Lansing-based Christman Co. Certifies 65 LEED Green Professionals

Lansing’s 115-year-old Christman Company set out a year ago to have all planning and operation staff certified for their knowledge of green building practices. The construction company that is now overhauling the riverside Ottawa Power Plant to become the Accident Fund’s headquarters is already two-thirds of the way.
 
Now armed with Accredited Professional (AP) status in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the 65 employees have increased their knowledge of sustainable construction, says CEO Steven Roznowski.

Leading by example, he earned his LEED AP status as well.

The accreditation is awarded through the U. S. Green Building Council, a national organization dedicated to expanding sustainable building practices and education.

“Being green isn’t just something we do at Christman for show or to follow a trend—it’s something that translates into good business and it’s how we strive to operate on a daily basis,” he says.
 
In fact, the company’s national headquarters in downtown Lansing received the world’s first Double Platinum LEED certification for both its commercial interiors and its core and shell.
 
“Our clients and business partners increasingly look to us to provide leadership in helping them achieve their green building goals, and engaging a fully-LEED AP team from planning through execution makes realizing those goals much easier,” Roznowski says.
 
Christman’s new West Michigan headquarters in Grand Rapids is following closely behind with platinum certification expected for the commercial interior spaces, and gold for the exterior.
 
Christman has offices also in Ann Arbor; Traverse City; Plymouth; Alexandria, Va; and Augusta, Ga.

The company gained some reknown when it built the enormous platform on which President Barak Obama was inaugurated. It also oversaw the last full restoration of Lansing’s Capitol.

Source: Angela Bailey, Christman Company

Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.  

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie