BALTIMORE (Map, News) - From simple air-friendly paints to big-ticket roof gardens, there are more options than ever for businesses looking to go green with a new building, or with renovations to their existing workspace.

“Many of the principles of green building have been around for 10, 20, 30 years, but it’s only in the last five that they’ve exploded in terms of the penetration into the broader market,” said Brad Rogers, principal of Hampden-based Baltimore Green Construction.

Businesses across the region have sought green technology in improving indoor air quality, using recyclable materials in construction and preventing pollutants from reaching the Chesapeake Bay. But they also go green for a fourth, slightly less altruistic benefit — reaping energy savings.

Buildings are rated on their green-ness by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, project, which awards levels from “certified,” “silver,” and “gold” to “platinum.”

The nation’s first building to receive a platinum LEED certification was the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Annapolis headquarters. The 30,600-square-foot facility, completed in 2000, boasts composting toilets, rainwater catchments, solar panels and solar water heating, and was built with recyclable materials.

“[We saw] results in the construction process and decided to go for it and pull out all the stops. It was less about money and more about following our mission statement,” facility manager Rich Moore said.

While the building was the first to receive platinum certification, Moore said its green systems have held up — the building was recently chosen from among 325 buildings for an award from University of California-Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment.

Though Moore said the foundation followed its mission in creating the building, its advancements save the foundation nearly $22,000 per year in energy costs, and the facility uses 40 percent less energy and 90 percent less water than conventional buildings, according to foundation data.

It came at a price, though: The $6.36 million building cost about 30 percent more per square foot than a regular building.

Another local nonprofit chose to go green with its new home on Belair Road, the former Pelham Bakery. The Herring Run Watershed Association started small in its planning but now aims for a silver LEED rating. The group originally planned for $60,000 in renovations, but costs have risen to about $530,000, according to Executive Director Mary Sloan Roby.

Rogers said he expects the green boom to continue as businesses realize the benefits of going green, both in their budgets and in their workers’ lives.

“People in America are coming to realize they can express their values through their consumer choices,” he said.

acahall@baltimoreexaminer.com