Jan 6 2010
The US Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification was issued to Verizon’s operations center in Basking Ridge because of its energy efficiency and eco-friendly design. This center situated in northern New Jersey’s Somerset County houses about 3,000 employees that also include leadership teams from two business groups of Verizon.
Energy management systems and temperature sensors are used by Verizon to monitor the ventilation, heating and air conditioning systems to increase the energy efficiency in the 1.4 million-square-foot facility. Service requirements, maintenance of tracks and lighting schedules at the facility are controlled by the company. The company has also installed fluorescent T-5 lights and energy-efficient light-emitting diodes in the facility besides the usage of air handlers with variable frequency drives for energy-efficient heating and cooling.
The Verizon operation center has also received the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star rating before the LEED Silver certification. Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and President and founding chair of the US Green Building Council, remarked that the LEED Certification highlights Verizon’s green building leadership. Tanya Penny, Vice President of real estate for Verizon, remarked that the efficient working of Verizon’s operations center is the result of the company’s commitment to reduce energy consumption and to implement appropriate business practices.
Verizon is continuing its efforts to discover innovative and practical measures to increase energy efficiency. Other green initiatives adopted by Verizon include: mandating that the network equipment the company purchases should be 20% more energy efficient; fuel consumption has been reduced by more than 2 million gallons by its employees by reducing engine idling and; delivering about 100 million bills electronically to customers.
Source: http://www22.verizon.com/