WEF Building Sports New Green Roof, Terrace
The Water Environment Federation recently completed work on a new green roof and terrace at its 601 Wythe St. building in Alexandria, Va. The project is part of the WEF Eco initiative that was launched two years ago to reduce the impact of its business practices and operations on the environment.
“WEF takes our mission to ‘preserve and enhance the global water environment’ very seriously,” said WEF Executive Director Bill Bertera. “We realized early on that we could lead change among our members, volunteers, and partner organizations by incorporating environmental sustainability into our own practices and by providing an example of how both large and small efforts can have a tremendous impact on the environment.” Now in phase three of the initiative, WEF has been actively working to reduce its consumption and waste, increase energy conservation and recycling, and transition to environmentally friendly products.
In addition to the green roof and terrace, WEF’s other projects include upgrading its heating and cooling systems; installing a new energy management system to maximize the efficiency of the building’s HVAC and lighting; replacing disposable with reusable items in the work and kitchen areas; printing publications on recycled paper; and changing its technical bulletins and other materials to an electronic-only format to reduce paper usage.