Looking for Newark, NJ Industrial Property for Sale? Make It More Eco-Friendly With These Tips
With the world struggling with a major ecological crisis, it’s important that we all do everything we can to help. Most of us like to sit back and wait for ‘someone’ to make the change, but that isn’t how this works. Everyone needs to come together and do their part – and then, like drops in an ocean, the combined effort will bring about a change.
Blau & Berg helps business owners find offices, retail space and industrial property, so if you’re looking for a Newark, NJ industrial property for sale, call us! We’re an ecologically conscious company that stays up-to-date with what’s happening both locally and around the world, and we do what we can to help.
In today’s blog, we want to list some ways in which you can make your industrial property more eco-friendly. Of course, a lot can be done during the building stage to ensure the building’s environmentally neutral, but if you’re looking to buy property, you probably can’t do much about that. Let’s focus on things you can do, and discuss the difference they’ll make!
What makes a building eco-friendly?
A building can be eco-friendly if, according to the World Green Building Council, it:
- Takes an intelligent approach to energy
- Safeguards our water resources
- Minimizes waste and maximizes reuse
- Promotes the health and well-being of its employees
- Keeps our environment green
- Creates resilient and flexible structures
- Connects communities and people
- Considers all stages of a building’s life-cycle
Make your property more eco-friendly
When looking for Newark, NJ industrial property for sale, make sure you view them from an environmental point of view as well. How eco-friendly is the building? But if you have your heart set on a particular property that may not be very eco-friendly, there are still some ways to improve it. Here are some:
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Get energy efficient equipment
From allthingssupplychain.com: “If you own a warehouse, chances are you work with equipment that runs on electricity or petroleum. As this equipment needs to be replaced, look for options that are more energy-efficient. Pay close attention to things like gallons per hour, miles per gallon and how much wattage a particular item uses. When upgrading, make sure that the new product still functions as you need it to and keep up with regular maintenance to ensure maximum efficiency. Keeping up with maintenance also extends the life of many products and reduces the waste of needing to frequently upgrade.”
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Change out the lights
The lights will probably be on all the time, every day, so they’re one place you can make a change to get huge savings. Old fashioned light-bulbs and even tubelights can be switched to LED alternatives that cost a little more upfront, but use a fraction of the energy, thus ensuring that your electric bills will be much lower. Less electricity used means a reduced carbon footprint.
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Upgrade the insulation
If the factory or warehouse is old, you should consider changing the doors and windows, so the facility’s better insulated. High-quality windows and doors can make an enormous difference in indoor temperature, and noise levels. So not only will the facility be more eco-friendly, but it’ll also be quieter. The initial investment is large, but when considering eco-friendliness, always think of long-term results.
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Use less packaging
When you’re looking for Newark, NJ industrial property for sale, it’s a good time to rethink your packaging. If you use less packaging, your facility will be a little bit greener – especially if the packaging you do use is biodegradable. Bear in mind that biodegradable materials may decompose quickly in a landfill, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t just as hardy and long-lasting as synthetic materials while being used. Using less packaging also means you’ll create less waste.
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Try and use less plastic
Pallet wrappers, tape and other such items use a lot of plastic. They may seem necessary, but what many people don’t realize is that there are many alternatives that look the same and do the same job, but which aren’t made using synthetic substances. Switch to biodegradable materials where possible, so you’re contributing less to the plastic waste problem. If the cost is higher, you can consider composting the waste to recoup some of the cost.
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Use mezzanines instead of building more
If you run out of space, don’t build a new wing. Instead, install a steel mezzanine inside the existing facility, and then you’ll be able to use vertical space. Construction is very hard on the environment, because it causes a lot of emissions. Using a mezzanine is also better because it’s cheaper. You can get mezzanine lifts to help raise and lower materials and equipment. These can be taken apart and re-assembled, so if you need to move them somewhere, that’s completely possible.
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Harvest rainwater
The building’s roof or terrace is an opportunity waiting to be used. Collect rainwater and store it for usage. It can be used in factory processes, for cleaning, or even in bathrooms. It’s a naturally-occurring resource that goes down the drain if you don’t use it, so make the most of your facility to try and preserve this resource. Collecting rainwater is surprisingly simple, and you don’t need a fancy setup.
These were some tips on how to make your facility more eco-friendly. However, there are many other ways to do it! If you decide to build your own building, there are eco-friendly materials you can use that have a much smaller footprint.
A look at one of most sustainable industrial buildings in the world
The Netherlands head office and distribution center for multinational logistics company Rhenus is recognized nationwide for its unique design (which has given it the nickname ‘The Tube’) and for the fact that it is highly sustainable.
The World Economic Forum says: “This year it received the highest rating ever for a distribution center from BREEAM (British Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), which rates buildings’ sustainability.
BREEAM, which has assessed more than 569,000 buildings in 83 countries, gave NewLogic III a score of 99.48%.”
The World Economic Forum provides some details of the building: “The 60,500m² warehouse and office space is airtight with extra insulation. A photovoltaic system on the roof consisting of 11,620 solar panels generates more electricity than the building consumes, with excess power going into the grid, meaning it is both energy and CO2 neutral.
Natural light flooding through large triple-glazed windows reduces the amount of electricity needed for lighting and makes it a more pleasant space to work in.
The building also features a heat pump, automatically dimming LED lighting, charging points for electric vehicles and technology that monitors water consumption and CO2 concentrations.”
So as you can see, it doesn’t take a lot to make a building sustainable. Although they may not be the most sustainable buildings in the world, a surprising percentage of Newark, NJ industrial property for sale is fairly eco-friendly.
How to build an eco-friendly warehouse
There are several things you can do differently, to make the building more eco-friendly. Here are some of the most important ones:
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Using eco-friendly building materials
From Green Building Insider: “Adoption of sustainable materials can reduce the impact of a commercial build, but these materials have to meet stringent criteria. They need to have a measurable impact on a structure’s energy efficiency. Creating a tight envelope that protects against the elements — while reducing expenditure — helps achieve this goal.”
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Architectural films
A thin layer of this substance is enough to reduce the building’s heating and cooling costs by a substantial amount. And of course, if your HVAC system needs to work less, you use less electricity, which in turn is created by burning fossil fuels – and we all know how important it is to reduce fossil fuel usage.
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Prefabricated construction methods
Green Building Insider says: “Traditional construction can be incredibly wasteful. It’s an energy-intensive process with a poor track record for efficiency, prolonging the strain that industrial waste and CO2 emissions have on the environment.”
With modular construction on the rise, builders can have a little more control over the construction process.
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Using renewable energy
If the building is designed with renewable energy in mind, it will be a lot easier to use solar energy. You can in fact generate energy in excess of what the facility uses – as you see The Tube does. Renewable energy is free, and it means you’ll have no electricity bills, ever. In fact, if you generate in excess of your consumption, you could get money from the utility!
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Using green solutions
From Green Building Insider: “Researchers at Purdue University have developed the Biowall, which is a botanical air filter that reduces CO2 and removes VOCs. The contaminants within a commercial building flow through the plants, and microbes in the root zone metabolize harmful compounds that cause headaches, coughing, fatigue and other symptoms of poor air quality.”
Blau & Berg can help you find Newark, NJ industrial property for sale
The Blau & Berg Company specializes in industrial sales and leasing. Each assignment is handled individually with sound brokerage, negotiating expertise and local market knowledge. Experts in all facets of industrial buildings and land parcels, and backed by 80 years of strategic experience, the team facilitates site selection, acquisitions, dispositions, portfolio sales and asset repositioning assignments.
