Industry Forecast: A Spike In Green Signage

Recently, sign shops have been increasingly interested in the Certified Green aspect of Precision Board Plus HDU. Essentially what we have been hearing is that more and more of their customers are wanting to know what exactly their “green options” are when choosing their sign. We see this as an indicator of the change coming to the sign industry.

With the US economy also starting to improve, a rise in new building construction is on the horizon. State and Federal incentives ensure that building planners have good reason to build an earth-friendly, LEED certified building, (See our previous blog to see why LEED is so important) and naturally, green signs will be the specified standard.

Coastal Enterprises is proud to offer a certified green sign substrate, Precision Board Plus HDU, which assists in meeting LEED requirements for obtaining USGBC and ICC 700 building credits.

Our Green Certifications include:

Certified Carbon Footprint of 3:1 – For every one carbon that it takes to produce Precision Board Plus, 3 carbons are saved throughout its product life.

Certified Rapidly Renewable Resource Content of 23.9% – Roughly a quarter of each sheet of Precision Board Plus HDU is made up of a rapidly renewable resource.

With the way the industry is moving, green signage is fast becoming the standard and not the option. Simply put, providing a green substrate can help to reduce waste, reduce greenhouse gas, conserve energy and assist in meeting LEED requirements necessary for tax rebates and incentives for new buildings & homes.

If you have any additional questions about the green aspect of Precision Board Plus, please call: (800) 845-0745.

Take a look at the world’s first LEED certified parking garage at the Santa Monica Civic Center:

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LEED Certification – Why It’s Important

Many of you are probably already familiar with LEED certification, but for those who aren’t we want to share some insight into exactly what it is, and how to achieve it.

LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a certification developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000, and is aimed at promoting practical and measurable “green” building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. A LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

The benefits offered by a LEED certified building include lower operating costs, waste reduction, water conservation, greenhouse gas emission reduction and a healthy and safer building. Many cities offer very beneficial tax rebates, zoning allowances and other incentives to companies that choose to achieve a LEED certification.

Certification is given by the Green Building Certification Institute using the LEED rating system. Buildings are issued a certain amount of LEED points and the total number of points decides which of the four certification levels are granted. All of the points are awarded depending on how the buildings strategies will impact CO2 emissions and also energy efficiency.

While the USGBC does not certify or endorse any specific product, Precision Board Plus assists in meeting LEED requirements for obtaining USGBC and ICC 700 building credits. The ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard is a similar standard for rating the environmental performance of residential buildings. Green signage and tooling is becoming more and more of a requirement instead of an option for many customers, and Precision Board Plus, with a rapidly renewable resource content increased from 18.9% to 23.9% and certified Carbon Footprint of 3:1, ensures that our customers will be using the greenest signage and tooling substrate available. Visit our Green Facts page for more info.

The Hearst Tower in New York City, New York is a Gold LEED Certified Building, with over 90% of the structural steel used containing recycled materials.