The companywide effort is unique because it puts HOK in a position of being proactive, rather that reactive, to an owner's overall plan.

HOK has promoted sustainable design practices long before it was popular, said Clark Davis, HOK vice chairman, but formalized its commitment last year through a sustainable design initiative.

"We decided as a firm to apply LEED criteria to each new project HOK touches," Davis said. "Whether the client has conscious sustainable agenda or not, our team evaluates the opportunities against the criteria before we get into the design."

This doesn't mean HOK ignores the clients' agenda, but rather incorporates green design into each project at a level the owner is comfortable with, Davis added.

"The whole industry has really come along," Davis said. "It has become easier to be green."

Source: "It's Easy Being Green," Midwest Construction, November 2006, by Sheila Bacon. Read the story.