The unusual title of this book comes from a fundamental AvroKO design principle, "best ugly," which originated from a trip to China, where the term signifies something that is beautiful and charming in ...
"I thought I knew what I was in for when started the LEED AP process. I was wrong."
In February 2006 a client called and asked if Purchasing Management International (PMI) could buy "green" furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E).
My first response was "Sure, no problem." After all, in my younger years my hair was quite long and my Dad did refer to me as a "tree hugger" in our many days spent trekking and fishing outdoors in the West. By the millennium, environmental awareness was running high. So, "green" should have been easy, right?
Wrong. When I went online to try to understand what it meant to buy green, I soon found out that being green wasn't easy at all. There was no simple answer to the question. The hospitality industry didn't have a comprehensive definition of sustainable practices for procuring or manufacturing furnishings and operating supplies.
I then talked to a friend, Greg Wilkinson, chairman of Hill Wilkinson Inc. a large commercial general contractor headquartered in Dallas. He suggested that I start exploring the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating program and its Associated Professional (AP) certification. Greg already was a LEED AP, and he was requiring his numerous project managers to get certified so that they'd better understand what was required on all of their projects. His take was that the principles that make up the LEED rating system would be applicable to procurement of furnishings for new construction and renovation.
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I started an online chat with the USGBC about the AP certification process. But I also met with architects and industry contacts to check out other options for building my green credentials. What I learned in those conversations was that there wasn't any other certification system that PMI could reference to establish a sustainable practice.
So with much energy, I signed on to become a USGBC member and sent in for the study materials for the LEED Accredited Professional Test-New Construction. At that time, there were several tracks one could take to be a LEED AP including LEED for Existing Building and Commercial Interiors. But I chose New Construction. Since 1993, PMI has purchased, sourced and installed more than $1.5 billion in hotel, resort and casino furnishings, operating equipment, systems and construction materials for projects worldwide. What could be so hard ?