For those in the gaming, hospitality and retail industries, the effort to "go green" is beginning to catch on worldwide. Yet, while sounding simple enough, the effort to "go green" can be clouded by questions of "why," "how" and, of course, "how much?"

"Green growth is phenomenal across the globe. The business opportunities afforded by green building, even in the midst of a global economic crisis, are real and recognized by industry players," says McGraw-Hill Construction Vice President Harvey Bernstein.

What we have found at YWS America is that whether you are building from the ground up, renovating, upgrading or expanding, green is no longer a color choice, but a commitment and requirement. We believe "going green" will be incorporated into everyday life, similar to the effect the Americans with Disabilities Act had on the market when it was first introduced in 1990.

To that end, we are currently "going green" at our offices in Las Vegas by undergoing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. It is a voluntary program that is recognized around the world and allows building owners to gain third-party recognition of measurable green practices in the areas of design, construction, operations and maintenance. LEED buildings, on average, use 40 percent less water and 30 percent less energy while cutting carbon emissions by 35 percent and reducing solid waste by 70 percent.

At YWS, we have the unique advantage of providing three separate perspectives on "going green."

As owners of our building, we understand that we must demonstrate environmental stewardship and responsibility.

As tenants in our own building, we understand that going green also reduces costs to building management such as maintenance and utilities, as well as those associated with employee sick leave, health care and productivity loss.

As architects who espouse sustainable designs, we believe that in this world of dwindling natural resources, high energy and maintenance costs and increased environmental awareness, it is imperative that today's public facilities set a positive sustainable example for the communities of which they are a part.

So the question remains: Why should we go "green?" According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit trade group, it has been determined that of all the human activities that impact the earth, none exceed the construction, operation and occupation of the buildings we inhabit. Collectively, buildings use 72 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States. They account for 38 percent of the manually produced carbon dioxide that pours into this country's atmosphere. They produce 30 percent of the waste in our landfills, and they consume 40 percent of our raw materials.

So "how" does one "go green?" While the following techniques are extremely helpful in a company's effort to increase sustainability or "green," by no means will these methods alone garner a LEED rating. However, some initial steps that can be taken to achieve this goal are:

Occupant recycling
Most of the waste generated from office operations is paper, and as such, a property needs to create a comprehensive recycling program with the goal of recycling 95 percent of waste generated from office operations. Because of the ratio of recycled material to non-recycled material, all waste collection bins in an office should be for mixed recycled materials with the exception of those in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Purchasing of sustainable products
All companies should implement a comprehensive purchasing program for acquiring sustainable materials. The program should include a purchasing audit, which will enable the identification of sustainable products, as well as the substitution of non-sustainable products with their sustainable equivalent, with the goal of purchasing more than 75 percent sustainable products for daily operations.

Parking lot efficiencies
By using drought tolerant plants that are native, or adaptive native, a company is able to reduce landscape water needs by more than 60 percent from normally landscaped commercial office buildings. Also, employers should give priority parking to those who carpool or drive alternative fuel vehicles. All carbon use for employees' trips back and forth to the office, including air travel for business, should be offset with carbon credits.

Conservation through lighting
A building's annual energy consumption should be reduced to qualify for a high LEED rating. To accomplish this, companies should upgrade the entire lighting system to low wattage LED lamps and low wattage fluorescent tubes. This can reduce the annual lighting load by 60 percent as well as the indirect heating load from incandescent lamps.

How much will it cost to "go green?" There is a perception that pursuing LEED certification will increase the cost of design and construction. While this is true, much of this cost increase can be offset by federal and state tax credits as well as reduction in the consumption of utilities. In the case of YWS, it is estimated that we will recoup the investment of LEED EB building upgrades in less than three years. The total investment for the green features at our headquarters was $71,610. After three years, we will save $77,000. Each year thereafter, our ROI will continue to increase, giving us extra money to upgrade and expand.

Through the process of updating our headquarters to a LEED Gold rating, we learned a few things that we can share with those considering "going green." As owners, we learned that a smart approach to LEED can result in an economically attainable LEED certification. As tenants, we learned that it is really not that difficult to adopt sustainable practices. All improvements to the building were supervised by YWS staff, and conducted during normal operational hours. This provided an intimate environment for educating the tenants. As architects, our key lesson was that paying attention to the tenants of a building, whether it is new or existing, can yield amazing insights about the space. Consider that each occupant has an intimate experience with the space which he or she inhabits for 40, 50 or 60 hours per week. This means the person is, in fact, the sustainability specialist on that space. 

By Tom Wucherer

Tom Wucherer, AIA, is principal and partner of Las Vegas-based YWS Architects, and specializes in the integrated design of hotel-resort, dining, gaming and retail projects. With experience in assorted aspects on the design and development of numerous world-class leisure facilities, Wucherer has worked with virtually every major Las Vegas-based gaming company during his career.