Vans Headquarters Earns LEED Platinum Certification

The new Vans headquarters in Costa Mesa, California, has earned LEED Platinum certification.

The Costa Mesa, California, headquarters of skateboard shoe and apparel maker Vans has earned LEED Platinum Certification, the highest standard for sustainable buildings in the world.

Vans touts the building as one of the most sustainable in Orange County, with features such as:

• A 1-Megawatt carport solar array. Over 4,000 solar panels will provide 100% of the building’s energy needs, preventing 440 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year
• 38 electric vehicle charging stations, free for Vans employees to use. The EV charging stations are powered by the solar array and encourage employees to reduce their carbon footprint and contribution to air pollution
• Cutting edge lighting, heating and cooling technologies that make the building 48% more efficient than building code requirements
• State of the art fixtures and equipment, making the new Vans headquarters 40% more water efficient than building code requirements
• Landscaping with plants native to Southern California that require less water
• More than 50% of the wood used in construction is Forest Stewardship Certified
• Comprehensive recycling and composting program with the goal to become a zero-waste facility

Kim Matsoukas, senior manager of sustainability and social responsibility for Vans, recently spoke with Environmental Leader about the company’s sustainability initiatives.

“I felt excited about the ability to help reset behavior around sustainability,” Matsoukas said. “We’ve had a desk-side recycling program for a while. I tried to use this as an opportunity to make it easier and better by changing up our system and adding composting. Near our mailroom is a hard-to-recycle area, which is something we didn’t have in our old building because we didn’t have space. We have Styrofoam recycling and skateboard recycling.

Vans offices in Canada and Europe are also LEED certified and incorporate renewable energy, water efficient technologies and sustainable materials.

The Environmental Leader Conference & Energy Manager Summit takes place May 15 – 17, 2018 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center. More information here.