Massaro Corporation recognizes the growing demand and need for environmentally friendly and energy efficient building design and construction means and methods. To meet this growing demand, Massaro has nine LEED accredited professionals on staff that span our organization from preconstruction services, to estimating, to operations.  Our LEED accredited professionals will work directly with the owner and architect throughout preconstruction and construction to implement Green Building practices in both new construction and renovation of existing facilities.

LEED accredited professionals are certified under the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED). More information can be found at www.usgbc.org.

Our Approach to LEED

Massaro has built seven projects that employ green features and are in the process of completing three more that are slated for LEED certification.

We encourage our staff in all departments to seek LEED certification. Massaro’s director of design/build services, Mike Tarle, is overseeing the efforts to educate Massaro employees. We hold regular study sessions and seminars to promote LEED certification and support the initiative. Massaro has more LEED certified professionals than any other contractor of comparable size in the area.

Because of our extensive experience working on LEED projects, we have established processes that lay out all of the responsibilities and information gathering necessary to achieve LEED certification.

Massaro’s Commitment to Green

As proof of our commitment to building green, we recently completed an 8,100 square foot addition to the Massaro corporate offices, which is pursuing LEED certification. Some of the sustainable principles utilized in the design, construction and in everyday use include:

Construction Materials - Over 10% of our building materials were locally harvested or manufactured within a 500 mile radius of the job site. Over 10% of the materials used for this building contained recycled content.

Construction Recycling - Construction materials such as drywall, metal and cardboard were recycled. Additionally, employees recycle paper, cardboard, glass, plastics and metals daily.

Certified Wood - Over 50% of the wood based materials used during construction were certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council’s principles and criteria.

Elimination of Ozone Depleting Refrigerants - The HVAC systems in the addition do not use CFC based refrigerants. The equipment was selected based on their low ozone depletive and global warming potential.

Indoor Air Quality - An indoor air quality plan was created to control how the ductwork, materials, and HVAC infiltration media was to be delivered and installed. Low-emitting construction materials were utilized. The adhesives, sealants, cabinetry, paint and carpets were all selected based on their low VOC limits. A 30-day HVAC system “flush out” was performed to remove chemical contaminates caused by building materials. Additionally, the Massaro offices are smoke-free.

Building Reuse - Over 75% of the existing building walls, floors and roof were reused.

The Roof - A white thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roofing membrane was installed on the addition. Unlike a traditional black roof, the TPO roof does not absorb the sun’s rays. Because this roof does not absorb as much heat, less cooling is required in the summer months. Additionally, this reduces the associated energy costs and emissions from the use of air conditioning. It also reduces the potential of smog development due to higher temperatures.

Energy Reduction - We optimized the energy performance of the addition by modeling the components of the HVAC system, the glass, insulation and other components of the exterior envelope to determine the energy cost savings. This modeling helped us select the most effective systems to reduce energy costs. Our energy costs will be reduced by 20%. Occupancy sensors were installed to automatically turn off when a space is unoccupied.

Water Savings - In the addition low-flow, duel-flush toilets and low-flow urinals were installed. Motion activated sensors were also installed in the low-flow faucets.

Furniture Systems - Sustainable furniture with eco-friendly fibers and cores were purchased. These furniture items were manufactured to meet the most stringent of indoor air quality standards.

As part of a three component innovation credit towards the LEED certification of our office,
we developed an educational signage system for our office and new addition. The system includes fifteen signs outlining the various green building features implemented in the construction of the addition and can be viewed below.