Editor's note: This story originally ran in the Inside the Industry section of the May 2008 issue of Lawn & Landscape.

A landscape company is constructing a new campus in Laytonsville, Md., to house its more earth-friendly headquarters.

Ruppert Cos. hope to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating when the 16-acre campus is completed. Buildings include the company’s corporate office for Ruppert Properties, the light industrial warehouse development arm, as well as the nursery division and two of its local landscape and landscape management branches. Surrounding the campus are 160 acres of Ruppert Nurseries’ trees.
 
The buildings will be judged on five main areas to determine if they can be designated as green: site sustainability; water efficiency; energy use and savings; materials and resources; and indoor environmental quality.

“Going green is something that most of America wants to feel part of,” says Craig Ruppert, president of Ruppert Cos. “Our people are no exception. They will take more pride in the company because the company is moving in this direction.”
 
The company offers services that are considered part of the green movement. There hasn’t been much consumer demand yet for such services in the regions the company does business, but Ruppert suspects it will catch on soon, and the experience that came from constructing the campus will come in handy when it does. For example, a green roof will be constructed on one of the buildings, and it can be used to educate prospective customers about the installations.

The buildings, scheduled to be finished by late summer, will bring the company other benefits on a practical level, Ruppert adds. A cleaner, brighter working environment leads to happier employees, which is the primary goal, and increased productivity.

In addition, it will take less fuel to heat the place and the buildings will use less electricity across the board. Energy-saving measures include motion detectors, efficient light bulbs throughout, and efficient HVAC systems. The company is even looking into generating solar and, potentially, wind energy, which could allow them to generate more energy than they use.

“One of the compelling reasons to spend more money to have green facility is we’ll get some of that back over long term, depending on price of energy in the future,” he says. “That’s a big factor.”