by Shane Henson — November 1, 2013—Watt Companies, a private, fully integrated real estate operating and investment company, announced this week that its Watt Plaza snagged LEED Platinum certification for Existing Buildings Operating and Maintenance (LEED EBOM) from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Watt Plaza is a twin 23-story office tower located in Century City, California. According to Watt Companies, the plaza now has the distinction of being one of four high-rise office buildings in the Los Angeles area to achieve this premier distinction, one of 46 in the state of California, and one of 110 nationwide. Watt Plaza’s LEED certification was based on seven key categories of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation in operations and regional priority.
The team at Watt Plaza has been very aggressive in their water efficiency measures: Watt Plaza was reportedly the first Class A Office Building in Los Angeles to replace all traditional urinals with water-free fixtures. Low-flow faucet aerators and toilets were also installed throughout the building, resulting in a savings of millions of gallons of water each year and reducing the burden on potable water supply and wastewater systems.
Watt Plaza’s landscape palette focuses on a mixture of using drought-tolerant plant material, recycled ground covers and a Web-based irrigation system. The recycled ground covers consist of color glass and rubber in various planting beds. These types of ground covers have a low water absorption rate, prevent weed growth, maintain soil moisture, safeguard against insect infestations, have extremely slow decomposition rates and are non-flammable. The Web-based irrigation controller automatically adjusts the amount of water dispensed based on real time weather data, preventing over-watering and keeping the soil moisture content adequate for specific types of plants.
In addition to e-waste, battery, bulb and ballast recycling programs, its implementation of a waste program that diverts over 60 percent of all building waste to a materials recovery facility has reduced 1,258 tons of GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) to date, reportedly equivalent to removing 838 passenger cars from the roadways for a year.
Just as impressive, as part of the indoor environmental quality category, occupancy sensors were installed throughout offices, common areas corridors, stairwells, and restrooms, realizing a drop in electrical consumption by 690,000 kWh and improving the environment with an annual reduction of 936,655 pounds of carbon dioxide, 6,849 pounds of sulfur and 3,624 pounds of nitrogen dioxide. Further, Watt Plaza takes great pride in their high-performance cleaning program, consisting of green-certified products and equipment to reduce the environmental impacts of cleaning products, disposable janitorial paper products and trash bags.
Watt Plaza also demonstrated its commitment to renewable energy development by offsetting 100 percent of its annual energy consumption through the acquisition of renewable energy. This purchase ensures that the amount of energy consumed at Watt Plaza is replaced on the electric grid by renewable, responsible energy sources. Watt Plaza’s commitment to supporting renewable energy development and reduce carbon emissions has an impact similar to taking 1,817 passenger vehicles off of the road for a year, or planting 223,635 tree seedlings and growing them for 10 years.
To achieve its LEED Platinum certification, Watt Plaza received assistance from Healthy Buildings, an environmental consulting company that works alongside developers, building owners, and managers to implement measures that enhance a building’s sustainability.
