Sustainable Solutions
LEED Certification, Building Compliance & Renewable Energy Management
At USM, “green” isn’t another trendy business practice – it’s a serious company-wide culture. As a nationwide facility maintenance company, we make it policy to use the most environmentally responsible equipment, processes and products in everything we do. It’s important to our clients, our employees, and our planet.
Sustainable Offerings For Clients
Greener Buildings
USM can help you maximize operational and cost efficiencies using the LEED for Existing Buildings certification as a guideline, helping you achieve Shadow LEED status or LEED accreditation. It’s one of our many specialties. USM can also provide guidance in water efficiency, including water-efficient landscaping, as well as energy & atmosphere.
Greener Processes
Our green commitment takes into account not only the use of green-certified chemicals, but also earth-friendly equipment, recycling programs, training, shared best practices, and more. Some of our efficiency processes include:
- Sustainable operations plans
- Procurement of sustainable products & equipment
- Delivery of our services in an environmentally-friendly manner
- Measuring results, monitoring service delivery and environmental compliance
- Conducting thorough energy audits of your facilities
Greener Equipment
USM requires all service providers to use equipment with as little environmental impact as possible – like vacuum cleaners and carpet extractors certified by the Carpet & Rug Institute’s Green Label testing program, and landscape equipment that reduces both noise pollution and air contaminants. Naturally, USM’s Green Cleaning chemical management system monitors and ensures that all crews use only green cleaning supplies.
Greener Products
To continue providing innovative sustainable solutions, we partner with responsible and accountable suppliers like Diversey® – one of the pioneers in Green Seal® and green-certified products. To help you achieve your environmental objectives, we’ll work closely with your team to always do the right thing. From using chem-free cleaners and sustainable de-icers to incorporating indigenous plants into your xeriscaping.
Our Commitment to Sustainability
LEED Certified Headquarters:
The building that houses our headquarters has earned LEED Silver CI certification. Lessons learned from this experience can be applied directly to client facilities as well. From skylights, daylight harvesting, and solar window shades to high-efficiency lighting, heat pump, and rooftop ERUs - we're benefitting from it all. We also installed Energy Star-rated equipment and appliances, as well as a Building Management System to control and optimize all systems. The energy savings have been impressive.
The addition of a green roof on our facility made an almost immediate difference. It cooled and humidified the surrounding air, reduced storm water run-off by 50-90%, and even improved the thermal barrier between the outside air and inside of the building. Naturally, it also reduced cooling costs in the summer, and heating costs in the winter.
Sustainability on the Road:
At USM, we standardized our fleet with energy efficient, low-emission new hybrid vehicles. That means we now average 47 miles per gallon vs. 25 mpg previously. Projected gas savings: 43,000 gallons per year! In addition, by standardizing our route optimization, we slashed 750,000 miles from day-to-day routing to realize a full 25% reduction in overall mileage.