IES Blog

Some customers may like their coffee black, but Starbucks wants them to associate their coffee with green…

Not only will Starbucks change its offerings to reflect the more ethical and healthier choices that many desire, it is also changing how its stores are built, furnished and operate. Actually, a few weeks ago, Starbucks announced its commitment towards sustainable design, with a new global store design strategy focused towards an “ongoing commitment to ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship and community involvement.” This will be an interesting commitment to follow, as Starbucks on virtually every corner in the States will be remodelled foe LEED standards.

For instance, all the incandescent bulbs will be replaced by more energy efficient bulbs. And that is just the first step. Starbucks is also going for LEED certification at all new, company-operated stores using energy conservation, recycling, and green construction with reused, recycled and local materials and focus on local craftsmanship.

Starbucks also wants its customers to be aware of the challenge launched by the planet and of the means they have to face it. That’s why it will also begin posting plaques in stores to explain green construction and decor elements to customers to educate and motivate them to make more environmentally responsible choices. On Starbucks’ website, it’s even possible to visit a green Starbucks store!

But Starbucks is not the only giant which is becoming green: McDonald’s head office in Oak Brook, Ill., was awarded the platinum level of the building council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Hopefully, these worldwide giants’ efforts will be seen as an example of sustainable behaviour by all their customers!

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Tags:LEED, recycle, recycling, reuse, Sustainability

2010-imperative

As we discussed earlier this year, the 2010 Imperative is on a mission, challenging colleges and universities to become carbon-neutral by 2010. It also aims at making ecological literacy become a key element of design education by that year in an effort to combat global warming and world resource depletion. Many students, firms and Universities have already signed up for 2010 Imperative, as you can see on http://www.architecture2030.org/2010_imperative/2010imperative_adoptions.php.

In fact, it is the students who seem really concerned by climate change, many have chosen to personally adopt the 2010 Imperative and are therefore committed to encouraging their schools to adopt and implement it. Several facebook groups have been created about the 2010 Imperative, which further shows that students want to make everybody sensitive to the challenge launched by the planet.

IES is on-board and doing all we can to help, offering all N. American schools signed up for The 2010 Imperative a free VE-Pro network license, which is worth thousands of dollars. Some of the schools that have signed and taken us up on this offer are the Pratt Institute of Technology, University of Southern California and Savannah College of Art and Design.

But this initiative isn’t just something colleges and universities should be considering. Nationwide, we can all help to make the world a more eco-friendly place by reviewing the ways in which we use things in our everyday lives. Or of you’re in the construction industry, sign up to the 2030 Challenge, and commit to designing buildings with greatly reduced carbon footprints.

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Tags:2010 Imperative, Architecture 2030, free, reduce, VE-Pro