Consulting-Specifying Engineer - December 2007 - (Page 43) Adobe Systems’ big payback In December 2006, Adobe’s three-building headquarters became the first organization in the world to have three buildings certified LEED EB at the platinum level. Learn how the organization accomplished this, with the help of its facilities management partner, Cushman & Wakefield. BY GEORGE DENISE, CFM, CPM, General Manager, Client Solutions Group, Cushman & Wakefield of California, San Jose D riven to have a responsibility to its local community and the global environment, Adobe Systems Inc. consistently has taken a strong, pro-active approach to resource conservation, waste reduction, environmental protection, and sustainability with its use of state-of-the-art technology. During the past five years, Adobe Systems and its facilities management partner Cushman & Wakefield, New York, have undertaken a program to further enhance Adobe’s operating efficiency and to reduce its environmental footprint. Adobe’s headquarters consist of three high-rise office towers located in downtown San Jose, Calif. The three buildings, known as Almaden Tower, East Tower, and West Tower, are 17, 16, and 18 stories high, respectively, and 3, 9, and 11 years old, respectively. Combined, the buildings total 989,358 sq. ft of office space, resting atop 938,473 sq. ft of enclosed parking garage. With approximately 2,300 employees, Adobe is one of the larger local employers. On June 9, 2006, Adobe’s West Tower became the first building in the world to be certified USGBC LEED EB at the platinum level, the highest level achievable. On Dec. 1, Almaden and East towers joined West Tower, completing the set. Adobe achieved another first: it is the first organization in the world to have three buildings certified at the platinum level. To date, Adobe has completed 64 projects, spent nearly $1.4 million on energy conservation and related projects, received $389,000 in rebates from local and state agencies, and reduced annual operating costs by $1.2 million. This 9-month payback gave a return on investment (ROI) of 121%. See Table 1 for more detail. In the process, Adobe made significant reductions in the following areas: • Electricity use per occupant down 35% • Natural gas use per occupant down 41% • Domestic water use down 22% • Landscape irrigation water use down 76%. In addition, the company has seen impressive results in reducing pollution: • All pollution sources reduced by 26%, and E H L P Consulting-Specifying Engineer • DECEMBER 2007 43
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.