By Shelley Owens
Monday, May 25, 2009

Despite the tough economy, Mark MacDonald, president of Ocean Gate General Contractors, Inc. in Stuart is making a push to get employees trained and certified as green construction professionals under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard of the US Green Building Council.

Since the beginning of the year, at least eight employees have become green certified. And the company hopes to break ground this year on a new corporate headquarters they call The Eco Center. It will also be a certified green building. They hope with the highest green rating, LEED Platinum.

BJ: When did you start the green campaign?

MM: It’s not a campaign. It’s more like a change of lifestyle and a change of thought. It’s not about doing what’s right because it’s in vogue but because it’s right.

I never considered myself an environmentalist. I’m a big fisherman. But I learned about the island of plastic twice the size of Texas floating in the middle of the Pacific, killing birds and sea life. I started making changes in my own lifestyle.

BJ: What was the driver for changing the culture at Ocean Gate to be more environmentally-sensitive and to get your green certifications?

We have a dynamic group of people. We drove it together. We love where we live and we want to keep it special. And we want to make it better. We started about three years ago by changing what we do as a company, doing things like recycling.

BJ : What are some easy, green things businesses can do?

MM: Use low or no VOC (volatile organic compound) paints. Use bamboo floors which are cheap, durable and come from a fast-growing, sustainable plant. Put in bike racks for employees who want to bike to work. We have an incentive for our employees who want to drive a hybrid vehicle.

Now that your people are LEED certified professionals, what is next for Ocean Gate?

I hope to be the first kid on the block to build a LEED Platinum-certified building in Martin County. (The new company headquarters.)

In the plain-vanilla, contractor-grade world of commercial building, why would owners spend more for a green building?

People are talking about building green. And we’re starting to see a turn-about by end users. The cost difference is about 10 percent. In the long term, they save money with lower energy costs and lower water usage so, over time, you are getting your initial investment back and then everything going forward is savings. If you build a place that is less expensive to operate, it’s going to be attractive to tenants. The savings make them more competitive.

And in this economic environment, it’s time to build. Money is cheap to borrow. Land is “on sale.”

For more information, visit http://www.oceangategc.com.