OMNOVA Solutions announced that its headquarters building in Beachwood, Ohio has earned LEED Certified status from the United States Green Building Council.

“When we decided to build our new world headquarters in Beachwood, we were looking to reduce operating costs while creating a space for our employees to be highly productive and effective at working together. Equally important was the desire to build a structure that would reflect the values we hold in protecting the health of our employees and preserving natural resources and the environment,” said Kevin McMullen, OMNOVA Solutions' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Through this project, we were able to achieve these objectives with a design that promotes employee and customer collaboration in an atmosphere infused with natural light.”

LEED is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class sustainable building strategies and practices.

Among the many design features of the OMNOVA headquarters project that contributed to LEED credits are the following:

• An estimated 22 percent energy cost savings as compared to similar buildings with the same size and functionality;
• Diversion of 94 percent of construction waste from the landfill through recycling;
• A 38 percent reduction of all water use through water-conserving fixtures throughout the building;
• On-site storm water management to reduce contaminants prior to reaching the city conveyance system;
• A white roof that reduces heat gain and lessens the building's overall energy usage;
• Automated controls that dim or switch lights in response to daylight levels in the space;
• Installation of a full Building Automation System (BAS) that provides remote monitoring and alert capabilities related to the building’s mechanical and electrical equipment and allows OMNOVA to maintain excellent control of internal comfort conditions and effective monitoring of energy consumption;
• 70 percent of the building's power needs for the next two years from renewable sources;
• Significant use of recycled content in the project materials; and
• Use of low VOC paints, carpet and other materials and finishes.

The project included carpet and luxury vinyl tile flooring that incorporated OMNOVA’s own specialty chemical and engineered surfacing products. The carpet and flooring contained combinations of post- and pre-consumer recycled content.

In addition, environmentally preferred laminates and coated upholstery fabrics produced by OMNOVA’s Engineered Surfaces division were included on furniture throughout the building for workstations, casework, conference and cafe tables, and seating.

As the lease on its previous headquarters building neared expiration, OMNOVA evaluated a number of options that would provide a facility ideally suited to the company’s current and future needs and aspirations while lowering annual operating costs. OMNOVA broke ground at the Beachwood, Ohio site in the fall of 2013 and moved in a year later. Vocon was the architect of the project and CAM Inc. was the building developer. The company also was assisted by real estate advisor Jones Lang LaSalle.  All are located in Northeast Ohio.