Genesis Marina, a 570,000-sf commercial office and laboratory project in Brisbane, Calif., has become the world’s first Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE) precertified construction site. The developers are Phase 3 Real Estate Partners, and Bain Capital Real Estate.
The TRUE program is administered by Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI), which also implements LEED certification. The TRUE precertification recognizes projects that have implemented the fundamental actions and policies needed to effectively pursue zero waste and have demonstrated a commitment to achieving TRUE certification.
“The companies that will call Genesis Marina home are discovering the future. Programs like the TRUE certification, through its focus on sustainability, reusability, and social responsibility, are key to that future as well,” says Michael Gerrity, President of Phase 3 Real Estate Partners.
Webcor, the general contractor on Genesis Marina, has been in partnership with zero waste consultant All About Waste since March 2021. Located on a former landfill, the Genesis Marina project site is expected to divert over 90% of its waste from landfills and incineration. These efforts help significantly reduce carbon emissions, support public health, and promote local jobs and alternatives to the traditional approach of disposing of the materials – aligning with stringent California policies driving the Golden State to a circular economy future.
“The official TRUE certification standard was designed for existing facilities, not construction sites,” says Denise Braun, principal at All About Waste. “There’s a lot of potential for growth in that arena, and Webcor has created the foundation to manage both on-site field and in-office waste in an effective, progressive manner.”
“While LEED focuses on mainly energy and water efficiency” – Genesis Marina is pursuing LEED Gold certification – “TRUE certification helps the site dramatically reduce waste that is brought in while also ensuring that removed waste is reused and diverted from becoming trash. TRUE is a rigorous zero waste program in part because it does not accept incineration as a diversion strategy,” says Celeste McMickle, director at the U.S. Green Building Council.
![Pallet recycling](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Webcor%20pallet%20recycling.png)
The pursuit of TRUE certification directly aligns with Webcor’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy: Two of the Waste Management goals established on its CSR website state the company’s commitments to implementing a TRUE program for zero waste on a jobsite by the end of next year and to reducing overall waste by 2% annually.
“Construction is one of the leading industries in waste, but it doesn’t have to be,” says Soonrock Park, the Webcor senior project manager overseeing Genesis Marina. “TRUE encourages all participants, from designers to end users, to consider the full circular economy of the materials we bring to a site and use within our operations. The goal is to divert all solid waste from the landfill, incineration, and the environment.”
“About 65% of all U.S. waste comes from construction and demolition debris, yet in California only 40% of that C&D debris is diverted from landfills,” adds Webcor Sustainability Director Jenelle Shapiro. “To put it in perspective, our one construction
business, on average, generates 1,700 tons of C&D debris monthly, which annually is equivalent to 130 blue whales – the largest animal in the world. For perspective, a blue whale is the length of a Boeing 737. That is a lot of waste, and a lot of opportunity, and we are just one general contractor.”
Shapiro says Webcor didn’t pick an “easy” project. “It has no demolition debris, which usually accounts for the majority of the total diversion percentage weight. This means that meeting the minimum 90% diversion rate requirement is even more difficult than it would be on a more typical project, but we didn’t want to take the easy approach. We wanted to challenge ourselves and the market to make it feasible on any type of project!”
Achieving TRUE certification is no simple feat. To be considered eligible, projects must meet a minimum of seven program requirements (prerequisites) and attain at least 31 points on the TRUE scorecard. Such criteria includes implementing a zero waste policy by diverting 90% of all waste generated, as well as meeting all solid waste and recycling regulations.
“Many other certifications were designed decades ago to spur on sustainable design,” says Brock Hill, vice president at Premiere Recycle Company, a Recycling Certification Institute–certified waste hauler and processing facility managing the construction debris for Genesis Marina. “While they have had success, an entire industry has been built around achieving those points. Changing those certifications is synonymous to turning a moving cruise ship. Pursuing TRUE takes courage to blaze a new path; it's not a cookie-cutter process in current norms.”
“We need to change the mentality of personnel at all levels – field, office, vendors, manufacturers, etc. – and inspire them to care about waste and the way it’s being handled,” says Miranda Nowlen, a Webcor senior project engineer on Genesis Marina who has championed the project’s pursuit of TRUE certification. “Implementing a program like TRUE certification challenges the designers, general contractors, trade partners, vendors, and end users to be conscious of where the product began and where it will end – something that isn’t always considered.”
ABOUT WEBCOR
Webcor is a premier provider of commercial construction services, known for its innovative and efficient approach, wide range of experience, cost-effective design-build methodology, skill in concrete construction and expertise in building landmark projects. Founded in 1971 and honored as one of the Greenest Builders in California, Healthiest Employers, Top Corporate Philanthropists, Best Places to Work and Largest California Construction Firms, Webcor has offices in San Francisco, Alameda, San Jose, San Diego, and Los Angeles.
ABOUT ALL ABOUT WASTE
All About Waste is a woman- and minority-owned sustainability and zero waste consulting firm based in California. It is WBE, MBE, and DBE certified and has worked to certify more than 200 different LEED, WELL, Fitwel, and TRUE projects, including the first TRUE zero waste high-rise building in the world and the fst multi-tenant and residential building to earnTRUE certification in the world.
Related Stories
| Jan 5, 2015
Beyond training: How locker rooms are becoming more like living rooms
Despite having common elements—lockers for personal gear and high-quality sound systems—the real challenge when designing locker rooms is creating a space that reflects the attitude of the team, writes SRG Partnership's Aaron Pleskac.
| Jan 2, 2015
Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014
Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.
| Dec 30, 2014
A simplified arena concept for NBA’s Warriors creates interest
The Golden State Warriors, currently the team with the best record in the National Basketball Association, looks like it could finally get a new arena.
| Dec 30, 2014
The future of healthcare facilities: new products, changing delivery models, and strategic relationships
Healthcare continues to shift toward Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley as it revamps business practices to focus on consumerism and efficiency, writes CBRE Healthcare's Patrick Duke.
| Dec 29, 2014
High-strength aluminum footbridge designed to withstand deep-ocean movement, high wind speeds [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
The metal’s flexibility makes the difference in an oil rig footbridge connecting platforms in the West Philippine Sea. The design solution was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
HDR and Hill International to turn three floors of a jail into a modern, secure healthcare center [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
By bringing healthcare services in house, Dallas County Jail will greatly minimize the security risk and added cost of transferring ill or injured prisoners to a nearby hospital. The project was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
New mobile unit takes the worry out of equipment sterilization during healthcare construction [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
Infection control, a constant worry for hospital administrators and clinical staffs, is heightened when the hospital is undergoing a major construction project. Mobile Sterilization Solutions, a mobile sterile-processing department, is designed to simplify the task. The technology was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
Startup Solarbox London turns phone booths into quick-charge stations [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
About 8,000 of London’s famous red telephone boxes sit unused in warehouses, orphans of the digital age. Two entrepreneurs plan to convert them into charging stations for mobile devices. Their invention was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
Spherical reflectors help spread daylight throughout a college library in Portland, Ore. [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
The 40,000-sf library is equipped with four “cones of light,” spherical reflectors made from extruded aluminum that distribute daylight from the library’s third floor to illuminate the second. The innovation was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
Hard hat equipped with smartglass technology could enhance job site management [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
Smart Helmet is equipped with an array of cameras that provides 360-degree vision through its glass visor, even in low light. It was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.