500 West Putnam Avenue Achieves LEED-EBOM Gold Certification with Help from CodeGreen Solutions

CodeGreen Solutions is pleased to announce that it has helped yet another property, 500 West Putnam Avenue, achieve LEED-EBOM Gold certification. The 115,460 sq. ft. property is Greenwich, Connecticut’s newest LEED-certified building, and boasts a bevy of eco-friendly features and practices from on-site solar panels to substantial water usage reduction. CodeGreen also performed an ASHRAE Level 2 Energy Audit and assisted the building in obtaining an Energy Star Label for the third year in a row.

In terms of water usage reduction, Reckson, A Division of SL Green, installed 0.5 GPM aerators on all lavatory and pantry faucets and replaced the existing water closets and urinals with 1.5 GPF and 1.0 GPF fixtures. These updates allow for a total baseline water reduction rate of 37% from the LEED standard, which equates to about 38,650 gallons of water saved per year.

To reduce building waste at a behavioral level, a green education program was implemented to encourage tenants to properly sort waste to maximize recyclable paper, cardboard, glass, metal and plastics. Currently, the building recycles 36% of the ongoing consumable waste stream and about 1,030 lbs of durable goods; including the recycling of printers, PC units and keyboards during the building’s LEED performance period.

Another one of 500 West Putnam’s green triumphs is its on-site rooftop solar array, which generates about 7% of the total energy consumed by the building. Reckson (a division of SL Green), which manages the building, also purchased a two-year contract for off-site renewable power for 50% of the building’s energy load, allowing the property to reduce around 1,300 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to the property’s rooftop array, CodeGreen worked with building management to ensure that all aspects of sustainability were considered – even those that might not appear to make a huge difference at first glance.  Case in point, they maintained entryway mats at all of the exterior entrances to catch and hold dirt particles that negatively affect indoor air quality. Even cleaning supplies were taken into consideration with 73% of the total products purchased meeting sustainability criteria as defined by LEED.

"LEED certified buildings can have a profound environmental impact,” said Jay Black, SL Green director of sustainability. “500 West Putnam recycles more than 50% of its waste, reduced energy use by 10%, and improved water consumption to achieve this noteworthy designation. In addition, the property installed a white roof to reduce heat gain, and a rooftop solar panel system that contributes 7% of the building's annual energy needs. LEED Certified Buildings have also shown to reduce employee absenteeism and enhance productivity for its occupants, according to the USGBC."

ABOUT CODEGREEN

CodeGreen provides sustainable and energy efficiency solutions for individual buildings, portfolios and corporations throughout the country. They develop innovative solutions to help clients conserve capital by complying with energy efficiency laws, reaching sustainability goals, improving operations and reducing energy consumption. Their innovative software package ProAct(TM) is designed to track, maintain, and report the ongoing sustainability of today's complex buildings. CodeGreen's consulting services include energy benchmarking, LEED certification management, energy auditing, retro-commissioning (RCx), and sourcing for energy efficiency financial incentives across the country. CodeGreen is currently greening over 200 million square feet of property throughout the country, and has managed the LEED certification of over 20 million square feet nationwide.