How Steelcase Employs Natural Campus Solutions for Green Building Benefits

For more than 35 years, Steelcase has been an innovator in green stormwater infrastructure across West Michigan, integrating nature-based solutions into its facilities to reduce runoff, improve water quality, and create healthier workplace environments. The company operates two LEED-certified buildings in Grand Rapids that feature natural landscape systems designed to capture and manage stormwater from large impervious surfaces.

Located within the Buck Creek Watershed, Steelcase’s Global Business Center and Learning & Innovation Center exemplify how large corporate campuses can reduce environmental impact while enhancing employee experience. Through green roofs, bioswales, permeable pavement, and naturalized landscapes, Steelcase manages millions of gallons of stormwater annually on site.

Beyond infrastructure performance, Steelcase views stormwater management as an opportunity to engage employees, restore habitat, and demonstrate leadership in sustainable campus design throughout the region.

Designing for Stormwater Capture and Reuse

The Global Business Center and Learning & Innovation Center campus includes a five-story building with green roof features, a neighboring structure with white roofs, and landscaping designed to mimic natural stormwater terrain. A detention pond collects runoff from parking lots, allowing water to infiltrate slowly into the ground, reducing street flooding and improving downstream water quality. Captured water is reused for landscape irrigation, closing the loop on site-based water management.

In 2012, Steelcase converted a traditional parking lot into a bioswale that now captures approximately 5.1 million gallons of stormwater runoff per year from roof and service areas. Additional bioswales planted with both native and non-native species have been installed throughout parking lot islands, while a newer parking area incorporates permeable pavement materials to further reduce runoff.

Native plant species on site are being monitored by Groundswell and Crestwood Middle School, helping evaluate which species are best suited to thrive in the habitat while supporting educational opportunities tied to the landscape.

Supporting Biodiversity and Reducing Costs

Steelcase’s green stormwater infrastructure has produced benefits well beyond water management. Naturalized landscapes have increased habitat biodiversity, leading to sightings of deer, bluebirds, and butterflies, particularly near the company’s Wood plant facility.

In a circular approach, wood scraps from nearby furniture manufacturing operations have been repurposed to build bird boxes installed throughout Steelcase properties. At the same time, changes in landscaping maintenance practices have resulted in nearly $20,000 in annual cost savings while lowering the company’s carbon footprint.

Engaging Employees Through Education and Stewardship

Stormwater management has become a central component of how Steelcase involves employees in its sustainability strategy. Facilities teams maintain natural landscapes by limiting lawn mowing, managing invasive species, and protecting tree canopy coverage that helps reduce urban heat stress, improve air quality, and provide shade and visual relief for employees.

Winter conditions present challenges for maintaining permeable surfaces and planted systems. To address these concerns, Steelcase is testing environmentally friendly snow and ice removal products, including alternative chloride-based materials, smaller salt granules, and sand substitutes that reduce water contamination, plant damage, and metal corrosion.

Employee engagement extends beyond maintenance. Stormwater has been a recurring theme at Steelcase Earth Day celebrations, and staff regularly participate in planting and landscape stewardship activities. Through these efforts, landscaping modifications are increasingly viewed as quality improvements that enhance both the workplace and surrounding community.