Here’s a roundup of the latest news in green building:
Retailer J.C. Penney Company has announced that it is to bolster its participation in the Energy Star program by increasing its building certifications to 400 stores by the end of 2013. The Environmental Protection Agency awards the Energy Star certification to buildings that rank within the top 25 percent of similar commercial buildings nationwide by meeting strict energy performance levels set by the EPA. J. C. Penney has a company-wide goal to reduce facility energy use by 20 percent by 2015.
More Energy Star-related news comes from Kellogg Company. Seven of the food company’s U.S. cookie and cracker bakeries have earned some of the EPA’s first Energy Star certifications for bakeries that demonstrate best-in-class energy performance. The seven Kellogg facilities represent more than half of the 13 EPA-recognized U.S. cookie and cracker bakeries from multiple companies. Collectively, these facilities prevent more than 85,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually compared to average performing bakeries, Kellogg's said. According to the EPA, these bakeries use one-quarter less energy than similar plants across the country.
The EPA recently announced that 79 commercial building design projects achieved the Energy Star certification Designed to Earn in the past year. Together, the projects are estimated to save nearly 46,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Homebuilder KB Home has unveiled one of the largest communities of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certified homes in California. The 52 luxury condominium homes in the Playa Vista area of Los Angeles, Calif., are equipped with energy and water-saving features and built with sustainable materials to make them more efficient than a typical new or resale home.
CyrusOne, a data center services provider, today announced that it has broken ground on an expansion of its LEED Silver-certified Houston data center. The 92,000 square foot building is being built adjacent to CyrusOne’s existing Houston center. With the additional square footage, the Houston West Data Center will total 188,000 square feet. The space will be complete at the end of the third quarter of 2011.
The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy’s recently completed Wounded Warrior Barracks, at Base Camp Pendleton in California, has received the first ever LEED Platinum certification for a Navy or Marine Corps project. The rehabilitation centre contains 100 semi-private suites for men and women of all ranks and was built by Barnhart Balfour Beatty, a subsidiary of Balfour Beatty Construction.
