no plants around the world that meets the standard, what's wrong to claim the first in the world?

[enzl]

Kudos to GM.

Now it's the PR dept's turn to work their magic and get THIS kind of story out....

[toyoguy]

This just proves your inability to think logically and all you do is blindly bash and nitpick.

The plant is in the US. So it's normal for a US authority to grant the certification. And if there are no plants around the world that meets the standard, what's wrong to claim the first in the world?

176261[/snapback]

How about the US doesn't have the authority to rank overseas plants. Thus the the claim to having the only certificate in the world is idiotic.

Does that make logical sense, or is this beyond your thinking capacity?

[AAS]

How about the US doesn't have the authority to rank overseas plants.  Thus the the claim to having the only certificate in the world is idiotic.

Does that make logical sense, or is this beyond your thinking capacity?

176527[/snapback]

Is it possible that the overseas plants do not meet standards similar to those set by the US authorities, and hence the GM plant is the only one in the world?

[regfootball]

trust me, LEED is tough to attain. GOLD LEED is insane. kudos to GM. this shows real leadership. let's see toyota do this.

[FAPTurbo]

176212[/snapback]

This just proves your inability to think logically and all you do is blindly bash and nitpick.

The plant is in the US. So it's normal for a US authority to grant the certification. And if there are no plants around the world that meets the standard, what's wrong to claim the first in the world?

176261[/snapback]

Edited August 6, 2006 by Captainbooyah

[toyoguy]

Is it possible that the overseas plants do not meet standards similar to those set by the US authorities, and hence the GM plant is the only one in the world?

176538[/snapback]

It's American, Canadians have a similiar process it seems.

http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19

I'm sure it's a difficult standard to attain, and good for GM. But it's funny GM's pressrelease points out worldwide, which implies overseas plants can be rated as well. Sneaky marketing I suppose.

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=LEED&...s=1&sp-t=search

http://pressroom.toyota.com/search?s=0&criteria=LEED

Edited August 6, 2006 by toyoguy

[Solstice007]

http://pressroom.toyota.com/search?s=0&criteria=LEED

I'd say getting a full-size 1.5 million sq ft assembly plant to the Gold standard is more impressive than getting a 624,000 sq ft office building to Gold or a 98,000 sq ft training facility to Silver.

[ToniCipriani]

 

176564[/snapback]

And you are implying...

[Northstar]

But it's funny GM's pressrelease points out worldwide, which implies overseas plants can be rated as well.  Sneaky marketing I suppose.

http://pressroom.toyota.com/search?s=0&criteria=LEED

176568[/snapback]

And Toyota never uses any sneaky marketing :rolleyes:

Err, I mean, only every other day.

Before you go bashing GM, why don't you come up with some proof that other plants are just as clean? Oh, that's right, you can't.

[Northstar]

I'd say getting a full-size 1.5 million sq ft assembly plant to the Gold standard is more impressive than getting a 624,000 sq ft office building to Gold or a 98,000 sq ft training facility to Silver.

176596[/snapback]

[regfootball]

And Toyota never uses any sneaky marketing    :rolleyes:

Err, I mean, only every other day.

Before you go bashing GM, why don't you come up with some proof that other plants are just as clean? Oh, that's right, you can't.

176650[/snapback]

toyota

"our prius gets 70% of its advertised mileage. or less. TOYOTA!"

[FAPTurbo]

And you are implying...

176622[/snapback]

That it seems many Toyota fans that I have met will never give an inch of ground to GM or any other automaker, even if Toyota's competitor manages to do something better.

I was going to write a response to Toyoguy, but I figured, "what's the point."

[ToniCipriani]

Oh... I thought you were talking about me...

[ToniCipriani]

And Toyota never uses any sneaky marketing    :rolleyes:

Err, I mean, only every other day.

Before you go bashing GM, why don't you come up with some proof that other plants are just as clean? Oh, that's right, you can't.

176650[/snapback]

Speaking of which, I wonder why he/she didn't respond to any of the Toyota recall threads...

[toyoguy]

Before you go bashing GM, why don't you come up with some proof that other plants are just as clean? Oh, that's right, you can't.

176650[/snapback]

I'm not bashing anything, it's dumb martketing.

It's hard to come up w/a plant that meets LEED when none have been recently built.

But I'll come up w/one when Toyota's SA plant starts building the new Tundra.

[Flybrian]

I'm not bashing anything, it's dumb martketing.

It's hard to come up w/a plant that meets LEED when none have been recently built.

But I'll come up w/one when Toyota's SA plant starts building the new Tundra.

176891[/snapback]

Its not dumb "martketing;" its a press release. Jesus Christ...

[Northstar]

I'm not bashing anything, it's dumb martketing.

It's hard to come up w/a plant that meets LEED when none have been recently built.

But I'll come up w/one when Toyota's SA plant starts building the new Tundra.

176891[/snapback]

How is it dumb? Dumb marketing would be not mentioning it.

What a thought! It's hard to come up with a plant that's meets LEED if none have been recently built? Wow!

If Toyota's is LEED-Gold, then that's great, and I'm sure that they'll market it as well. And I'm sure that you won't think it's dumb marketing.

[G. David Felt]

So other than Toyota and GM dudes bashing on each other. Back to the thread. This does, wether it is world wide or North America only show's leadership by a company that is working to be more responsible to the world.

Leadership comes by working to build a better place for the workers, the environment and still being profitable.

GO GM!

Course being First and that Toyota does not have this yet.

[prototype66]

  So other than Toyota and GM dudes bashing on each other.  Back to the thread.  This does, wether it is world wide or North America only show's leadership by a company that is working to be more responsible to the world. 

Leadership comes by working to build a better place for the workers, the environment and still being profitable.

GO GM! 

Course being First and that Toyota does not have this yet. 

177594[/snapback]

Very well put, and............oh ya did I say Lansing Rocks yet?

[Dsuupr]

Kudos to GM.

Now it's the PR dept's turn to work their magic and get THIS kind of story out....

176267[/snapback]

Unfortunetly GM isn't really good at this. And we all know toyota has a plant in 50th place that they will advertise how great it is because they started recycling cardboard.

[NOS2006]

That's awesome. A girl (who I've been talking to quite a bit lately) I'm going to school with starting in late September lives near the plant in Lansing. It was funny because I was saying I'm trying to talk my parents into the GMC Acadia for their next purchase and right off the bat she was like, "Oh, isn't that built at the Delta plant in Lansing?" I was like