Content about Building engineering

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer recently joined the U.S. Environment Protection Agency's GreenChill Partnership. Created as a voluntary partnership, GreenChill members focus on reducing refrigerant emissions and decreasing their impact on the environment and ultimately people's health. By joining GreenChill, Meijer is pledging to meet higher standards that go beyond the regulatory requirements to protect the ozone layer and combat climate change.

CITY OF AMSTERDAM, N.Y. — Baby food brand Beech-Nut announced that its new facility has earned LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and the Green Building Certification Institute.

The $124 million facility, which serves as Beech-Nut's headquarters and production plant, opened in June 2010 and was designed to achieve LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use. Facility features and highlights include:

• Annual energy savings equal to the energy demands of more than 2,000 people;

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble is working toward making its sites LEED-certified as part of the company's long-term sustainability commitment.

Established by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. All new P&G sites, including those in the United States, that currently are in the design phase or early construction are working toward achieving LEED certification, P&G said.

Procter & Gamble has expanded its Future Friendly program — a multibrand initiative aimed at helping shoppers save water, waste and energy at home — and is bringing the environmental responsibility and educational platform to the store level as it kicks off a full media platform in an effort to reach at least 50 million U.S. households by the end of the 2010. But what kind of research is behind the design and deployment of Future Friendly, and what does it mean for retailers?