A little over a year after Medline Industries, Inc., the largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare supplies in the U.S., completed and opened its new environmentally conscious service facility center in Dubuque, Iowa, the building officially received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification.
LEED is an internationally recognized, third party validation system of certification for many buildings. It measures and evaluates design, construction, operation and maintenance solutions. LEED is generally viewed as a trusted benchmark for a building's impact on the environment.
In order to receive this certification, Medline applied and the building was then evaluated by LEED, who allocated points based on preset green criteria -- focusing on energy efficiency and CO2 reduction. There are seven areas on which LEED evaluated the service facility: sustainability of the site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, location and linkages, awareness and education, innovation in design and regional priority. To achieve silver certification, the second highest certification category, the service facility was awarded points that placed them in the 60-79 point range out of a 100-base point system.
"The building was constructed with the environment and LEED certification in mind," said Robert Abrams, the Corporate Director who oversaw the project. "Some of the green aspects of the 66,000-square-foot facility are daylight harvesting energy-efficient lighting, solar-tracking skylights, technologically advanced building insulation materials, tankless hot water heaters and a geothermal heating system."
The installation of these and other green technologies resulted in an electrical use reduction of 320,565 kWh, which avoids more than 230 metric tons of carbon dioxide. This is equivalent to removing the CO2 emissions from 26,131 gallons of gasoline consumed or 535 barrels of oil consumed. All of this gathered points for certification as well as small things, such as close parking for a Prius, cubical walls made with recycled fabric that traveled less than 500 miles from their manufacturer and energy efficient trash management.
"I think it demonstrates Medline's commitment to the environment as a company, and it was important for our customers," Abrams said. "We're being asked more and more what we're doing to reduce our carbon footprint."
About Medline Industries, Inc. Medline, the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products, manufactures and distributes more than 100,000 products to hospitals, extended-care facilities, surgery centers, home care dealers and agencies. Headquartered in Mundelein, Ill., Medline has more than 900 dedicated sales representatives nationwide to support its broad product line and cost management services.
Over the past five years, Medline has been the fastest-growing distributor of medical and surgical supplies in the U.S., serving as the primary distributor to over 450 major hospitals and healthcare systems. As a leading distributor, Medline offers a comprehensive array of consulting and management services encompassing the supply chain and logistics, utilization and standardization, business tools and enhanced reporting capabilities and on-staff clinicians.
