What is Green Building?
Green Building is an approach to construction that considers the energy efficiency and environmental impact of all aspects of a project: site planning, building design, in-process practices, building materials, and building systems.
Why Build Green?
The environmental benefits of green building—the conservation of natural resources and reductions in energy consumption and CO2 emissions—might be the most obvious, but the financial benefits can be just as compelling. Because green buildings are healthier for occupants, they can boost productivity while reducing sick-time and employee turnover. Green buildings offer further long-term financial benefits in the form of reduced energy costs, increased property values, and tax incentives. So while some might assume that building green is expensive, the truth is that not building green is always more expensive in the end.
Committed to Sustainability
At Chapman, sustainability is more than just a buzzword—it's our guiding philosophy. We've put this philosophy into action in a number of ways, from our paperless project management system to the LEED Platinum renovation of our own offices, which includes a 47 kW photovoltaic array to cover our electric power needs. To minimize fuel consumption, our staff travels to jobsites and client meetings in Chapman hybrid cars, while our Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Program offers financial incentives to employees who make sustainable choices in their own lives. To read more about these programs, please visit our Green Initiatives page.
Our Model: Chapman's Green Pyramid
No two construction projects are alike, especially when it comes to green strategies. We developed our "green pyramid" to illustrate the range of strategies available to clients. Starting with fundamental steps like greening your company's mindset and recycling construction debris, the pyramid ascends through improvements in indoor environmental quality, occupant comfort, building envelope, and mechanical systems. At the very top of the pyramid are renewable energy systems, such as wind turbines and photovoltaics, which offer the greatest potential environmental and financial impacts. Green Building isn't an all-or-nothing proposition: we believe that virtually all projects, large and small, can benefit from some degree of green thinking.
