Mar 1 2010
The headquarters of CONSOL Energy Inc. has been Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified. The building, which is located in Pennsylvania, is the first building to be LEED certified in the business complex. CONSOL Energy Inc.’s headquarters, which is also called as CNX Center, has an area of 309,000 square feet and was designed with all the features required for LEED certification. Green features in the building include bicycle stalls, showers, exercise facility for employees, and public transport stops nearby to the facility to encourage the employees to travel by public transport.
J. Brett Harvey, Chief Executive Officer of CONSOL Energy, said the company is delighted to be the first company to be awarded the LEED certification in Southpointe. The certification demonstrates the company’s seriousness for its environmental commitment. The headquarters was designed with an aim to conserve natural resources. Small things such as developing a roof garden and taking measures to reduce water usage can have a significant impact for sustaining environment as well as to lower costs, Harvey added.
At the time of construction, the building utilized local materials that were sourced within a radius of 500 miles. Carpets, adhesives and paints with low chemical emitting properties were used in the building. The wood materials used were certified to the standards of Forest Stewardship Council. Over 75% of all waste was recycled by the project team. When compared to other buildings similar in size, the usage of water in the headquarters was cut down by over 20%. Other green features in the building include occupancy sensors, lighting controls, skylights, sunshades and high performance windows. The company is expecting to save approximately 18% in energy costs per annum through the various green features adopted in the building.
Source: www.consolenergy.com