Nike Portland Goes for LEED Platinum Certification

November 10, 2011

A brand new Nike store in Portland, Ore., contains a wide array of sustainable building features – not to mention dramatic architectural details – that position it to earn LEED Platinum Certification through the U.S. Green Building Council.

Nike Portland image From design to demolition, disposal and construction, the 26,000-square-foot store focused on reusing materials as well as recycling.

"We made what we called considered choices in the design to optimize energy efficiency and incorporate recycled and reclaimed materials wherever possible," said Tim Hershey, Nike vice president and general manager of North American retail. "Our goal is to achieve LEED certification for the new Nike stores we open in the future" as well.

All told, 93 percent of all demolition and construction waste from this store was recycled and about 20 percent of materials used to construct the store were reused. For example, bleachers and a former softball scoreboard from a local high school were placed in the store for functional and decorative use, as was a wood gym floor from another local high school

The following are other environmental features the store boasts:

30 percent of materials purchased for construction were harvested, extracted or recovered within 500 miles of the store.
50 percent of all wood used is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and 100 percent urea-formaldehyde free.
Only low-VOC paints, adhesives, coatings and other materials were used.
Green cleaning practices have been adopted to maintain the store.
The company used LED and CFL lighting, and installed sensors in employee-only areas to turn off when spaces are unoccupied.
Nike purchased Energy Star-rated equipment and appliances and installed energy efficient HVAC systems.
Plus, the Nike Portland store is anticipated to be our first platinum LEED store.

Importantly, the store also purchases 100 percent green power, Nike executives reported.

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