NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The US Airways headquarter building located in Tempe, Ariz. recently received Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (EB O&M) rating system.  

SSRCx, a Nashville-based commissioning firm specializing in the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings, served as the project‘s LEED facilitator. Developed and managed by Hines, an international real estate firm, US Airways’ headquarters is a 218,000-square-foot, 9-story office facility that stands apart as one of only five buildings in the United States that has earned 10 consecutive ENERGY STAR labels since its first full year of operations in 2000. A joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, the ENERGY STAR label is earned when a building outperforms in terms of energy consumption.

“Existing buildings host a tremendous opportunity to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions nationwide,” said James Qualk, vice president of SSRCx. “Steps taken by Hines and US Airways to reduce their cost of operations while further contributing to our nation’s sustainability movement is an effort that we can all be proud of.”

Through operational enhancements and preventative maintenance, SSRCx and Hines identified a multitude of facility upgrades including:

• Energy efficient lighting in the garage and building
• Alternate transportation resulting in a 19 percent reduction of Single Occupancy Vehicles
• 42 percent savings of potable water for interior fixtures
• 66 percent savings of potable water for landscaping through the implementation of Xeriscape desert landscaping techniques
• Energy practices that result in 45 percent greater efficiency and a savings of $1.41 per sq. ft. over the national average
• Improved indoor environmental quality through implementation of Indoor Air Quality Management Program, reduced particulates, an occupant survey and controlled lighting and cleaning
• Implementation of sustainable features including low-flow aerators at each lavatory, dual flushing valves, high-efficiency air filtration, high performance cleaning and paper/refuse recycling

Existing buildings comprise the vast majority of the national building stock and therefore represent our industry’s best opportunity to make a positive impact on the environment,” said Mark Cover, Hines executive vice president and CEO of the Southwest Region. “Cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades can also unlock tremendous latent value, which is increasingly important in these economic times.”

More information on the LEED green building certification system is available at www.usgbc.org/LEED.