Greenest Office Judges Profiles

Manuel Barnes
President, CEO
Egis Natural Development Inc.
Bentonville

Manuel Barnes has spent his entire career helping business, community and government leaders find the ideal balance between economy and ecology.

His father and grandfather impressed upon him the importance of maintaining a healthy environment. This is something he has pursued for decades now, with his work for the University of Arkansas Water Resource Research Center, the Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, Miss., and Little Rock and with his own company, environmental consultant Egis Natural Development Inc.

Water resources have been a major focal point of his career. Barnes has been involved with many studies and environmental impact assessments measuring how streams, rivers and other water supplies are affected by development and how best to ensure their protection.

One of the best ways developers can make sure to foster a healthy environment is to give back right at the development site, Barnes said. Re-establishing and caring for riparian zones – areas where land and stream meet – is critical.

Northwest Arkansas leaders also need to protect Beaver Lake, which, as the major supply of drinking water, is vital to the area’s future.

A good rule to keep in mind is “always give back more than you take,” Barnes said.

Charles Benningfield
Owner
McTab Inc.
Bentonville

When it comes to making the call as to whether a building passes LEED muster, Charles Benningfield is the referee. Benningfield owns McTab Inc., a Bentonville custom home construction company.

In 2007, he earned certification as a Commissioner of Buildings by the University of Wisconsin School of Engineering, and is one of only three people in Northwest Arkansas with that qualification.

He is also a LEED Accredited Professional, and is a member of both the U.S. Green Building Council and the Building Commissioning Association.

Benningfield’s training qualifies him to certify construction projects as meeting LEED standards, and the growing number of sustainable projects in the region is keeping him busy lately.

He is the LEED AP for a 30,000-SF office project under way in Bentonville for his company Renaissance Investments and is commissioning a new hospital in Muskogee, Okla., that is aiming for a LEED Gold rating.

Conserving water is an important step for businesses and individuals to take to prevent unnecessary runoff and waste, Benningfield said.

“Make sure your sprinklers are watering the actual plants and grass,” he said. “Seriously, nothing will grow in the middle of the street, you don’t need to water it.”

Karen McSpadden
Program Officer, Environmental and Social Sustainability
Winrock International
Fayetteville

Karen McSpadden doesn’t pinpoint a single experience or realization for why she works toward sustainable development.

She’s been interested in it not just since she began working, but for her entire life.

“It’s just sort of my fundamental value system,” McSpadden said, adding that she has “always been interested in being a responsible citizen of the planet.”

Her work at the global nonprofit Winrock International entails many things. McSpadden works with corporate clients on developing and implementing sustainability initiatives and greenhouse gas emissions.

She also works with various foundations on creating sustainable food systems, and helps entrepreneurs in getting their businesses up and running.

McSpadden started at Winrock in April. Before that, she worked for different government agencies, corporations and nonprofits on many different types of sustainable and environmentally friendly pursuits.

Northwest Arkansas leaders have definitely made steps toward creating sustainable developments, such as Fayetteville’s trail system, she said.

But that doesn’t mean there’s not more to do. McSpadden said it is vital to do everything possible to attract green businesses to the region.

Tasha Settles
Senior vice president
pb2 Architecture & Engineering
Rogers

Coming back to Northwest Arkansas was a natural choice for Tasha Settles. The Rogers native attended school out of state, but came back “because this is my hometown.”

Settles started with pb2 in 1999. She primarily works with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., designing new construction projects for the company.

In October 2005, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott gave a presentation about the importance of sustainable practices in business and in personal life. Since then the retailing titan has implemented scores of measures designed to save money and lessen environmental impact.

As a major partner with Wal-Mart, pb2 decided the best way to understand that company’s direction would be to mimic its practices.

Taking on that challenge and significantly reducing paper waste was how pb2 won the Arkansas Recycling Coalition’s 2008 Corporate Recycler of the Year Award, Settles said.

Pb2 began offering lunch-and-learn seminars to address sustainable building practices. The events are open to anyone who wants to come, she said.

Settles would like to see local government and corporate leaders work together to foster a civic and business environment that is focused on reducing waste, lessening environmental impact and saving money.

Tim Snell
Associate State Director for Water Resources
The Nature Conservancy
Fayetteville

Water makes up more than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface and about 60 percent of the human body. It’s also a major part of Tim Snell’s job at The Nature Conservancy.

A great deal of his work centers on keeping Northwest Arkansas’ big drink – Beaver Lake – in good shape. That means consulting with a wide array of people involved in development of the region on how to build while preserving water resources.

“The green building idea lets you concentrate on your particular site. So you do the best job possible at your site,” Snell said. “Water conservation starts at your site, so if everybody does the best they can, the cumulative effect makes a large difference in overall conservation.”

Snell’s career also includes many years of work with forestry services and as an agricultural consultant, most recently with the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Poteau, Okla., where he worked until 1999.

When it comes to protecting a body of water, some of the most knowledgeable people are the landowners and farmers along its headwaters, Snell said. He works with these people often.

“The people who live on the land are the best people to take care of it. They’ve understood conservation for a long time.”