A Green Approach

At Vigilant, we subscribe to the triple bottom line of economy, environment, and social equity by the continual pursuit of responsibly using our natural resources and seeking cleaner and greener ways of doing business. Participating in organizations like the US Green Building Council and having a LEED AP on our staff has helped us improve our triple bottom line.

Wood as a Green Material

As a construction material, wood is far greener than steel, concrete and plastic. When responsibly harvested, it requires a fraction of the energy to bring to market and it naturally sequesters carbon.

Green Operations

Manufacturing plants are notorious energy hogs and wood shops are no exception. Our Green Team has focused on efficient energy use and green waste disposal in our entire facility and here are some of the results:

• Installation of high efficiency lighting in both the office and plant is returning 45% energy savings from traditional UV lighting.
• The installation of automatic blast gates on our dust collection system is returning a 25% energy savings.
• Replacement of older, inefficient motors on many of our woodworking machines is saving 5-8% on electricity usage.
• Reclaiming of wood waste for heat generation has reduced our fossil fuel consumption by 20% and reduced the generation of solid waste.
• Wood waste sawdust, once shipped to landfills, is now composted for use in topsoil.
• Recycling of office paper waste and cardboard has reduced our solid waste generation by almost 30%.

Sustainable Materials

Vigilant utilizes many materials that are responsibly grown, harvested and produced to ensure that we are reducing our impact on the environment as much as possible. Our Green Team is constantly evaluating our materials and our vendors to reduce our environmental impact. Although we know we can never achieve a zero carbon footprint, we'd like to get as close as possible. Some of the sustainable materials we currently use include:

• FSC certified woods and veneers
• Bamboo, reclaimed wood
• *Urea formaldehyde free composite panels
• Low VOC finishes

*CARB Compliance: We offer a full range of green composite wood materials that comply with the California Air Resource Board’s ATCM policies.

LEED Expertise

Vigilant understands the importance LEED has on all commercial projects. We have done our homework so that you can utilize our expertise and resources on your LEED projects. Let us know what metrics are most important to you: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts, and we can work with you to see that the standards are met.

• Member of US Green Building Council
• LEED Accredited Professional on Staff