photo credit: Lynn Billman, NREL

On July 13, BTI Greensburg, our local John Deere Dealership, was awarded LEED Platinum certification – making it the third project in Greensburg to achieve this highest honor of sustainable green building practices.  (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is a rating system developed by the US Green Building Council.) This designation is the result of a long and committed process by the Estes family and their team of architects, builders, employees. They also received a great deal of support from John Deere World Headquarters, and assistance and encouragement from GreenTown. Special recognition goes to the consultants from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), part of the US Department of Energy, who provided their expertise and direction from start to finish.

Brothers Mike and Kelly Estes made the decision soon after the tornado to take the lead and rebuild in an exemplary energy efficient fashion. Their vision has influenced other local business owners and has made a huge impact on the whole of the John Deere corporation. Their business now serves as the flagship for all John Deere dealerships in the country.

Mike Estes, who is the general manager of the Greensburg operation, has been fielding requests for tours and interviews pretty much non-stop since the decision to go green was made. BTI has been the subject of numerous TV shows, notably Planet Green’s “Greensburg” series and Discovery Channel’s “Build it Bigger: Greensburg” hosted by Danny Forester. One of the interesting high-tech features at BTI is an education kiosk located in their lobby, where visitors can peruse in detail the many green elements incorporated into the building, furnishings, and landscape.

In addition to selling and servicing farm equipment, BTI sells wind turbines at each of their four locations in southwestern Kansas. John Deere Wind Energy serves as a one-stop resource for people interested in developing renewable power from wind energy.

For a closer look at the many state-of-the-art features of BTI’s dealership, check out GreenTown’s Sustainable Building Data Base here.