LEED Expertise
The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) encourages environmentally friendly design and construction by providing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification guidelines for commercial buildings. As a member of USGBC, Pirtle Construction is proud to make a meaningful contribution to our environment by actively promoting green building issues and consumer awareness. We are committed to sustainable design and lessening our impact on the environment. As the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) states, build green, everyone profits. We believe in this ideal and strive to lead by example in South Florida's Green construction, this is proven by the Pirtle Corporate Office receiving LEED Silver Certification. In 2009, the National Green Building Committee of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) named Pirtle Construction Company a "National Certified Green Contractor," the first contractor in Florida and ninth in the nation to receive this designation. Furthermore, USGBC South Florida Chapter named Pirtle the "2010 Most Outstanding Green Business."
There are countless advantages to building green. Green buildings protect occupant health, which leads to increased productivity, a reduction in sick days, and a general improvement in mood and morale. The focus on conservation means green buildings are energy and water efficient -- innovations such as designing for natural sunlight while using architecture to reduce heat intake can greatly reduce the overall cost of a buildings operation. Other green construction methods, such as buying local materials in order to restrict the amount of fuel used in transportation, are also often the best in terms of quality assurance and cost savings.
In fact, green buildings pay for themselves in the first three to seven years, and continue to save our clients money throughout the buildings lifetime.
South Florida has only recently begun to experience a concerted effort to build green, and Pirtle Construction has been a major part of that process. We built Broward County's first Silver Certified LEED Building, the South Regional/Broward College Joint-Use Library, then built our own new headquarters in Davie to LEED Silver standards, solidifying our commitment to green building. We've gone on to build the State of Florida's first LEED Gold Elementary School, Pine Jog Elementary School, as well as the FAU Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, a LEED Gold Certified project. Pirtle recently completed Pine Crest Preparatory Schools first green academic facility, the LEED Gold Certified Lower School Building on their Boca Raton Campus. In addition, the City of Palm Beach Gardens Emergency Operations and Communications Center, the City's first LEED city-owned building, just received LEED Silver Certification from USGBC. Currently, Pirtle has an additional 13 LEED project in our portfolio for a total of 18 LEED projects, including Galaxy Elementary School in Palm Beach County, which is striving for LEED Platinum Certification.
Since then, we've employed cost-saving, health-friendly innovations such as use of local materials, waste recycling, and high indoor air quality standards in every project. In the last year, we've tripled the number of LEED Accredited Professionals on our staff -- including three out of five executives -- and provide training for any member of our team looking to achieve certification. We even train subcontractors on how to build green and follow the principles of sustainable design when working on Pirtle projects.
LEED Commitment
- Member of U.S. Green Building Council
- ABC National Certified Green Builder - one of eight contractors in the United States and first contractor in Florida to receive this designation
- Founding Member of Palm Beach/Treasure Coast branch of USGBC South Florida Chapter
- Pirtle's Corporate Headquarters is LEED Silver Certified
- USGCB Board Member Gary Pirtle, PE, LEED AP
- Subcontractor Buy-In Through Education
- Standardized LEED Documentation Procedures
- 14 LEED Accredited Professionals on Staff
- 18 LEED projects in our portfolio - 3 LEED Silver Certified, 3 LEED Gold Certified