Lord Green Strategies - BRE Group
LORD Green Strategies pursues BREEAM USA for its HQ in Dallas, Texas
Overview
LORD Green Strategies, now acquired by RE Tech Advisors, moved into its new headquarters in Dallas and quickly set about improving the building’s performance. Despite some very inefficient features left behind by previous ownership, the project team made fast progress. The building achieved an initial BREEAM rating of Good and plans to build on this to achieve a higher rating in the future.
About
LORD Green Strategies is a sustainability consulting firm that focuses on commercial real estate.
As an industry leader, LORD Green Strategies is aiming to achieve all relevant green building certifications at its headquarters, including BREEAM USA-In Use, to demonstrate the company’s commitment to sustainability.
Background
Originally built in 1959, the building features a mid-century modern design and has undergone several renovations including additions in 2006 and 2013. As a leading global sustainability consulting firm, LORD Green Strategies decided to purchase the building in 2017 to fit the growing needs of the company. This was also an opportunity to put into action the sustainable practices and strategies it has developed and offered to its clients for more than ten years.
Challenges
Moving into a new building presented many challenges for LORD Green Strategies. A major issue was that the building had not been operated efficiently under previous ownership. The client had inherited many unsustainable features, including halogen lamps throughout the building and excessive watering practices..
Solutions
The project team’s strategy was to address the existing inefficiencies quickly. This allowed them to collect one year of good performance data and input it into the BREEAM In-Use Online Tool to assess the building’s performance. The goal was to establish a baseline and to use the online tool to increase the benchmark rating over time
The BREEAM assessment allowed the project team to benchmark the current performance of the building and identify areas of improvement. In order to achieve a Good rating, several improvements were implemented including a whole-building LED retrofit, a weather-based irrigation controller, and secure bicycle storage.
Several existing green features of the building contributed to the rating. These included:
Operable windows
Proximity to public transport
Extensive planted areas featuring native plants
A shaded rest area for employees.
Benefits
LORD Green Strategies found that BREEAM certification addressed the challenges faced and complimented the company’s commitment to sustainability by addressing areas such as resilience, health, and wellbeing. The holistic assessment approach meant all issues were addressed, resulting in a more comfortable and resilient work environment.
The certification guided the project team to formalize many policies and procedures, including an environmental management policy and a sustainable procurement policy.
Next steps
The BREEAM rating system provides the tools and guidance to increase building performance over time. The project team plans to pursue a higher benchmark rating within three years and pursue Part 3: Occupier Management to further demonstrate the property’s commitment to sustainability.