Jonathan Lerner
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
Chris Laszlo
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Established in 1895, The Garland Company has since sought to remain at the forefront of commercial building trends. In 1995, they began implementing green technology and commercialized some of the first vegetative green roofing system. Today, The Garland Company uses green roofing make a positive impact while maximizing customer value.
The Garland Company first introduced their green roofs in 1995. These vegetative roofs consist of a variety of plant life placed on top of a membrane that covers the roof of buildings. Additionally, these roofing systems may have numerous layers to help direct water and create a most ideal home for the vegetation. The type of vegetation planted on Garland's roofs varies and has the ability to live on soil-less substrates. These innovative techniques allow Garland roofs to benefit numerous stakeholders, including the customer and environment.
Garland's green roofing systems replace tradition methods of building coverings and serve as a superior alternative by providing positive outcomes for themselves, the customer, and the greater environmental landscape. Joe Pavicic, IT Developer Analyst for Garland, explained that they first introduced green roofing as a means to provide "a quality roof with a positive impact on the environment." Through their efforts, Garland was able to create as a new system that could self-maintain, reduce material consumption, and be energy efficient. During conversation, Joe perfectly summed Garland's mission by stating "We're always seeking to help both our customers and the world as a whole".
Garland has always focused on staying one step in front of the competition when it comes to creating building solutions. This is the mentality that directed them to begin implementing green technologies in 1995. Although previously used sparingly in North America, Garland sought to widely commercialize green roofing. At the time, the competitive landscape was only beginning to push towards higher levels of sustainability. However, Garland was able to find an opportunity to perfect and streamline a product superior to the status-quo of commercial roofing.
"In order to stay relevant in our industry, these sort of things [sustainable products] need to happen" said Joe, in regards to their green roofing technologies. The drive to remain ahead of the competition and be a leader in their field is a strong force at Garland. This innovation is a testament to what such a mindset can produce.
Garland's green roofs provide benefits for their customer and the environment while providing themselves with a competitive advantage. Although more expensive initially, Garland's green roofs provide numerous financial benefits for their customer. First, due to the natural protection created by the vegetation, these roofs can have a lifespan over two times that of a conventional roof. This longer lifespan results in tremendous savings of roofing replacement costs. Furthermore, Garland's green roofing serves as a natural insulator during warm and cold months. The insulating properties of the vegetation therefore reduces the energy consumption, and cost, of the building. When combined, these factors benefit Garland's customers tremendously. This also leads to a competitive advantage for Garland, through their offering of such a superior product. According to Joe Pavicic, "Green roofing is really changing the game".
Garland's green roofs impact the environment and society at numerous levels. By reducing heating and cooling needs, Garland's roofs reduce overall energy consumption and aid in the creation of sustainable cities and communities, therefore working towards UN Global Goal 11. Due to the longevity of vegetative roofs, Garland is able to utilize less materials and reduce both consumption and production responsibly, in accordance with UN Global Goal 12. Garland's green roofs also holds great direct benefits for the environment as well. Through better rainwater retention and the filtering of air pollutants, these vegetative roofs immediately provide a scientifically-based positive environmental impact, targeting UN Global Goal 13.
By providing long-term financial gains for customers, The Garland Company is able to benefit their customers through the use of green roofs. In turn, this gives Garland a competitive advantage through the offering of a specialized superior product. Through their early adaptations of such technologies, Garland was able to get into the vegetative roofing space early and establish themselves as a leader of sustainable roofing solutions. This has led Garland to grow tremendously over the years.
Garland's green roofs are impactful on both a societal & environmental level. By reducing energy consumption through their natural insulating effect and the reduction of production and consumption due to their long lifetime, these vegetative roofs work to achieve UN Global Goals 11 and 12. Furthermore, through their positive climate properties of filtering pollutants and retaining rainwater, Garland's green roofs work to achieve UN Global Goal 13 and provide an immediate positive environmental impact.
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Joe Pavicic, IT Developer Analyst
The Garland Company is a Northeast Ohio based commercial building company. They offer solutions to almost every aspect of the building and pride themselves on innovative techniques. Garland places a heavy emphasis on sustainability practices while maximizing customer value. Specifically, Garland focuses on implementing Green Roofing to give customers a quality long-lasting roof that carries positive impacts for the world.