VMSD - November 2017 - 41

before. So what's holding back retailers who haven't
yet taken the leap? There are still many misconceptions about cost as well as a lack of direction in defining corporate sustainability goals.
"Some retailers are [still] trying to get their heads
wrapped around it ... some of the biggest barriers are
when they may not have the infrastructure internally,"
says Elaine Aye, principal, Green Building Services
Inc. (Portland, Ore.), and U.S. Green Building Council
LEED fellow.
In all, today's green interiors are more thoughtful
about how materials and resources are expended,
and specifying recycled materials in conjunction with
quality products that endure is a major consideration,
explains Bevan Bloemendaal, vp, global environments,
creative services, Timberland. "When you combine
this focus on premium and durable materiality with
the use of recycled or repurposed fixtures, recyclable
and renewable materials and low-impact lighting, you
can really start to make a difference."
He adds that the perceived higher cost of green
products - or that they have a "cheap" aesthetic - simply isn't always the case.
Whole Foods Market (Austin, Texas) has a holistic
approach, says Tristam Coffin, the brand's director
of sustainability and facilities. "It is about looking
at ... how our refrigeration, HVAC, lighting, building
envelope, etc., all interact with one another," he says,
citing the company's effort to adopt refrigeration systems with natural refrigerants as one that's pushing
the envelope to reduce its total equivalent warming
impact (TEWI).
Another efficiency method growing in popularity (for better or worse) is the downsizing of store
footprints, says Michael Horton, senior associate,
Lauckgroup (Dallas), as demonstrated by Yeti's recent

Austin, Texas, flagship by its limitation of back-room
warehousing and overabundant on-the-floor merchandising. "I think consumers are becoming okay
[with] coming to a store and [having] their product
delivered to them later at their home because they're
aligning with that kind of experience."
For Patagonia (Ventura, Calif.), its unique store
locations lend to its sustainable sensibilities, providing an outlet to tell clever reuse stories. "We typically install a display, called 'Where We Stand,' that
includes the building and neighborhood history and
sustainable features of the buildout," says Chris Beasley, director of global visual design, Patagonia. He cites

OPPOSITE PAGE

TreeHouse spotlights its
solar-powered energy system
with an in-store display
which visualizes its energy
production versus usage and
total power generated to date.
ABOVE Yeti's façade

opens and closes using a
mechanical system that
works in conjunction with the
site's temperature regulation
controls.

GOING GREEN

C ASE Y DUNN , AUS TIN , TE XAS

IS YOUR

organization
ready to adopt sustainable
strategies, but doesn't know
where to begin? We asked
Green Building Services'
Elaine Aye for her advice
for companies just getting
started:

1. SET A BASELINE:
Assess how your organization is currently performing.

Track energy use, water use
and material flows. Look at
reference standards and start
to apply those to your company's design specifications.

2. SET PERFORMANCE
GOALS:
Determine measurable objectives surrounding energy
usage, waste reduction and
design practices.

3. DEVELOP A PROGRAM:
Create the infrastructure -
including design specifications - to adopt and apply
the new policies in a pilot program.
4. APPLICATION AND
IMPLEMENTATION:
In your pilot program, apply
the determined standards
and processes. Create a feed-

back loop to measure efforts
along the way.

5. QUANTIFY AND
QUALIFY:
Evaluate the program, and
perform a quality control
measure to determine which
elements are and are not
working. Adapt and adopt the
successful practices for future
store designs.

VMSD.COM

NOVEMBER 2017

http://www.VMSD.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of VMSD - November 2017