Customer Spotlight

The Situation

Mountain Gear, Inc., a sporting goods company located in Spokane, owned a 20,000 square foot building housing its corporate headquarters. Not only was the building not operating efficiently, but it was not an ideal working environment for the employees. Temperatures fluctuated greatly and lighting was dim, so the company decided to construct a new facility.

“The winters were very cold and the summers very hot –- not to mention the lighting was dark,” said Paul Fish, president of Mountain Gear. “The result was uncomfortable employees and lower productivity.”

The Avista Solution

Mountain Gear turned to Avista’s energy analysts for tools to help design a new corporate headquarters that would be the most energy efficient building possible. Avista worked with the Mountain Gear team from start to finish -- they supplied ideas to engineers, helped with energy modeling and provided incentives to Mountain Gear for building sustainably.

The new Mountain Gear facility has countless energy efficient features and is going for a LEED certification, positioning Mountain Gear ahead of the pack of private businesses in Spokane. A few of the key sustainable features in the new facility include:

• Improved building envelope with high-performance glass;
• Motion and daylight sensors to reduce artificial lighting use;
• Carbon dioxide sensors that shut off the fan coil when the rooms are unoccupied;
• ENERGY STAR®-rated roofing system which reduces heat gain through the roof by 36 percent;
• Low-emitting adhesives, sealants and paints;
• Low-flush toilets, waterless urinals and low flow fixtures installed in the restrooms, which saves 248,463 gallons of water per year.

“My business relies on the environment,” said Fish. “It is part of our corporate culture and it would just be wrong not to give back.”

The Result

The new Mountain Gear facility is now a place where employees enjoy working. Daylighting in the building provides sunlight to almost every employee and the temperature is highly controlled.

“People love the space they are working in now,” said Fish. “I’ve had many people come up to me and say how happy they are in this new building.”

Not only are the employees much happier, but the company is saving money as well. The new building is 39 percent more energy efficient than conventionally designed office or warehouse facilities, which translates into $22,000 electrical and gas energy costs savings each year.

In addition, Mountain Gear has implemented a Green Building Education Program which will showcase the building’s sustainable features. This program includes tours for groups such as the general public, employees and professional organizations; educational signage and a brochure highlighting the green features of the building; and a website page containing educational literature that describes the project and the LEED program.

“Building a sustainable facility was not only great for the environment, but was the right business choice,” said Fish. “The total cost of ownership is down and productivity is up.”