Design Features

Warehouse developers have an array of options available to them today that can mitigate the impact of their buildings on the environment. They include:

• Recycled and locally sourced construction materials – Using recycled concrete, steel, asphalt and other materials in new warehouse construction delivers significant environmental benefits, as does providing construction waste to recycling companies.
• Skylights and clerestory windows – Using natural light lowers electricity usage and carbon dioxide emissions and improves indoor environmental quality for warehouse personnel.
• Energy-efficient lighting systems – Warehouses traditionally use metal halide lighting, but commercially available T5 and T8 fluorescent lights last longer and significantly reduce electricity usage.
• High-reflectance roof membranes – Traditionally, warehouses have been built with EPDM rubber roofing membranes, which are black and absorb heat and sunlight. But white thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roofing offers the same performance at essentially the same cost, with the added benefit of reducing a building’s load on its cooling system.
• Solar and wind power – Distribution facilities can be viable candidates for alternative energy systems, especially photovoltaic solar cells and wind turbines.
• Exterior landscaping – Appropriate landscaping can minimize water consumption and also help to mitigate a property’s overall net carbon emissions.

As part of its sustainable development initiative, ProLogis has incorporated all of these techniques into various pilot projects around the world. For additional information about these individual projects, click on the designated link at left.