According to Pembroke Real Estate and CB Richard Ellis Seaport World Trade Center East and West have been awarded LEED Silver certification for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED EB O&M) from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
Located in the Seaport District, the two Class A towers are among only six commercial office buildings in the city of Boston to receive the prestigious LEED EB designation. Seaport World Trade Center East and West total more than 1 million s/f and are Pembroke Real Estate properties, managed by CB Richard Ellis. The two towers are part of Seaport Place, which also includes the Seaport World Trade Center and the Seaport Hotel.
The 17-story, 575,000 s/f Seaport World Trade Center East opened in 2000 and the 16-story, 504,000 s/f Seaport World Trade Center West opened in 2002. Both were benchmarked utilizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Energy STAR program and Seaport World Trade Center East received the Energy Star Award in 2008. *
"We are very pleased to be recognized for our sustainable and energy efficient efforts at two of our prime assets," said Edward C. Johnson IV, senior vice president, North America for Pembroke Real Estate. "Pembroke and CBRE share an important commitment to delivering and managing properties in a sustainable and environmentally conscious manner."
In earning LEED EB O&M certification, Pembroke Real Estate engaged CBRE's Sustainability Programs Group and the on-site management teams to increase operating efficiency, lower operating cost and implement more sustainable operations, for the benefit of both tenants and the overall property. The team implemented building-wide energy audits, installed lighting retrofits in common areas, rebalanced main air handlers and organized semi-annual HVAC unit tune-ups. To conserve water, dual-flush handles were installed on toilets in all restrooms. The team also introduced a single stream recycling program to make it easier for tenants to participate in recycling, expanded recycling efforts to include lamps, batteries and electronics, and added a new cardboard bailer to reduce the number of trash collections and lower expenses.
"We are truly excited to receive recognition from the USGBC as a LEED-EB O&M recipient for these respected Pembroke Real Estate properties. The superior energy efficiency and sustainable operations of Seaport World Trade Center East and West are a direct result of ownership and management dedication and teamwork," said Shay Sims, Vice President/Partner and "Green Knight" of CB Richard Ellis.
In addition, Seaport World Trade Center West's Westport Park received the 2008 Green Roof Award of Excellence from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. The properties' sustainability programs have saved roughly 420,000 kilowatt hours of energy, 170 tons of CO2 emissions and approximately 1.4 million gallons of potable water. An additional 270 tons of waste has been diverted from landfills. The entire sustainability program has an expected payback period of approximately 2.4 years.