This Bank's Gone Green—Contractor Tools and Supplies Magazine

Green commercial building concepts have been around for almost a decade, and are beginning to gain momentum in several areas of the country. Companies such as Target and Starbucks are looking closely at green buildings to address the values laid out by their corporate cultures and, as important, pump money to the bottom line.

However, one of the leaders in putting green buildings to work is regional financial giant, PNC Bank. PNC has committed to building green branches throughout its service territory along the East Coast and Mid-South. In fact, its corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh is a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)- certified green building.

The new bank branches are designed to meet the rigorous design standards of the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system, says Brad Pease, consultant at Paladino & Co. Inc, a firm that helps develop criteria and ratings for construction projects to meet LEED requirements.

PNC branches:

full of “green”

One would expect a bank branch to be full of “green,” but PNC branches that are popping up across the East Coast are quite green from the company’s commitment to energy and environmental conservation. Pease estimates that with green construction methods, PNC saves $100,000 in construction costs and 40 percent in energy costs over the life of the building.

PNC and Paladino, along with Gensler, the architect, engineering firm CJL and Clemens Construction Company Inc. (C3), developed five prototypes of bank branches for PNC that incorporate environment and energy-friendly features that qualify them for LEED certification. C3 has already built 22 of the new PNC branches; PNC plans to build a total of 140 branches that meet LEED requirements.

C3 project managers Brett Pastorius and Mark Banzinger and project superintendent Mike Kaminski have been involved in the PNC branch LEED certification process from the beginning.

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