Apr 29 2010
The headquarters building of Sony Electronics in San Diego has received the LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council Institute. The LEED certification recognizes the construction, design and function of green buildings with high performance.
The building was constructed by incorporating numerous green elements as per the requirements of LEED, including 140 spaces allocated for vehicles choosing to carpool, 80 bicycle racks and 76 spaces meant for fuel-efficient vehicles for promoting greenhouse gas reduction.
Sony Electronics chose not to dump 92% of the construction debris of the building into landfills. Open spaces in the building area constitute 29%, with 52% covered by vegetation.
Some of the green initiatives taken by the company for its building include the following. Around 15% of the materials for the building are sourced locally. At least 75% of the wood utilized in flooring, furniture and framing is Forest Stewardship Council certified. Moreover, 47% of all building materials is produced using recycled materials. The company utilizes water-efficient, low-flow water fixtures that ensure water consumption is 47% lesser than current codes. Lighting sensors are installed throughout the building in order to achieve increase in energy performance by 22.6%. The company also installed solar panels on the parking garage of the building to tap energy from the sun.
Source: http://www.sony.com/