First Green Bank in Mount Dora officially awarded U.S. Green Building Council’s Coveted LEED Platinum Certification

Mount Dora, Fla. --- First Green Bank was recently awarded the U.S. Green Building Council’s coveted Platinum Certification for its 12,000 square foot headquarters facility opened last year on U.S. 441 in Mount Dora. Kenneth LaRoe, chairman and chief executive officer of First Green Bank, said the LEED Platinum Certification is the highest U.S. award for energy efficient and sustainable design, engineering, construction and maintenance. “Our LEED Platinum Certification has been a five year process,” LaRoe explained. “It began with our mission to create a community banking institution that expresses the highest ideals of good corporate citizenship. Our new headquarters facility was conceived, designed and built to very exacting standards in order to incorporate the best examples of sustainability and energy efficiency,” he said. Sixty rooftop solar panels on the facility provide 14.4 kilowatts of power, and the building is also designed to consume as little electricity as possible. The pitched butterfly-shaped roof streams rainwater into an 80,000 gallon cistern that irrigates planters outside and provides indoor plumbing. An 1,800 square-foot rooftop garden with native wildflowers is used for events and employee breaks, and the vegetation helps to insulate the building, reducing heating and cooling costs. LaRoe said sustainability was the guiding principle behind the building’s location. “We wanted a spot that would disturb the fewest trees,” he said. Pine trees harvested on the site were turned into flooring. The ceilings are made from cedar recycled from a nearby building that was torn down. Charging stations for electric and hybrid cars are available free for bank customers and employees. Bank couriers use hybrid cars to pick up deposits from customers, and another hybrid car serves as an employee loaner vehicle. First Green Bank provides zero percent interest loans to bank workers who buy high mileage cars. Low-wattage LED lights at the facility were designed to produce zero "light pollution." Florida-friendly, drought-tolerant landscaping is evident everywhere. Fieldstone used in the building is locally sourced. Large overhangs shade the building, and large windows reduce the need for artificial lighting. Flooring in the company gym is recycled cork and rubber composite. A juice bar for customers is made from recycled counterfeit money shredded by the Fed. “In the short term, green building standards cost more,” LaRoe said. “But we’re here for the long term, and our investment in sustainable building and banking practices is already paying a return,” he said. The U.S. Green Building Council is comprised of more than 18,000 member companies and organizations that include builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials, concerned citizens, teachers and students, 80 local affiliates and more than 167,000 LEED Professional Credential holders.