Aligning a LEED Platinum project team with a client’s core values

As a global leader in the animal health and nutrition industry, Novus’ core value since our founding in 1991 is to make health, safety and environmental consideration a priority in all we do. Novus’ mission is to “help feed the world affordable, wholesome food.”

When we chose to consolidate our global headquarters and the Novus International Research Center into a single facility in the Missouri Research Park in Saint Charles, Mo., we wanted to work with a design-build firm that didn’t just talk about Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) but had the experts in place to help us achieve platinum certification. And most importantly, we wanted to align with a design and construction team that shared our environmental core values.

In the Clayco team, we discovered a group with experience and the solutions that could match our corporate goals in a cost-effective manner.

Our LEED NC v2.2 Platinum-certified 90,000-square-foot facility includes two floors of open office space, 10 research laboratories, a state-of-the-art employee and customer training center, a fitness center and a library. Novus’ new headquarters is designed in a manner that is consistent with the solutions we provide to our industry. By implementing a whole-building approach, we lessen our environmental footprint, achieve a superior work environment and reduce operating costs.

The new office building is a pure open office environment with two levels connected by a double height “communication zone” where all common functions are located. This office space is connected to the research facility by a glass concourse that houses informal meeting areas, a common employee lounge and traditional conference rooms. Every space of the new facility has an outdoor view and abundant natural daylight. These and other measures reduce the building’s energy needs significantly while enhancing the quality of the environment used by employees.

Holistic Approach to Design-Build
Holism. While it’s usually associated with healthcare or nutrition, the philosophy of “the whole is greater than the sums of its parts” extends just as easily to both corporate sustainability goals and the design and construction industry.

Many factors determine a great building besides just great design. For instance, does the facility improve a business’s bottom line? Does it provide a productive yet comfortable work environment for every employee that enters its doors? And most importantly, does it lessen its impact on the world around us?

By partnering with a design-build firm like Clayco, which values sustainability and productivity as strongly as it values design, Novus International Inc. is opening the doors of a new facility that encompasses the most important aspects of holistic construction.

Planning and design efforts never lost sight of the Novus long-term vision of future growth and expansion. Design perfection and documentation included extensive team design reviews at each milestone. The Novus team constantly challenged the design and construction team to explore new methods and materials, such as onsite renewable energy sources and the use of rapidly renewable and salvaged materials, while maintaining project budget and schedule. The eventual product is an elegant incorporation of extensive sustainable measures. It achieved LEED Platinum and carefully aligns with Novus’ corporate global sustainability programs, including ecological design approaches.

Healthier for Our Environment
From the beginning, Novus and Clayco agreed the global facility was to be designed and built to achieve LEED NC v2.2 Platinum certification based on performance in five areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Clayco developed a holistic approach to our project to accommodate all five areas without compromising the sophisticated design that reflects our position in the industry. The innovative solutions were functional, cost-effective and environmentally sound:

* The entire site includes restoration of native vegetation and landscaping, which features materials with greatly reduced irrigation needs.

* Onsite renewable energy sources were installed to produce electricity for more than 2.5 percent of the building’s energy use. A 5,000-square-foot, 35-kW solar panel array was installed — currently one of the largest in Missouri — and provides the renewable energy source.

* The raised-floor system was salvaged from another project.

* Most of the building materials include a high percentage of recycled content and originate from within the Midwest region, thereby reducing transportation impact on the environment. More than 30 percent of the building materials have a high recycled-content value.

* Many of the interior finish materials are manufactured with rapidly renewable materials and certified wood products. Rapidly renewable materials are plant materials that naturally reproduce at a rapid rate, usually within a 10-year cycle or shorter.

* Natural lighting is abundant throughout the space with full-height perimeter windows, interior area skylights and light tubes installed into the existing building areas. More than 75 percent of interior spaces are naturally illuminated with daylight.

Both teams worked hard to plan, supervise and participate in the recycling of all construction waste. Only 1 percent of the 925 total tons ended up in area landfills. Every worker on the project knew his or her role to reach this goal as it took a total project team effort.

More than 10 percent of the building materials were salvaged. Few owners want “used” materials in their new buildings, but our team worked hard to evaluate, furnish and install products that were used but will be warranted “as new.”

Many of the implemented design and construction efforts closely aligned with the Novus corporate sustainability goals to:

* Utilize cost-effective and energy-efficient measures to extract, manufacture and distribute animal health and nutrition products.

* Be cognizant of the social impact our products have on the people we affect.

* Maintain the highest respect and careful treatment of the environment.

* Continuously measure and monitor all progress.

By combining these design-build elements with the Novus day-to-day green initiatives, Clayco helped us to lessen both our short- and long-term impact on the environment.

Healthier for Our Employees
In addition to respecting the environment, Novus and Clayco took the comfort and security of the employees into consideration throughout the design-build process. We wanted to create a welcoming atmosphere that made employees excited to come to work and reduced any negative impact on employees’ health. Clayco’s holistic efforts included:

* All finish paints, carpeting, sealants, etc., used in the building were low-VOC (volatile organic compound) and further enhance a cleaner, healthier place to work.

* Energy-efficient heating, cooling and lighting systems. Greater than 20 percent energy-use savings will be realized with high-efficiency HVAC, lighting and building envelope.

* Plumbing fixtures that use less domestic water than conventional fixtures and offer a five-year payback on water savings and no impact to employee use.

By positively contributing to the well-being of our employees, we save healthcare costs, reduce absenteeism and improve productivity. But most importantly, we create an environment where our employees feel safe and comfortable.

Healthier for Our Business
Going green was a cost-effective solution for Novus. Clayco’s coordinated team effort helped us achieve our sustainability and budgetary goals. Novus’ headquarters was built at the same cost as a comparatively priced Class A office building. Plus, the operating costs of our new building will be considerably lower thanks to high-efficiency energy and water systems.

Novus and Clayco worked together to create an environment that encourages cross-collaboration between functions, improving productivity and encouraging innovation. The office space includes open meeting, common space and several additional meeting spaces ranging from large conference rooms to “huddle spaces” for small private meetings. Our idea was to create a flexible, comfortable space where people can work in teams, share ideas and help one another problem solve.

Most important to Novus was reinforcing our reputation as an environmental leader. Since our founding, we have built our business around sustainability. Our new headquarters, which opened September 2009, is a visual representation of our dedication to holistic nutrition and environmentally friendly practices.

Novus is a leading developer of animal health and nutrition programs for the poultry, pork, beef, dairy, aquaculture and companion-animal industries. For more information, visit www.novusint.com.

Environmental Design + Construction @January 2010