Building signage, digital displays, and electronic kiosks can help spread the word about your green building’s features, the benefits they offer, and ways tenants and occupants can contribute to overall sustainability goals. In the right situations, educational signage can also help a building project earn LEED certification points.
From describing green building processes to explaining how certain building systems work, a green building signage solution can promote your organization’s sustainability efforts. Many green building initiatives aren’t obvious (or even noticeable) unless they’re pointed out. For example, tenants and occupants may never realize that your building has a high-efficiency HVAC system, low-e window film, or a cool roof in place – especially if they’re not responsible for paying the utility bills.
Green building signage can also help draw attention to the green building features that are noticeable (such as low-flow faucets), but require further explanation so tenants and occupants understand why they’re important – and the overall impact they have.
Your green building signage solution can:
- Illustrate global impact of initiatives in easy-to-understand terms (number of cars removed from the road, number of houses powered with the energy saved, etc.)
- Display current energy and water use levels
- Communicate savings as a result of green initiatives (in dollars, kWh, etc.)
- Showcase how certain green building systems work
- Explain differences between your organization’s system or process and a more traditional method
- Encourage participation and offer a call to action
Green Building Signage in Action
After achieving LEED certification, Penn State Berks’ Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building staff wanted to point out the green building features that helped it achieve certification (and showcase the school’s commitment to sustainability).
To get students involved, an English professor incorporated a signage project into a business writing course. Students were divided into five teams to create 25 effective educational signs, along with digital signage content and a large lobby display. These signage solutions explain LEED categories, as well as information about the building’s sustainable features.
Thanks to a complete redesign, Odle Middle School in Bellevue, WA, now incorporates pervious paving, rain gardens, and green building materials into its infrastructure. Through its green signage, the school communicates to parents and students about the importance of practicing sustainability, and the benefits of capturing and reusing stormwater runoff.
How do you communicate the green projects being completed in your facility? Have you considered a green building signage system as a way to engage with the building’s users?