At Meydenbauer Center, we prioritize sustainability through energy efficiency, waste reduction, and staff education. Our focus is on reducing our environmental impact by operating our facility as efficiently as possible. Through community partnership & local sourcing, we strive to reduce our carbon footprint. To achieve these goals, we have focused on innovation in the following areas:
Energy Efficiency:
In 2022, Meydenbauer Center hired MacDonald Miller Facility Services to complete an extensive Investment Grade Audit focused on energy efficiency measures.
During that audit, they identified 16 capital projects we could complete to reduce our annual energy usage index (EUI) by 39.5, reducing our energy consumption by over 40%. As an organization, we decided to move forward with the majority of this work. We completed our first project – replacing our original boilers with newer, more energy efficient versions in 2023. This change is expected to reduce our building EUI by 0.8.
Also in 2023, we obtained a nearly $6 million appropriation from the Washington State Legislature to complete the majority of the remaining projects outlined in the Investment Grade Audit. We are under contract to complete 8 projects in early 2024 and are currently finalizing work to complete one additional project in mid-2024. These projects include the following:
- Converting all non-LED lighting in our facility to LED
- Installing smart building analytics to more thorough monitor and manage energy usage
- Optimizing the insulation under our largest roof
- Adding air curtains and insulating our loading dock bay doors to reduce heat loss
- Installing a window film on South facing windows to reduce the impact of direct sunlight on our building heating and cooling systems
- Upgrading our domestic hot water system and replacing 22 water source heat pumps with more energy efficient models
- Replacing nine sections of our roof
These projects are expected to reduce our building EUI by over 20. This represents a reduction in carbon output equivalent to 351.9 metric tons of carbon per year. This is equivalent to planting 13,304 trees or displacing emissions of 120,491 gallons of gasoline burned.
Energy efficiency projects are expected to reduce our building EUI by over 20
Waste Reduction:
Meydenbauer Center currently has a recycling and compost program and diverts roughly 80% of the waste that comes through our building from the landfill. Our goal in 2024 is to increase this diversion rate to 85% through an improved composting program, new initiatives to better recycle Styrofoam and plastic wrap and reviving our donation program.
- Our team actively works to sort trash that can be composted or recycled and disposes of it properly. This includes sorting out Styrofoam and plastic to be sent to a special recycler.
- We work with haulers for larger removals, and only select recyclers that practice environmental responsibility.
- The kitchen uses a pulper system that reduces the amount of water needed to clean dishes.
- We use washable, reusable dishes and silverware with events big and small, rather than purchasing one-time use items and sending them to the landfill after use. We ensure our disposable cups are compostable/biodegradable.
Meydenbauer Center currently has a recycling and compost program and diverts roughly 80% of the waste that comes through our building from the landfill
Staff Education:
In 2024, one of our biggest sustainability initiatives is staff education. We kicked off the year with a training on waste sortation from the City of Bellevue, are conducting tours of our composting, landfill, and recycling sites to better understand how our work affects the waste stream, and we’re scheduling regular staff trainings on best practices to reduce our environmental impact.
