Banking on green building

Construction & Demolition Recycling, July-August, 2005

PNC Bank, Pittsburgh, Pa., has announced its plan to ensure that all new branches will meet the green building standards of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC.).

Ten PNC branches are already considered "environmentally friendly" buildings, and the bank has plans to build at least 90 more to meet even more rigorous green construction standards.

Features of these buildings include: window walls with layers to insolate extreme temperatures, countertops made of recycled paper and wood, wheatboard cabinets instead of plywood and recycled carpeting.

PNC Bank already has 800 branches and 23,000 employees nationwide. It will be the first U.S. company to employ a "volume-build" strategy for green building.

"Customers are proud to do business with a socially responsible company and communities favor new construction and economic growth with minimal impact on local resources," says Gary Saulson, director of corporate real estate at PNC.

PNC's green branches will be designed by Gensler, an architectural firm with offices across the United States, as well as in Europe and Asia. The first green branch opened in April in East Bradford, Pa.