BuildingWise Partners with The Transamerica Pyramid in LEED Certification for Sustainable Practices
San Francisco, Calif. (PRWEB) January 12, 2010 -- BuildingWise (http://www.buildingwise.net), a recognized leader in sustainable consulting and LEED® certification, announced today that it has successfully partnered with the ownership of San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid Building (http://www.pyramidcenter.com/) at 600 Montgomery Street by providing consulting services to the ownership in the LEED certification process, resulting in LEED Gold certification for sustainable building.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (http://www.usgbc.org), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is an internationally recognized green building certification system that provides third-party verification to building owners and operators, with a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. The certification process focuses on strategies aimed at improving performance in energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
“We are extremely proud to have received the LEED Gold certification for The Transamerica Pyramid. It is testament to the vision, hard work, commitment and participation of our management and leasing team of Cushman and Wakefield, our tenants, and the BuildingWise professionals” said Mark Novack, Real Estate Portfolio Manager with AEGON, USA. “Navigating the LEED certification for an existing building is a difficult process. Our partnership with BuildingWise was paramount to our success in becoming LEED Gold certified.”
The Pyramid’s LEED Gold certification is the culmination of a long standing commitment to energy efficiency and to sustainability improvements throughout its operations. Highlights of the Pyramid Building’s LEED certification include:
• 85% of occupants use alternative transportation to commute to work
• A water reduction program resulting in a 50% reduction over the past year
• The Pyramid purchases certified offsite renewable energy equivalent to 50% of their annual energy use
• The Pyramid reuses, recycles or composts 70% of the ongoing consumable waste stream (by weight). It also demonstrated reuse or recycled 75% of the durable goods waste stream during the performance period. More than 70% of the waste (by volume) was diverted from facility alterations and additions from landfill and incineration disposal.
• Indoor environmental quality: Increased outdoor air ventilation rates to all occupied spaces by at least 30% above the minimum rates required.
• Green cleaning and custodial effectiveness: 90% of the cleaning products purchased contain high recycled content or meet rigorous EPA and Green Seal™ standards for sustainability.
• Innovation: The ownership, property management and leasing agency have made extensive efforts to educate building occupants about sustainability through an Environmental Awareness Day and educational newsletters describing the LEED improvements made.
“BuildingWise is honored to work with San Francisco's landmark Transamerica Pyramid,” said Barry Giles, CEO of BuildingWise (http://www.buildingwise.net/about/who_we_are.php). “Visionaries like AEGON, Cushman & Wakefield and the team at the Pyramid Building understand that hard work now will result in a property that is more marketable, more desirable for corporate tenants, improves worker productivity and will result in lower monthly operation fees. The collective team achieved remarkable improvements and implemented sustainability processes that will be a role model for not just San Francisco, but for Existing Building LEED certification throughout the world.”
San Francisco set its Green Building Ordinance in 2007 to create the country's most comprehensive, substantive, and flexible green building requirements for new commercial and residential construction. While new construction and major renovation in San Francisco adds up to less than 1 percent of the city's real estate, in 2009, the city set out to accelerate the greening of existing buildings and improving the performance of the remaining 99% of the built environment.
More information about the LEED Gold certification of the Pyramid Building is available at: www.buildingwise.net
About BuildingWise
BuildingWise guides building owners, operators, and investors through a stringent LEED Certification process to design and construct new buildings or upgrade existing buildings to improve performance and reduce environmental impacts. With a proven methodology, BuildingWise navigates and leads businesses through a segmented approach that allows them to select areas with the greatest potential return on investment. In addition to LEED certification, BuildingWise offers analysis and consulting services developed to continually increase the value of green building and sustainable property management. This includes green operations training, carbon footprint analysis, energy audits and consulting for green building and retrofits. See www.BuildingWise.net for more information and a complete listing of products and services.
Media Contacts:
Mark Peterson / Bill Cox
Experience Communications for BuildingWise
831.626.4400 / 208.381.0001
mark[atexperiencecom.com / bill[atexperiencecom.com
About AEGON USA
AEGON is one of the world's largest life insurance and pension companies, and a strong provider of investment products. AEGON empowers local business units to identify and provide products and services that meet the evolving needs of customers, using distribution channels best suited to local markets. AEGON takes pride in balancing a local approach with the power of an expanding global operation. With headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, AEGON companies employ approximately 29,000 people worldwide. AEGON's businesses serve millions of customers in over twenty markets throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia, with major operations in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Respect, quality, transparency and trust constitute AEGON's core values as the company continually strives to meet the expectations of customers, shareholders, employees and business partners. AEGON is driven to deliver new thinking with the ambition to be the best in the industry.
Media Contact:
Nancy Green
Shennum Green, Inc. for the Pyramid Center
925.460-8301
nancy.green[atshennumgreen.com
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