BetterBricks.com -- Building a Case for Productivity; New Site Connects Better Building Practices to Improved Bottom Line.

Business/Hi-Tech Editors

BOISE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2000

Betterbricks.com launched today with a strong message for employers and employees: The key to an enhanced bottom line is all about a better place to work.

This new online resource will arm businesses with straightforward solutions to improve workplace comfort, efficiency and productivity.

Betterbricks.com provides information, guidance and shared experience to steer companies toward a better, more efficient working environment. The web-based program encourages interaction among commercial building owners and occupants, developers, builders and designers to understand the impact lighting, temperature control and air quality have on workplace productivity.

"Companies invest a lot of money in their people, so they should have a vested interest in creating buildings that keep people productive and healthy," says Mike O'Brien, project manager, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (the Alliance), sponsor of betterbricks.com.

O'Brien adds that employees waste an enormous amount of time addressing daily workplace annoyances: thermostat wars, computer screen glare caused by improper lighting, distracting noises and smells passing through poorly insulated walls and windows. "An initial investment in good design will pay dividends of increased worker satisfaction and loyalty, a significant return given today's tight labor market," O'Brien says.

The betterbricks.com campaign focuses attention on commercial office and retail settings -- those with a large number of employees -- a key audience for this program. Oregon developer Bob Gerding says the betterbricks.com philosophy makes good business sense, noting two of his projects' presence on the new web site. "Our buildings include items like daylighting, natural ventilation and individual heating and cooling controls, which help us attract the high caliber tenants we seek."

About the Site

The web site adopts a magazine-style layout to explain and explore the betterbricks.com philosophy. Using illustrative articles and audio quotes detailing workplace successes of buildings across the country, betterbricks.com makes a compelling case for the benefits of energy efficient building practices.

Key Northwest buildings highlighted on the betterbricks.com site include the offices of Norm Thompson, Wieden & Kennedy and the Brewery Blocks projects in Oregon as well as the PNL Lab and the offices of WRQ in Washington. Future editions to the web site will include buildings in Idaho and Montana. The buildings showcase different applications of energy-efficient building practices, from proper use of daylighting to individual temperature controls, and how these practices have impacted employee attraction and retention; quality of work; personal productivity and employee well being.

A help desk will call upon the resources of a select group of betterbricks.com advisors who can meet, on-site, with a betterbricks.com client.

During the site visit, the advisor will be able to help define performance areas, assist with the diagnosis of existing building performance problems, and help pursue opportunities to improve building performance. The site will be updated to address timely topics of interest to employers and employees.

Other promotional efforts for betterbricks.com include television and print advertising in business and trade publications; online marketing and speaker programs to deliver the productivity message throughout the northwest region.

The Energy Connection

In January 1999, the Alliance embarked on a public information effort to raise awareness and improve energy-efficient building practices in commercial structures around the region. After more than a year of market research and extensive interviews with employers, employees, architects, engineers and designers, they began to mark a clear path between energy efficiency design and a company's bottom line.

"We're setting out to tell people about this connection," explains O'Brien. We understand a company's priority is optimizing employee performance. "With the advanced designs and technologies available today, it's not necessary to choose one benefit over the other. In the end, the Alliance achieves energy savings for the region, Northwest businesses become more competitive," he emphasized.

About the Alliance

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance sponsors betterbricks.com. The Alliance works to provide the public with affordable energy-efficient products and services. Why? Efficient homes are more affordable to maintain, more comfortable to live in. Efficient businesses are more productive, more competitive. The energy savings add up to a cleaner environment. More comfortable spaces mean a healthier economy.

The Alliance is a non-profit partnership of electric utilities, state governments, public interest groups and industry representatives. The Alliance seeks out the smartest products and best technologies, and provides funding, technical assistance quality control and marketing know-how to foster their production and acceptance in the marketplace.

The Alliance currently funds 30 efficiency projects throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. A 23-member board of directors governs the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and is responsible for selecting and approving funding for projects, reviewing and evaluating results, and providing guidance to staff.