Our new Adobe sales office in Beijing, China recently received a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the USGBC. It is particularly distinctive as: Adobe’s first LEED certification outside of the United States; being one of only 24 LEED certifications in Beijing; and being one of only 160 LEED certifications in all of China. The certification of our Adobe facility in China underscores the company’s commitment to the sustainability of our global operations.

To reach Gold certification, the team in China worked closely with facilities in the United States to innovate on increasing our sustainability in the Beijing office:

• Reducing water consumption by 88%
• Realizing a 26% savings on lighting energy
• Reducing CO2 emissions by 2,772 KG/year
• Reusing furniture and lighting fixtures as much as possible
• Using “Cool Carpet” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Implementing green housekeeping with green-sealed products and recycling
• Using low-emitting construction materials to maintain a favorable indoor environment

There is always more to be done and we’ll continue to partner with experts from around the world to learn, innovate, and continuously evolve.

Adobe recently received its tenth LEED-Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for the company’s Waltham, Mass, office.  It’s an achievement we’re all very proud of and I want to congratulate the Waltham facilities team and our building management firm, Cushman & Wakefield, on their creative ways of boosting our sustainability, including:

• A “retention pond” which naturally filters runoff water from the parking garage and building site to protect the nearby Cambridge Reservoir
• Carpet and tile made of 80% recycled product
• “Light harvesting” to control the dimness/brightness of interior lights and motion sensors to save energy
• Use of sustainable eucalyptus and walnut wood throughout the space
• Rock blasted to make the foundation was ground down and reused for landscaping
• Waterless urinals and touch-less faucets
• Using Adobe products to reduce paper consumption by 75 percent

Also notable is the Waltham team’s achievement of an Energy Star score of 97 and increased recycling rate to 87 percent compared to the City of Boston’s recycling rate at 13 percent.

Adobe’s employees worldwide contribute daily to the sustainability of our operations, and they recognize “good enough is not good enough.” We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to meet today’s environmental challenges.  There’s plenty more we can all easily do every day, so here’s my challenge to companies and individuals alike – - – Recycle.  Compost.  Use sustainable building materials.  Flip off the electricity when you don’t need it.   Get creative and share your learning with others.  Together we can take the strides necessary to make a meaningful contribution.

We’re proud to announce that Adobe’s Seattle office facility, located in the Fremont area of Seattle, has been certified at platinum level under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program of the U.S. Green Building Council.  This accolade, the highest honor under the LEED program, marks Adobe’s 11th LEED certification overall – nine at platinum level, two at gold – and furthers Adobe’s reputation as a corporate leader in green and sustainable operations.

The path to certification included programs to improve energy efficiency, reduce waste and optimize water usage.  Specific improvements included installing an EvapoTranspiration (ET) Controller to monitor irrigation efficiency and water use; a software system to allow for Web-based and real-time energy monitoring of the building; and replacement of incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs to reduce energy use

I’d like to congratulate and commend the Seattle facilities team and our partners at building management firm Cushman & Wakefield who, together, successfully undertook the two-year project to certify the Seattle site – along with Adobe Seattle employees overall, whose efforts to create more sustainable, “greener” operations helped to achieve this important recognition.  We hope our efforts inspire other organizations that lease or own properties and want to make a difference by conserving and/or recycling precious resources. 

If you’d like to follow happenings at our Seattle site, please check out the dedicated Adobe Seattle Facebook page.