I'm proud to say a local business the National Life Group of Vermont in Montpelier, VT where I live recieved silver certification in the USGBC's LEED for Existing Buildings Program. The three building campus is among the largest in Vermont and employs many in my community and the surrounding area. It's fantastic to see a large corporation plunge into the LEED-EB process and complete the journey. They demonstrate yet again why they are a model VT business, setting examples for others to follow in the state and in their greater insurance industry.
The LEED-EB program purpose is to recognize exemplary performance upgrade efforts to existing buildings in energy efficiency through lighting upgrades and mechanical system optimization, reduction of water use, internal sustainability efforts such as green commuting programs, recycling and waste reduction among many factors. A silver level is the second level in a four tier recognition system, beginning with certified, then silver, gold and finally platinum. Each step is for increasingly better performance and efforts by the building owner.
To read more about the effort and those involved, including Tim Shea who helped lead the charge internally at National Life please see the link to an article at VermontBiz. As part of the effort, they installed at 73 KW solar electric photovoltaic array making it among the largest in Vermont. NRG Systems in Hinesburg has a 141 KW installed between it's two buildings and is also among the largest in Vermont. What's great is not who has the most PV installed it's that it's happening right here in cloudy New England and it's financially viable over the long haul!
The bottom-line is National Life's continued committment to Greening their facilities is another reason to pay attention to Vermont Businesses and the Green Valley of Vermont.
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