Going green? In the wake of films like An Inconvenient Truth, presenting a greener reputation to the public may be a matter of business survival. As environmental consciousness becomes a mainstream concern, proving your company’s commitment to green thinking involves adopting practices that make sense for your business and are earth friendly.
Selecting green products and adopting greener practices is not enough. For the most credible commitment and the greatest impact for your company’s reputation, certification is also required to present a best practices reputation for your company.
Greener Commercial Painting Products
A host of new products are entering the market every year to fill the green products niche for commercial buildings. Some of these products are cleaner variants of traditional paints, while others use high tech production techniques to achieve their effects.
100 Percent Acrylic Paint : Using this paint helps out a company’s performance on indoor air quality tests. From a performance standpoint, the 100 percent acrylic paints are a great choice for most indoor applications. They resist dirt and cracking and have a good dry time. From a green commercial painting standpoint, 100 percent acrylics have a very low VOC content, which helps in locations where chemical sensitivities are an issue.
Silicate Paints : For exterior commercial painting projects, silicate paints are a great way to make your facility a little greener. Silicate paints are made from natural materials and are suited for covering concrete, masonry or gypsum wallboard. Potassium silicate binders give silicate paints good adhesion capability, and additional natural minerals add color.
Soy Ester Paint Stripper : Commercial restoration projects are often big sources of toxic products. Thinning agents and chemical strippers create a soup of harmful chemicals. By using products that replace the harmful ingredients with soy esters, your painting project can help improve the green image of your building. Soy esters are also used to make more environmentally friendly graffiti removers. These products allow you to incorporate greener practices with everyday maintenance routines.
Certification for a Greener Commercial Building
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is an independent certification program developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC is made up of building and construction professionals who believe that greener buildings are viable and sustainable.
LEED publishes a set of procedural guidelines for commercial buildings. Participation in the program is completely voluntary. If a company chooses to take part in LEED certification, the company is graded according to its compliance with the LEED guidelines. Platinum certification indicates the highest level of compliance, and is a verifiable credential for companies wishing to establish a greener reputation.
Greener Commercial Painting
If you have questions or concerns about incorporating greener products and practices into your next project, contact your painting contractor for more information.
