Schwartz says that he'd like to see more people use the LEED guidelines to see what changes they can make in their work processes to create a more environmentally responsible company, even if they don't go through the process of having a job certified.

"What I learned through following these LEED guidelines is just how to be more responsible on a jobsite. When you leave a jobsite you don't leave your trash there, you take it with you. If you've got solvents you don't take them to the dump you secure them and have them safely collected and disposed of properly," he says.

A decorative 'LEED'
The CONCRETEWORKS design facility and showroom includes 9,000 sq. ft. of decorative concrete. Schwartz plans to earn points through the decorative work on site through a local materials credit and by using polished concrete and water-based sealers and stains.

Schwartz says polished concrete, in which a contractor grinds rough concrete with a planetary grinder using a series of diamond disks generally from 100 grit up to 3,000 grit, is going to be a big part of green building for the decorative industry.

"When it comes to interior spaces, I see the green building movement pushing a lot of polished concrete," he predicts. "Number one, you don't have to maintain it with acrylic-type sealers all the time. It's a tight surface so it's smoother and is a little cleaner to maintain. And the products used in polished concrete are densifiers, not top coats or sealers, and the densifiers are (non-petroleum) oil-based and much more environmentally friendly."