Green Construction
A Proven Sustainable Advantage
What started as a grassroots effort has grown considerably greener as companies experience the proven benefits of high-performance green buildings. Increased capitalization and greater marketability, higher employee productivity, and improved building efficiency resulting in long-term cost benefits create the triple-bottom-line that continues to drive rising market demand. In fact, the U.S. Green Building Council reported that the estimated value of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) for New Construction registered projects in 2006 reached $200 billion.
To assist customers with developing and implementing the best strategy to meet environmental and business goals, DPR combines experienced people, a collaborative methodology and custom tools to achieve sustainable success. DPR offers a wide variety of high-performance green building services tailored to fit the specific needs of our customers. Whether you would like a training seminar on green practices and LEED certification or you want DPR's "Green Team" to facilitate a Charrette to enhance the performance of your next project, we are prepared to deliver the most innovative services to move your business and our industry forward.
- DPR Video Gallery
-
DPR utilizes technologies, like energy modeling, to find new solutions and increase building efficiency over the lifecycle of a facility. A spotlight on DPR's current project for Roche Molecular Systems that is using such technologies for sustainable success. View video now
Featured Green Construction Projects
Aspect Communications
Corporate Campus
Carnegie Institute of Washington
Global Ecology Center
Wachovia Corporation
New Retail Bank
City of Rancho Cordova
City Hall Tenant Improvement
Intuit, Inc.
San Diego Campus
DPR Construction/ABD Insurance
Office Building
Allsteel
Allsteel/Gunlocke Showroom
Alexandria Real Estate Equities
681 Gateway
Arizona Board of Regents
The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, Buildings A and B
VMware, Inc.
Corporate Campus
Lancaster Foods
Cold Storage Facility
People: Trained, Accredited and Experienced
With a resume of more than $1 billion in green building projects and the highest percentage of LEED-accredited professionals on staff among general contractors in the nation, DPR has the expertise required to guide you through the green building process. From inception to completion, our green teams have repeatedly demonstrated the value of having knowledgeable resources available, beginning with early cost comparison and selection of green materials all the way through construction and LEED certification.
DPR offers LEED-trained and accredited professionals in every office across the country. To date, more than 500 professionals have been trained in overall sustainability and green building in addition to all of the available LEED programs, including v2.0 and v 2.1 for New Construction, LEED-EB for Existing Buildings, and LEED-CI for Commercial Interiors. In addition, 27 percent of DPR's current staff is LEED accredited. Following is a breakdown by state of LEED-accredited professionals ready to assist you on your next project:
Experienced in the principles of green construction, including how to minimize resource consumption, utilize renewable/recyclable resources, create healthy non-toxic human environments and apply life cycle cost analysis, our green gurus are not only researching and implementing the latest green building practices companywide but also constantly reevaluating to improve the overall delivery process.
Methodology: A Passion for Green
In 2003, DPR's Sacramento office building was the FIRST privately owned office building in California's Central Valley to pursue LEED certification. Achieving Silver LEED for New Construction and Gold LEED for Commercial Interiors (pilot program), DPR's Sacramento office also received the 2004 Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award.
What we learned from our own green office building and the 19 other projects we have completed since 2001 serves as the foundation of our green building program that continues to grow and evolve with each new experience. We understand firsthand what our owners need, and we leverage our technical and green expertise to deliver. Our proven collaborative approach yields quantifiable results.
We provide the upfront detailed cost data compared to long-term life-cycle savings to help you make better informed decisions. We offer the leadership and depth of experience needed to facilitate Charrettes, manage the process and hold the entire team accountable to a focused project vision, goals and strategies. We are passionate about the entire green and sustainable process that makes it intrinsic to everything we do to deliver a higher quality facility and experience for you.
Custom Tools: Enhancing the Process
Based on practical applications used during our projects, DPR has developed customized green building tools to assist customers in LEED management and green building practices.
Our custom tools are the most advanced in the construction industry. You will receive demonstrated examples and cost analyses that illustrate how sustainable materials, design and construction make a lasting, positive impact on business and the environment, helping you build a strong business case for green. We continually improve the quality of information provided to you to ensure that the most beneficial outcomes are realized. We also use Ecologic3, the only commercially available software package that allows teams across the nation to collaborate in the analysis of the LEED rating system and various levels of certification.
The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based building rating system that evaluates environmental performance from a whole building perspective over a building's life cycle, providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a "green building."
The Benefits of Green
Green buildings not only help the environment but also boost productivity and reduce costs by improving indoor environmental quality and increasing overall energy and operational efficiencies. According to the USGBC, people working in green offices are typically 2 to 16 percent more productive, patients staying in green hospitals are discharged earlier, and children attending green schools have experienced improved test scores. Following are some additional notable benefits of green buildings:
- Discounted insurance rates
- Utility rebates
- Expedited permitting
- Healthier workplace environments
- Density bonuses
- Reduced absenteeism
- Retention
- Higher rental rates
- Increased occupancy rates
- Increased sales per square foot (retail)
- Increased production (manufacturing)
- Marketing and PR value
- Increased property/building values
- Tax rebates
In addition, owners will experience reduced life cycle and facility operations costs, which includes energy savings that can average between 25 and 50 percent.
Practice What we Preach
DPR will have a proven track record of being environmentally responsible in the way we do business. - One of DPR's 10 Camp 2010 goals.
Our commitment to environmental good practice extends throughout the company. Driven by employees, our green program includes being proactive in our offices and on our jobsites:
- DPR's Redwood City and Sacramento offices are targeting LEED for Existing Buildings certification.
- DPR's Atlanta, Falls Church and San Francisco offices are seeking LEED for Commercial Interiors certification.
- We also completed a companywide survey to measure our total carbon footprint over the last year and have set goals regionally and nationally to reduce DPR's overall carbon emissions.
- Our project teams track debris generated on our jobsites through a custom module as part of our national recycling/waste diversion program. To date, every DPR project that has obtained LEED certification has diverted a minimum of 75 percent of its waste from landfills.
