How Emerald helped Big River Steel become the first ever LEED-certified steel production facility

Before breaking ground, Emerald Built Environments principals Laura Steinbrink and Matthew Setzekorn engaged with Big River Steel (BRS) executives in conversations about technology and efficiency. They demonstrated how BRS’s values had already put them on a path toward sustainable business practices and that pursuing further commitment to sustainability standards would make them stand out from other businesses of the same kind and enhance their marketing strategies.

After these discussions with Emerald, Big River Steel CEO Dave Sticker decided this steel production facility would become the first of its kind to receive LEED certification. All four buildings on the 1,300- acre campus were to get certified: the mill, an admin building, an employee services building (ESB), and a warehouse. By including the mill in this process, BRS became the first heavy-industrial facility to even attempt LEED certification.

This was, of course, no easy task. There’s a reason BRS’s competitors have limited their LEED efforts to executive buildings and R&D offices. A steel mill consumes so much energy and water as part of the manufacturing process that LEED certification seems impossible. BRS’s Flex Mill™ consumes less of these raw resources, but the newness of this technology meant that there was no easy way to quantify these savings for certification. But Emerald proved that it can be done.

Because the Flex MillTM concept was a new technology, there were no comparisons to calculate process energy and water savings. Instead, Emerald used the Credit Interpretation Ruling (CIR) process with Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI). By engaging the review team in a discussion about the mill and what makes it unique, Emerald was able to help them evaluate the new technology. This review process, which ultimately included two CIRs, compared patent filings and process designs to existing energy documentation guidelines to create a model of the mill’s energy and water baselines and projected savings.

This CIR process will pave the way for future industrial facilities to document their process energy and water savings.

For the mill, as well as the other three buildings on campus, Emerald implemented an integrated design process, in which all players were involved in the project from the beginning to focus on the owner’s project requirements and to ensure the best outcome. In this manner, at least 14 different standards and design parameters were met in the production of the facility and its modular spaces.