Butler’s Green Initiatives Grew In Number And Scope In 2009

Expected To Gain More Momentum In 2010

Kansas City, MO - “Butler Manufacturing™ launched a broad range of initiatives in 2009 to keep pace with the growing focus on more environmentally friendly building design and construction practices,” it was announced by Ron Miller, Vice President-Marketing. 

The efforts ranged from encouraging enhanced credentials for Butler personnel at both the company’s regional and national operations centers to formal training of Butler Builder contractors, the ongoing study of alternative energy sources for Butler Buildings, and support of national organizations and events that promote sustainable building concepts. The efforts should gain even more momentum in 2010, Miller foresees.

“We are committed to remain at the leading edge of the non-residential construction industry and to support our Butler Builders with the most competitive products and programs,” he said. “These efforts are a natural progression of our decades of pioneering research into developing the most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly buildings.”

The comprehensive program last year resulted in a growing roster of LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED AP) at Butler regional locations and the national headquarters in Kansas City, MO. The credential is awarded to construction industry professionals who have passed a rigorous test on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program administered by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Formal Builder training seminars in LEED, as well as AIA-approved continuing education in sustainable design, help underscore how Butler products—and Builder expertise--can contribute to LEED certification of projects.

“Starting last year, Butler now identifies on its national website (www.butlermfg.com) those Butler Builders with LEED APs on staff,” Miller noted. Projects that apply renewable energy resources (i.e., solar, wind, geothermal) are publicized in both the company’s publications and in case studies published in national trade media.

In other actions, Butler, a US Green Building Council (USGBC) member, continued their annual participation at Greenbuild, a national trade show focused on ‘green’ construction, to help advocate sustainable building design and construction practices. The company also supports elective LEED certification of building programs that apply its building systems. Areas where Butler products can contribute LEED credits or offer sustainable design features include: recycled steel content, “cool roof” paint finishes, low-VOC paints, Energy Star compliance, energy–efficient roof and wall systems, regional manufacturing and other criteria taken into account during the certification process.

Most recently, Butler spearheaded inclusion of metal building assemblies in a pilot program utilizing the EcoCalculator, a software program developed by The Athena Institute, in association with the University of Minnesota and Morrison Hershfield Consulting Engineers. The software provides architects, engineers, contractors and others instant access to eight categories for the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of environmental impacts associated with hundreds of common building sections, including a number of typical metal building assemblies. The environmental analysis of a conceptual building’s design takes into account the origin of raw materials, total transportation, resources consumed during manufacture into finished products, and even the potential for recyclable materials salvaged at the end of the facility’s life.

Dovetailed into criteria for the USGBC’s LEEDÒ Certification Program, the pilot program could qualify metal building assemblies for an additional credit beyond the potential four credits already eligible for the LEED certification of a metal building project.

During 2009, in collaboration with Bay Insulation, Butler completed construction and launched a new generation of Guarded Hot Box testing capabilities at the Butler Research Center to identify certifiable insulation performance of Butler roof and wall assemblies. “This comes in anticipation of potential changes in building codes and will produce the most accurate database yet for the in-place thermal performance of complete metal roof and wall assemblies for thermally efficient building envelopes,” Miller added. The test apparatus—unique in the metal building segment of the non-residential construction industry—is nearly four times larger than an earlier Guarded Hot Box used at the Butler Research Center for 15 years starting in the 1970s. The Center conducted over 1000 similar thermal tests of assembly specimens using the original apparatus.

The earlier Butler thermal testing responded to the need for an overall improvement in the energy efficiency of buildings after the 1973-74 OPEC Oil Embargo. That event produced an ongoing escalation in the cost for all forms of energy. Facilities still account for 39 percent of all energy used today in the United States, including 72 percent of the nation’s electricity consumption, according to the USGBC.

About Butler Manufacturing

Butler Manufacturing ™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. one of the world's leading producers of metal building systems and related construction products for the non-residential construction market. This advanced materials solution is available through more than 1200 Butler Builders with locally authorized trade areas. For more information, go to www.butlermfg.com.