SKECHERS Distribution Center Becomes Largest US LEED Gold Building

A distribution center operated by footwear manufacturing company SKECHERS has received LEED Gold certification. It is the largest LEED-certified building in the country to have achieved Gold status. According to SKECHERS CEO and CFO David Weinberg, the company “is committed to growing its business in a way that conserves natural resources, protects the environment and reduces waste,” therefore the development process, handled from planning through construction by Highland Fairview, was focused on sustainability from the start.

The 1.82 million-square-foot distribution center located in Rancho Belago, CA had a number of green technologies employed in its construction process, as well as environmental features built into the end product. Some of these eco-friendly measures include: the accommodation of 280,000 square feet of solar power generation systems on the building’s roof, motion sensor-regulated lighting that partly uses solar-power, a facility-wide ventilation system that uses air drawn through louvers facing the prevailing winds, as well as similar heating and cooling systems, a white “cool roof” and light colored pavement that reduce heat emissions, water efficient and drought tolerant landscaping that reduces irrigation by half, low voc-emitting paints, coatings, glues.

Recycled and regional building materials that reduce the carbon footprint of the construction process were employed, as well as a recycling process for most of the byproducts that resulted from building operations.  

Officially started in the spring of 2010, SKECHERS’ new facility opened its doors in November 2011. The facility includes 20,000 square feet of office space used by the company, as well as a retail operation dealing with the company’s signature footwear products.

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