Community Involvement

Mr. John has been a supporter of Habitat For Humanity for many years, supplying free temporary restrooms for all local job sites.  Currently, a Standard Mr. John portable toilet proudly stands on the site of Habitat Philadelphia's first LEED Certified green building project in West Philadelphia.  This noteworthy project consists of seven row homes on Stiles Street in the historic neighborhood of East Parkside which is located adjacent to Fairmount Park and the Philadelphia Zoo.  

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) refers to an internationally recognized green building certification system verifying that a building project meets the highest green building and performance standards.  An independent third party, the United States Green Buildings Council, provides verification based on performance in a number of categories including sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, indoor environmental quality, materials and resources, and others.

A green building may cost as much as 20% more to build, but saves through lower operating costs over its lifetime. Additional benefits include a healthier home with less indoor air pollution and natural ventilation, efficiencies in the areas of energy, water and other resources and a reduction in the impact on the environment through reduced waste.

The Stiles Street project was started in March of 2007 and is on track to qualify for Silver LEED certification which is a step above the standard certification.   Ways they hope to achieve this goal include using:

• Insulated Concrete Form foundations
• Ultra-high efficiency heating systems
• Energy Star rated windows
• Cement Board siding
• Low VOC paints and interior finishes
• Storm water management using pervious paving and landscaping

Habitat Philadelphia has made a remarkable commitment to the cause of affordable housing and stands at the forefront of the future of Philadelphia.  Mr. John is so proud to be a part of this important endeavor and looks forward to providing portable toilets to all future sites.

For more information on this and other Habitat Philadelphia projects, visit http://www.habitatphiladelphia.org/.