U.S. Snacks' new distribution center in Hagerstown, Md., may look beige and gray from the exterior, but it was designed to be green inside and out.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a non-profit organization committed to expanding sustainable building practices. It's composed of more than 15,000 organizations from across the building industry that are working to advance structures that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.

Kellogg recently opened its first LEED-certified building, a U.S. Snacks distribution center in Hagerstown, Md. The facility uses less energy and water in its daily operations and is built from regional and recycled content. As a result, it will have a much smaller overall environmental footprint than the typical distribution center of the same size.

"The Hagerstown Distribution Center is a perfect example of what we're trying to accomplish," says Alan Darner, Senior Manager, Real Estate, Logistics Services. "Conserving resources is not only the right thing to do, but our customers and consumers also want us to support sustainability. And we were able to achieve our environmental goals for this new facility without incurring additional lease costs."

All the power, half the price

The 215,460-square-foot distribution center features innovative fluorescent lighting that reduces energy consumption up to 50 percent versus traditional fixtures. And with occupancy sensors that automatically turn lights off when nobody's in a particular area of the facility, the center uses even less energy for lighting.

A joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Star was introduced in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the Energy Star label can be found on more than 50 different kinds of products as well as commercial buildings and new homes.

The center also uses less energy to heat and cool its space. State-of-the-art, blow-through space heaters rack up a 40-percent energy savings.

On the flip side, the center's white, rubber roof reflects the sun, keeping the building cooler and reducing the amount of energy during the summer months.

This roof is so "cool," in fact, that it's even listed with the Cool Roof Rating Council and exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's requirements for Energy Star certification.

Just as green, half the gallons

The center's landscaping uses locally adapted and native plants that don't require watering or irrigation, saving thousands of gallons of water per year. These plants also require significantly less fertilizer and pesticide, which reduces the amount of chemical run-off.

Additionally, the use of low-flow plumbing fixtures such as toilets and faucet aerators will potentially reduce water consumption by as much as half. In 1995, the National Energy Policy Act mandated the use of toilets that use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush, compared with about 3.5 gallons of water used by a standard toilet.

Go local, build green

Most of the materials used to build the center contain a minimum of 20 percent recycled content. The center's concrete walls, for example, use "slag," a waste product from metal refineries. Using this recycled material reduced our need for new materials by 6.8 million pounds.

Additionally, almost half of the building materials originated within 500 miles of the center. For instance, rock from the building site was reused for the center's foundation. This eliminated the need to transport new materials to the site, reducing fuel emissions and the overall carbon footprint of the project.

Our future is green

"Here in Real Estate, we'll continue to partner with Kellogg's Environmental Sustainability team to support opportunities such as Hagerstown that fit our business needs," Alan says. "Together, we can show leadership in making the right environmental choices, while ensuring that we're effectively managing the costs of our facilities."

According to Ken Tabor, Vice President, Environmental Stewardship, Health and Safety, for Kellogg to be the food company of choice in today's climate of heightened environmental concern, we must make responsible choices about our environmental impact - including the ways we build and operate our offices, plants and distribution centers.