How to Minimize Your Footprint and Maximize Your Handprint.

How to Minimize Your Footprint and Maximize Your Handprint

November 30, 2022

Blog by: John McFarland, Vice President, WorkingBuildings

An increased focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities and reporting has companies redoubling their efforts to minimize their impact on the environment. But while each building project has a footprint—the negative impact associated with natural resources consumed during construction as well as ongoing operations—it also has a handprint—its positive impact on the communities around it.?

It’s not unlike a dam being built by a beaver. From the perspective of an Aspen tree growing nearby, the dam poses a threat as the beaver gnaws through trees and branches and uses the freshly cut pieces to construct the complex structure. The voles living in the meadow nearby are likely to be displaced as the new construction causes flooding. But the net impact of the dam is positive—there are numerous benefits to the watershed and the wildlife habitats that surround it, from reduced erosion to improved water quality and the creation of new shelter and nesting sites for other wildlife.?

The same premise holds true with a building, and the key to sustainability in the built environment lies in minimizing the footprint without jeopardizing the good the building delivers. Consider the case of a new hospital currently under construction. The boilers will burn natural gas, and the chillers will consume electricity as they condition the air in the new building. But the state-of-the-art campus will include significant greenspace, allowing for walking trails and views of nature from patient rooms, while facilitating cutting-edge care that improves the health and lives of the patients it serves—a handprint that more than justifies the footprint involved.?

Sustainability is a balance, one that requires a few unique considerations as you guide project teams through the process of delivering more resource-conscious, energy-efficient buildings.

1. Understand your goals.?What are you trying to accomplish, and what are your priorities??If your goal is to reduce water use to hedge against the high cost of water in your area, a water reclamation system may make sense, even if it has a long-term payback. If you want to ensure that your sustainability efforts are visible to employees and the public, you may want to consider placing solar panels strategically on parts of the building where they can be clearly seen, while also producing electricity.
2. Evaluate your constraints.?While every project has the potential to be sustainable, every project also has constraints in the form of budget, location, and intended program, and each of these can inhibit your ability to create the most sustainable structure possible. What might get in the way of building the most environmentally friendly building possible? Sustainability measures and constraints vary by project as well as by geographic region.?
3. Take a practical approach.?Chart a path forward that balances your goals and constraints. You may want to irrigate surrounding landscape with non-potable water, but if your ground water is hard to access, it may be more prudent to focus the landscape planting choices to favor native and thus more resilient -- even if they cost a bit more than perhaps more traditional plant choices.?In much the same way, a decorative water fountain consumes energy, but you might decide it’s worth the tradeoff given the joy it brings to the families visiting the site.?
4. Be willing to put in the work required.?If you’re a runner and want to do well in a race, you have to put in the time and training to perform at your best; if you’re pursuing LEED certification, you’re going to have to go beyond how the average building is designed, constructed, and operated in order to be successful. And, just as a coach can help a runner understand the best way to get faster given the time available to train and his or her unique strengths and limitations, an expert in sustainable resource management can help you move your projects as far down a sustainable path as your program and budget allow.

Above all, celebrate the good! The key to a sustainable built environment lies in minimizing the footprint, not eliminating it, and maximizing the benefits. Constructing a new hospital may require the removal of some trees (many of which may very well be replanted), but the patients can’t be treated in the woods, so the net impact of the building will be positive.?As a project team, make sure you celebrate the positives!?

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