Petzl America, the North American headquarters is Salt Lake City received the distinction of Platinum LEED certification for its new building. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system is a national benchmark for the design, construction, and operations of high-performing buildings that minimize their environmental impact. LEED evaluates buildings in six categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design.
The new building, completed in June 2014, was designed and built from the ground up to meet the needs and represent the values of the Petzl brand. Among those values are a focus on reducing environmental impact and promoting a healthy environment for employees and the surrounding community. In the category of new commercial construction, only eight other buildings in Utah have received Platinum LEED certification.
Petzl America’s headquarters received high marks across all categories of the LEED evaluation, says the company. The building was constructed with 22% recycled materials and 87% of the wood used is Forest Stewardship Service certified. A Building Automation System provides a dashboard with real-time feedback on water, electricity, and natural gas use, and allows the control of heating, cooling, and lighting from a central computer. A water-efficient irrigation system, limited turf area, and xeriscaping all contribute to efficient water use, in addition to the building’s low flush toilets.
A rooftop photovoltaic-panel array accommodates 20% of the building’s electrical needs, while a combination of large windows and Sky Tracker skylights with GPS-controlled reflector lenses maximize daylight throughout the workspace. Nearly 98% of the regularly occupied spaces are naturally daylit, and a visual connection to the outdoors is present throughout.
As part of Petzl’s commitment to employees, the building includes access to a 55-foot climbing wall and separate employee bouldering wall and fitness area, full kitchen facilities, adjustable standing desks, and an outdoor volleyball court. To help reduce employee reliance on cars, the new building is within a quarter-mile of two public transportation light-rail stations and includes bike storage and maintenance facilities, as well as a fleet of bikes for employees to use. There is a charging station for electric vehicles, as well.
The new headquarters utilizes a cutting-edge materials handling system made by Opex, called Perfect Pick. This robotic “goods to man” system not only reduces the footprint required for inventory storage, but is very energy efficient. The iBOTs utilize onboard ultra-capacitors to recapture energy during deceleration and descent, and store that energy to propel the iBOTs during the picking process. According to OPEX, the solution uses less than 50 percent of the energy required for competing technologies.
The warehouse, office spaces, and Petzl Technical Institute training facilities are all located in the same building, to help maintain a sense of community.
“As a brand serving outdoor enthusiasts such as climbers, cavers, and canyoneers, Petzl sees protecting and preserving the environment not only as the right thing to do ethically, but also as a natural extension of our business model,” said Petzl America President Nazz Kurth. “With this building, we hope to demonstrate that you can grow as a business and at the same time reduce your carbon footprint.”
