If My Building is Carbon Neutral Will I Get More Customers?

That's the question that OFM , a manufacturer of office and school furniture, seems to have asked before deciding to install a 250-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system on the roof of its main building in Holly Springs, N.C.

"Today, customers want to know they are working with businesses that are environmentally responsible," said Abel Zalcberg, CEO of OFM. "We already do everything we can to make sure that our products are environmentally friendly, but we haven't been able to say that about the energy we use at our headquarters until now."

The photovoltaic system, which will be completed by the end of this year, will generate 322,500 kilowatts of electricity per year. This is more energy than the company can use so it will sell the remainder to Progress Energy.

OFM is not alone in trying to become more environmentally conscious. According to The U.S. Green Building Council there are 35,000 projects by companies and other institutions which are participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems. This encompasses over 4.5 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 91 countries.

To get more information and see case studies about the ROI that some of these companies received click here