To complement their healthy design practices, the Green Team at LSW has implemented many creative projects to make their own office more sustainable. Composting, recycling, and reuse are normal practices for the 40+ employees at their Downtown Vancouver office. To reduce waste, single-sided paper is saved and bound anew into scrap binders for notes, and samples of various materials are donated to the non-profit, SCRAP PDX, to be used in recycled art projects. In addition, LSW has managed to cut down on paper waste through new technologies that allow employees to design and edit documents completely digitally.
LSW Architects work to make buildings that are recognized with national and international sustainable certifications. One such certification, net-zero energy (NZE) is an exciting movement to create buildings that are extremely energy efficient, producing all their energy on-site through renewable sources. NZE buildings are among the most sustainable in the world, and LSW Architects is working with Vancouver Public Schools to prepare schools for NZE and future use of renewable energy. This project is just one of many at LSW Architects that has a strong focus on sustainability, which is why LSW Architects is a green leader for Clark County.