DIRTT Environmental Solutions
DIRTT's Own Backyard
The DIRTT HQ is loaded up with the largest solar array in the city and the first corporate wind turbine. All our restrooms have low-flow, motion-sensor appliances and we banned disposable plastic water bottles in favor of the tap. Okay. Okay. We also have a tap that dispenses sparkling water. Who says "Sustainable" means losing little luxuries?
Our factories have a footprint one-third the size of a typical production facility. We don't have big ovens and drying racks. We use water-based, non-toxic finishes and have a crackerjack recycling program.
Our Buildings
DIRTT PRODUCTION FACILITIES
All our production facilities take up a minimal real estate and carbon footprint. They maintain robust recycling programs, use minimal energy and augment it with solar and wind. Water is conserved with low-use fixtures and employees use reusable drinking bottles. Each factory, office and Green Learning Center is adorned with DIRTT's Breathe™ Living Walls. We're able to open up facilities closer to our clients because of ICE®, the intelligent, 3D software DIRTT implements from front-to-back of the business. Look for more DIRTT factories opening up soon.
DIRTT GREEN LEARNING CENTERS
As a living demonstration of the benefits of choosing quality over quantity, each of DIRTT's Green Learning Centers thrives in minimal real estate footprints. Even DIRTT's largest GLC, in Chicago, is a fraction the square footage of a typical showroom for a company our size. Yet, the combination of good design and our space saving solutions offers you an excellent example of efficiency and beauty. Please stop by any of our Green Learning Centers to see for yourself.
Material Choices
Sometimes aluminum scraps are so valuable we have to chase thieves on their bicycles (true story). Sometimes commodity prices are low. Either way, we recycle our off-cuts. Better yet, the accuracy of our ICE software means we don’t have much recycling in the first place. With enough lead-time, we can also source aluminum with recycled content for you.
However, material use overall is small potatoes when compared with the material waste. We really have a hate on for materials designed for disposal (Yeah. You heard us drywall.)
Packaging
One of our finest moments came with invention of The Cookie. It is a small plastic piece that clips our interior wall frames together in a stack, holding them firm throughout their journey. They keep the truckload light and provide more efficient packing in the trailer. When the walls are off-loaded the Cookies have their own box to carry them home to use all over again.
We continue to limit foam and wood packaging and are developing a reusable cart system for local projects and hope to expand it across North America.
Transportation
For our own to-ing and fro-ing we have a carpool draw every month. Bus riders and bike riders are also eligible to win. And for commuters who purchase Smart Cars or hybrids there is a monthly incentive perk.
DIRTT was created in Calgary, Canada. That's where the headquarters remain; however Calgary is about as far as a place can be from 90% of our clients. With ICE® software as our ERP system, we are able to set up more production facilities in better proximity to our markets for a lighter carbon footprint when it comes to transportation. You can now find DIRTT being made in Georgia, Arizona and soon Texas.
We Support
DIRTT is the largest corporate sponsor of The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. We support this controversial group because they are putting themselves on the frontlines between poachers and endangered species like sharks and whales.
LEED or LEAD?
We are proud members of the U.S. Green Building Council. It is their ability to get the message out about the importance of building sustainable buildings that is changing hearts and minds. However, we feel LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) needs to stop turning a blind eye to sprawling office space and end its devotion to materiality and recycling. There are no opportunities for LEED CI points if you do not create waste at all – only if you recycle it. Recycling requires: extra bins, policing of the bins to stop trash contamination, trucks to take it away, much of it is shipped to China and other distant countries, and if there is a sudden drop in the economy (not that that ever happens) recycled goods may lose their value and there will be nowhere to accept your recycling and no profit to be made from it.
We ask, “Why create waste in the first place?” Movable architectural elements and plug & play infrastructure are designed and built to be repurposed over and over without ever creating waste. But yes. If in the far distant future you feel you must recycle our walls – they can indeed be disassembled and recycled.
