In order to green up its real-estate portfolio, which totals 92 million square feet world-wide, Citigroup has taken an inventory of energy use of all of the company’s buildings, adopted power-saving measures such as turning off escalators in lobbies, and is redesigning its bank branches to include more natural lighting and recycled materials, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The company says it can save as much as $1 per square foot a year by making its offices use less energy. That’s almost $100 million annually.
Citigroup is not alone. Google has installed a solar rooftop at its headquarters. HSBC Bank USA is constructing a green retail branch that will serve as a prototype for 400 other branches. Kaiser Permanente has embarked on a green building plan at 27 new and existing hospitals. And Siemens Building Technologies is cataloging the emissions from its 800 buildings in the U.S. and may require green design as part of its rental leases.
Overall, the number of U.S. buildings certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standard stands at 6,000 and is forecast to top 100,000 over the next four years.