Sustainability Case Studies

The new university, the tenth in the renowned University of California (UC) system, was sited near Merced, two hours southeast of San Francisco. A beautiful, but definitely rural, location, "there was nothing out here," says Richard Schwarz, Project Director. UC Merced is on the map now, though: it's the first university in the US with campuswide LEED certification, at the silver level. University leaders took a sustainability perspective from the start, from site selection and development to smart buildings with lower energy usage, and of course, sustainable products.
University of California, Merced

When Heifer needed a new headquarters, they were determined to demonstrate their mission and the sustainability principles they live by, and help their employees to communicate and work together better. In other words, Heifer planned to practice exactly what it preaches. The company chose their site, building materials, and furnishings with great care, and put equal effort into creating a workspace that's open and collaborative. Read the full story of a building that's earned LEED Platinum certification, and been hailed as one of the Top Ten Green Projects for 2007 by the American Institute of Architects.
Heifer International

Seventh Generation, a leading marketer of non-toxic and environmentally safe household products, was growing quickly and decided to move to a new facility where all their employees could work under one roof. The company wanted to create a "space that inherently had the essence of the company in it," says Gregor Barnum, director of corporate consciousness. First and foremost, that meant the organization they chose to work with had to share their environmental beliefs and understand what Seventh Generation was all about. Steelcase helped bring this vision to life, having almost every product used in this project received Greenguard certification.
Seventh Generation