Green

At Mid America Metals going ‘Green’ is more than just a catchphrase, it’s a priority every day. We believe that we have an obligation to reduce our impact on the environment and conserve our natural resources for future generations. Being environmentally responsible is not a one day job, it’s a complete change in our company culture. That’s why we’ve created two ‘Green Teams’ that look at ways to continuously improve the environmental impact of our operations at our customer’s buildings and in our offices. Our Research and Development Center has been busy for several years testing various LEED compliant and low VOC products. Our team has even been working with chemical manufactures to come up with products that meet the rigorous LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. We work hard every day to be socially and environmentally responsible because we value your business, our employees, the environment, and our future generations.

Below are just a few of the things we are currently doing.

Use of LEED Compliant and Low VOC Products
Continuing our efforts to find and use products that meet LEED and VOC limits
Use of Green Processes
We promote green processes on our jobsites, in our offices and at home
Green Bi-Weekly Meetings
A time when we can share our successes and brainstorm new ideas for going green
Education
Our owner and Director of Safety/R&D have been trained by Green Advantage, which is the longest-standing certification program for building related practitioners. We also regularly educate our crews and Account Representatives on the latest LEED compliant products and processes.
Recycling
Every effort is made to recycle everything from paper to ink cartridges
Office Conservation Practices
Many of our offices use CFL bulbs, programmable thermostats, soy ink, ‘green’ carpeting, low VOC paint, recycled paper, and energy efficient computers. Our corporate office has just installed a state-of-the-art document management system to limit the use of paper.

The word “Green” or “Going Green” is a word that gets thrown around on a daily basis these days but what does it mean? Well to be honest not much! Any company can say that they are green. It’s called “Greenwashing” and unfortunately is all too common in the selling of products and services to buildings trying to get their LEED certification. Instead of jumping on the “Green” bandwagon we prefer to say we are LEED compliant and using low VOC environmentally sustainable products because it’s something that’s measurable. If your building is LEED certified or if you’re in the process of going for your certification you probably already know that you must use environmentally friendly products and processes when refinishing the metal, stone or wood in your building. Many of these products are tested and endorsed by a non-profit agency called Green Seal, however some product manufactures choose not to get their product Green Seal certified, because of the cost involved. They are still however, eco-friendly and are able to be used in LEED certified buildings. It can be confusing to say the least so it’s no wonder why many of our customers want to learn about our products and processes. Here are some fast facts about our LEED compliance.

LEED compliant/low VOC/sustainable products are the majority of our supply usage. Mid America Metals always uses LEED compliant products if they are available on the market.
Our products do not generally fall under the Green Seal certification standards but this does not imply they are not LEED compliant or eco-friendly. Green Seal may never develop standards for many of the products used by our industry.

The bottom line is that after years of education, research and testing we are confident in our knowledge of “Green” and we would welcome an opportunity to partner with you and show off that knowledge in your building.