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Cushman & Wakefield Managed Properties Earn LEED Volume Certification
11 Jan, 2010, New York
NEW YORK - January 11, 2010 - Cushman & Wakefield today announced that 18 properties under
its management have earned LEED certification utilizing the U.S. Green Building Council's
(USGBC) Portfolio Program and volume certification process. More than half of the properties
certified at the Platinum and Gold levels. Working closely with its clients, Cushman &
Wakefield is the first commercial real estate services firm to certify existing buildings using
volume certification under the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED
EB: O&M) rating system. The properties include owner-occupied and multi-tenant buildings
across six states, comprising in excess of 8 million square feet of commercial real estate.
USGBC's Portfolio Program allows management firms and property owners to pursue LEED certification for multiple properties simultaneously using a streamlined process called volume certification. Cushman & Wakefield developed standardized procedures for the LEED EB: O&M program that are tailored to the firm's approach to property operations, while maintaining the rigor of LEED. The firm's program engages property management and operations staff in order to achieve LEED certification and implement long-term sustainable building operations and maintenance practices. Cushman & Wakefield's program is founded upon an education and training plan, robust credit documentation tools, and quality control processes.
Through a collaborative approach with its clients, the firm's program resulted in environmental benefits across the 18 participating buildings, including water use reduction through plumbing fixture and fitting efficiencies, decreased energy consumption through low-cost improvements and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions reductions, increased waste diversion rates, and enhanced indoor environmental quality through such measures as increased ventilation, implementation of high performance cleaning programs and use of sustainable cleaning products.
"With the Portfolio Program, Cushman & Wakefield delivers LEED certification using a streamlined and cost-effective process while accelerating the implementation of standardized green operations and maintenance practices across the firm's managed portfolio" said Bruce Ficke, Executive Vice-President and Global Head of Cushman & Wakefield's Client Solutions group.
"As USGBC's Portfolio Program and volume certification kicks-off, we're proud to have Cushman & Wakefield among the first companies to utilize volume certification," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO & founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "By undergoing LEED certification, Cushman & Wakefield is leading the commercial real estate sector toward environmental stewardship and showing how the industry can cost-effectively build and retrofit multiple, high-performance green buildings."
Cushman & Wakefield's program supports the firm's environmental commitments as outlined in the Cushman & Wakefield - EPA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) announced in January 2009. The MOU aims to enhance energy efficiency, improve resource management, and reduce the carbon footprint of the firm's own offices and managed properties throughout the United States.
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Cushman & Wakefield is the world's largest privately-held commercial real estate services
firm. Founded in 1917, it has 231 offices in 58 countries and 15,000 employees. The firm
represents a diverse customer base ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. It
offers a complete range of services within four primary disciplines: Transaction Services,
including tenant and landlord representation in office, industrial and retail real estate;
Capital Markets, including property sales, investment management, valuation services,
investment banking, debt and equity financing; Client Solutions, including integrated real
estate strategies for large corporations and property owners, and Consulting Services,
including business and real estate consulting. A recognized leader in global real estate
research, the firm publishes a broad array of proprietary reports available on its online
Knowledge Center at www.cushmanwakefield.com.
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U.S. Green Building Council
The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and
sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.
With a community comprising 78 local affiliates, more than 20,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 131,000 LEED Accredited Professionals, USGBC is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2009-2013. USGBC leads an unlikely diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students.
Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.
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