MINNEAPOLIS (April 21, 2008) –Ryan Companies US, Inc. today announced it has established a company-wide sustainability policy. The new policy builds on Ryan’s Lean and BIM initiatives to promote an integrated design standard that meets every customer’s needs, delivers the highest value over the life of the building, and minimizes the environmental impact of each project.
“Ryan’s success has been built upon a simple principle: always do the right thing,” said Jim Ryan, CEO, Ryan Companies US, Inc. “Part of that means acknowledging our industry’s role in a broader community, and understanding the impact our activities have on the natural and human environments. This policy sets the minimum standards that we strive to exceed for every customer.”
As part of this new policy, Ryan will evaluate all projects against the evolving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building standards, to help customers identify opportunities to maximize energy efficiency, obtain LEED certification, or pursue other third-party benchmarking systems –such as EnergyStar – depending on the building owner’s priorities. To date, Ryan has worked on 13 buildings that have been or are in the process of LEED certification. Many office buildings in Ryan’s portfolio around the country have also received EnergyStar ratings. For projects where owners do not seek LEED certification, Ryan still applies its own sustainability best practices addressing site work, energy and water efficiency, construction waste, and indoor air quality.
The sustainability policy also addresses Ryan’s internal practices and operations, setting goals that increase the percentage of Ryan LEED-certified projects to 15% for 2008, retain more than 100 LEED Accredited Professionals throughout the company by the end of 2008, encourage pursuit of LEED Existing Building certification for existing Ryan managed properties, and adopts Building Information Modeling (BIM) for all new Ryan-designed projects.
“Sustainable building practices are based on an integrated design approach, which is at the heart of Ryan’s Design-Build process,” explained Will Jensen, vice president of Architecture and Engineering, Ryan Companies US, Inc. “Evaluating sustainability opportunities and LEED standards to find the cost-effective synergies is inherent in what we do. Using BIM for all design projects helps us complete the full service project delivery to our customers.”
Ryan’s work in sustainable buildings was recently recognized at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Best in Real Estate awards, where it received the program’s first Best Green project award for Two MarketPointe. This project, located in Bloomington, Minn., is pursuing LEED Gold certification and is scheduled to open in August 2008.
“While we strive to serve our customers like no one else can, we know this means more than just responding to their business needs today,” said Collin Barr, president, Minnesota Region, Ryan Companies US, Inc. “It means anticipating what those needs will be moving forward. This is why we constantly work to deliver more value by refining and advancing our processes. It’s a level of service that builds lasting relationships.”
As part of this policy, Ryan employees nationwide will participate in a week-long program to reinforce how each member of the Ryan team can adopt this policy on both a professional and a personal level. In Minneapolis, the program includes:
Discussion of trends and issues in sustainability
How to implementing LEED into the project process (a profile of Ryan’s latest LEED project, Two MarketPointe)
The customer’s perspective on LEED and its’ impact on their business
Future trends in sustainability
Embracing sustainability practices in existing buildings and at home
In addition to these Earth Week activities, Ryan employees will also be promoting environmental awareness within the community, participating in the Midtown Greenway’s Arbor day planting event for the fifth consecutive year, and working the company’s Adopt-a-Highway site in Medina, Minnesota.
About Ryan Companies US, Inc.
Ryan Companies US Inc., a nationally recognized developer, design-builder and real estate manager, has specialized in fully integrated solutions for more than 70 years. Ryan builds lasting relationships with a project delivery model based on full-service customized solutions and total collaboration – pairing the customer’s needs and expectations with the talents of a team of developers, financiers, architects, engineers, constructors and property managers. In addition to its Minneapolis office, Ryan has offices in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa. Ryan was named the 2007 National Developer of the Year by the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties (NAIOP).
Editor’s note: Interviews with Ryan executives are available by contacting Sarah Voigt at 612-455-1784 or svoigt@psbpr.com