It's not easy being green, but this bank accepts the challenge

As an environmental investment in its new neighborhood, Home Savings Bank is building a "green" office at 3762 E. Washington Ave. that will incorporate ecofriendly and energy-saving components.

Design features include a rain garden to reduce water runoff, air-to-air recovery to improve air quality and heating efficiency, and extensive use of natural light. The bank is also committed to buying Wisconsin-grown and/or manufactured materials.

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The 5,000-square-foot building isn't scheduled to open until spring. Even so, conservation practices are already hard at work during the construction stage. The goal, said architect Ed Linville of Linville Architects, is to recycle 75 percent of construction waste. That means grinding up old asphalt on site and laying it down again to conserve landfill space and natural resources. The fact that fewer truck deliveries are required saves money at the pump.

"Serving Madison and Dane County since 1895, we have a history of taking a leadership role in making sure our offices reflect the communities and neighborhoods they serve," said Jim Bradley, bank president. One way to do that is to employ "sustainable green practices to protect the quality of a community's environment," he added.

The payoff is big, not only for the environment but for customers and employees. "(They) have a healthier and more pleasant place to work and do business," Bradley said.

Conservation has long been a priority for Home Savings Bank, originally chartered as Home Building and Loan; its Stoughton office, which opened in 1976, was one of the first commercial buildings in Wisconsin to use solar heat.

Upon completion of its new branch, Home Savings Bank will try to take another ecological step forward by being the first bank in the state to get Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The voluntary organization develops standards for environmentally sustainable buildings that are rated on such criteria as energy efficiency, site development, water savings, material selection and indoor environmental quality.

"Home Savings Bank ... is very committed to the environment, and when you have a client like that, it makes the process that much more enjoyable," Linville said. "The label 'green' has become a catch word � a sales tool. But our approach is to take it from hype to reality. We are looking at the building from stem to stern, from beginning to end and even beyond. A building like this will continue to benefit and take less out of the environment on a yearly basis than one that isn't green," he added. "It is an investment in the people who will use the facility and an investment in our future."

Rick Brooks, outreach program manager in the Department of Professional Development and Applied Studies at UW-Madison, moved his account from another bank to Home Savings in support of the bank's green approach. "I also like the people who work there," he said.

Brooks is committed, personally and professionally, to the principles of The Natural Step, an environmental approach that originated in Sweden in the late 1980s to accelerate global sustainability. It maintains that by recognizing the conditions of nature and making ecological, social and economic decisions accordingly to benefit the environment, "you can grow a business, a community, a neighborhood," Brooks said. "Every decision regarding this new branch was made after first asking the question, 'How will this affect the environment?'"

Home Savings Bank is an independent, local bank owned by its depositors. It has four locations in Madison and one in Stoughton. The current East Side branch at 226 Corporate Drive will close when the East Washington Avenue office opens.

Also working with Home Savings Bank on this building project are Sonja Newenhouse, founder of Madison Environ-mental Group, a green consulting firm; Ken Saiki of Saiki Design; Mike Schoonveld with the Renschler Co.; and Chris Homburg of Homburg Contractors Inc.