By Randy H. Knox III, Senior Director, Global Facilities Services, Adobe Systems Incorporated
Project Background
Adobe Systems Incorporated, a global software company headquartered in San Jose, California, has a history of eco-friendliness and resource conservation. An early leader in corporate recycling, commute-alternative programs and water conservation initiatives, Adobe embarked on an even more aggressive campaign to promote “green” operations when the California energy crisis erupted in 2001. When large companies were asked to cut energy consumption by 10 percent, Adobe embraced the challenge and went even further. Since 2001, the company has invested nearly $1.4 million to implement more than 47 projects related to conservation and sustainability, earning accolades as one of America’s most eco-friendly corporate citizens and distinction as the first commercial enterprise to earn three Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council.
From Green to Platinum
The challenge spurred by the energy crisis in 2001 prompted Adobe and its facilities management partner Cushman & Wakefield to thoroughly assess the company’s energy consumption and environmental impact. To help benchmark its plan for improvements, Adobe registered with ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy promoting energy efficient products and practices. The facilities team was pleased to discover the company’s three headquarters’ buildings in San Jose were already at or near the level of operation required to achieve the ENERGY STAR rating: the East Tower, built in 1998, was qualified with a rating of 76; the West Tower, constructed in 1996, was just two points below the minimum certification threshold at 73; and the Almaden Tower, erected in 2003, was still too new to be rated. Today, all three towers are ENERGY STAR certified with current scores of 93 (East), 83 (West), and 87 (Almaden).
Success with ENERGY STAR prompted Adobe in 2005 to explore the U.S Green Building Council’s LEED green building rating system for existing buildings (EB). As with ENERGY STAR, the company was actually already meeting many of the requirements. With Adobe’s headquarters towers operating at or near the Gold level for LEED-EB, the facilities team took up the next-level challenge — achieving Platinum, the highest recognition possible.
Strategies and Results
Working toward LEED-EB Platinum further focused Adobe’s efforts on eco-friendly operations and, in a relatively short time, resulted in new ways the company could step up conservation.
For example, Adobe’s downtown San Jose headquarters is optimally situated to capitalize on public transportation; the buildings were intentionally located near the local train station, local light rail station and in the heart of several bus routes. Adobe provides incentives to help promote use of these transportation alternatives. The facilities team also installed locked bike cages in the Adobe towers to encourage biking to work. Today, approximately 20 percent of Adobe’s 2,600+ San Jose-based employees use commute alternatives; the average in Silicon Valley is reportedly four percent.
Adobe made water conservation a priority, too, and has achieved a 22 percent reduction in domestic water since 2002. Adobe was one the first in San Jose to install waterless urinals in men’s restrooms. Additionally, motion sensor valves operate sinks and toilets, plus control paper towel and soap dispensers. Water savings are compounded as every gallon of domestic water saved means a nearly equivalent savings in sewage treatment.
Water conservation strategies are also factored into exterior landscaping design. Grassy areas and planter boxes now contain drought tolerant plant species. Mulching mowers cycle grass clippings back into the lawn where they decompose and provide nutrients. The “grasscycling” saves time, reduces waste and produces greener, healthier lawns. A drip irrigation system with Evapo-transpiration (ET) controllers monitors weather satellites to determine if watering is required, and if so, how much. Collectively, these changes have reduced exterior water use by 76 percent.
Adobe’s building systems benefit from San Jose’s temperate climate and typically run on 80 to 90 percent outside air. Indoor air quality consistently exceeds ASHRAE and Cal/OSHA standards. To further protect and enhance air quality, Adobe has prohibited spray painting on campus. All painting is done after hours or on weekends when buildings are empty, and only low-VOC, water-based, latex paints are used. If a large painting job is required, the building air systems are run with 100 percent outside air to purge the building prior to it being reoccupied.
All janitorial products now in use meet the Green Seal Cleaning Products Standard. Additionally, paper products must be recyclable and meet green standards for percentage of recycled content. No toxic chemicals are used for pest control. Adobe recently converted its photo lab from chemical processing to digital processing, which eliminated one of the few hazardous chemicals remaining on site.
These and other initiatives helped earn Platinum certification for the West Tower in July 2006; less than six months later, in December 2006, Adobe’s East and Almaden Towers were also awarded the honor.
The Net-Net
Adobe’s efforts have positively impacted the work environment for employees, reduced the company’s environmental footprint, and resulted in financial savings.
Through its early green initiatives and projects launched to meet the LEED-EB specifications, Adobe has reduced:
- natural gas by 41 percent;
- domestic water by 22 percent;
- landscape irrigation by 76 percent;
- CO2 emissions by more than 20 percent;
- and achieved diversion of solid waste through composting and recycling by nearly 90 percent.
The $1.4 million investment since 2001 has included projects large and small. For example, reducing the runtime of garage exhaust fans at a cost of $100 resulted in annualized savings of $67,000; retrofitting garage lighting required an investment of $158,000, and resulted in annualized savings of $139,000 (and a $41,000 rebate).
Today, savings total $1.2 million annually – equating to an ROI of 121 percent and an average payback per project of 9.5 months. Adobe’s LEED-EB Platinum certification efforts, specifically, have had a net ROI of 148 percent while the costs of certification are just 10 percent of one year’s savings.
Adobe continues to explore new ways of promoting healthy, sustainable operations in San Jose and its other sites worldwide.
Randy Knox oversees all aspects of real estate, facilities and security worldwide for Adobe Systems Incorporated, headquartered in San Jose, Calif. Committed to furthering Adobe’s efforts in conserving resources and increasing building efficiencies, Knox introduced state-of-the-art technology enabling Adobe to achieve U.S. Energy Star qualification and achieve three platinum-level certifications under the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.