“Practice what you preach”, “Put your money where your mouth is”, “Lead by example”. What this means to us here at Abrams Design Build is that we put a lot of information and talk a lot about the facets of greenbuilding: energy efficiency, sustainability, and health and welfare but what are we doing about it?

Before opening our offices careful thought was given to location, and we chose to locate very close to public transit. Our principal and our architectural designer both make use of the public transit in their commute every day and our clients often come to our offices by way of public transit as well.

When our principal arranged his lease of the space he planned several improvements. The space was overhauled with new green label carpet squares installed with a low VOC easy release adhesive. These carpet squares are easily replaced if worn or dirty. New low VOC paints and finishes were used throughout. T-5 electronic ballast lighting was installed throughout as well as a high efficiency heat pump with a programmable thermostat. We have taken advantage of the oddly old-fashioned yet industrial-like building by turning what might have been looked at as negatives into positives. The dirty skylight was cleaned and made into a showpiece which gives our conference room natural day lighting on all but the darkest days. Also installed in our conference room is our display shelving and conference table, made from reclaimed lumber. We also installed in our bathroom a new water conserving dual flush toilet.

In our office we make a practice of turning off our computer workstations every evening and we have incorporated a recycling program and made use of recycled paper products wherever possible.

Most importantly, our principal devotes 25% of his time to non-profit organizations that promote greenbuilding. He serves on several committees including the GBI (Greenbuilding Initiative), AIBD (American Institute of Building Design), and the local chapter of NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry). Also, as of this date several of our employees deep into training for the NARI Green Education Program.