Genesis Marina, a 570,000-square-foot commercial office and laboratory project that general contractor Webcor is delivering in Brisbane, CA, is officially the world’s first Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE) precertified construction site.
Webcor has been driving this highly ambitious sustainability initiative 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 percent 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 the stringent California policies driving the state to a circular economy future.
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 states 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 percent annually.
Webcor's best management practices include:
- Source reduction: Only reusables are used in the pantry within the jobsite trailer; hand dryers are used in all of the bathrooms in the trailer; no paper towels are being generated.
- Source reduction & creativity & health initiative: Plastic bottle reduction; repurposing catering carts into hydration and hand washing stations; plastic bottle reduction and repurposing catering carts into hydration and handwashing stations
- Waste separation salvage & reuse: All wood pallets are saved and reused by Webcor Equipment
- Waste separation & correct infrastructure + education programs + creativity: Collection points are distributed throughout the site. All the bins are correctly labeled and use images and bi-lingual signage to communicate with the workers.
- Recycling & education / programs & creativity: A dashboard has been designed and displayed on the trailer’s external wall so everyone can see the project diversion rate and other data. This is an important component to keep people engage and educated.
- Waste separation & correct infrastructure + education programs + selecting the right partners: The C&D hauler is a key partner for providing the right strategies for waste sorting and recycling. All bins have signage with different color coding (that is used site-wide) and is bilingual as well. Central collection points are available in the trailer (NO desk bins are available) All the bins are correctly labeled and use images and bilingual signage to communicate.
- Education programs & health initiatives: Daily safety training is taking place. The zero waste goal and hazardous waste prevention and handling is part of the safety training.
- Source reduction + salvage & reuse: All the furniture for office and meeting rooms were reused at Genesis Marina.
- Recycling + creativity + waste separation: A Terracycle box is available at the jobsite trailer for materials that are not acceptable in the regular recycling stream - such as chip bags.
Webcor Equipment has been a key partner at Genesis Marina by supporting waste reduction activities, promoting reuse and salvage of materials, providing a closed loop system for several materials that were landfill-bound but were repaired instead, and pricing social equity and local jobs.
“Construction is one of the leading industries in waste, but it doesn’t have to be. Webcor has always led bold initiatives in construction; our pursuit of TRUE certification for this project is just one example. 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.” -Soonrock Park, Sr. Project Manager, Webcor
Learn more about Webcor's zero waste work.