San Francisco Iconic Building Goes from Gold to LEED Platinum in Record Time

L E E D ® FA C T SThe Transamerica Pyramid 600 Montgomery StreetSan Francisco, CA

LEED for Existing Buildings:Operations & Maintenance

Certification Awarded October 2011

Platinum Certification: 80

Sustainable Sites: 24

Water Efficiency: 8

Energy & Atmosphere: 24

Materials & Resources: 6

Indoor Environmental Quality: 12

Innovation in Operations: 6

BUILDINGWISE SERVICESWith more than 20 million square feet of project experience, BuildingWise provides professional consultation, training, and direction to assist clients in maximizing operational performance, developing sustainability policies, and implementing strategies for energy savings. Services are custom-tailored to meet the specific high-performance needs of each individual client.

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BuildingWise, LLC

Monterey Bay | San Francisco

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he Transamerica Pyramid building is a San Francisco

architectural icon - that plays a significant role in our local economy and showcases green building leadership.”

– Mayor Edwin M. Lee Mayor of San Francisco

“T

avigating the LEED certification for an

existing building is a difficult process. Our partnership with BuildingWise was paramount to our success in becoming LEED Platinum certified.”

– Mark Novack Real Estate Portfolio

Manager, AEGON USA Realty Advisors, LLC

“N

For additional details and to view project highlights visit www.buildingwise.net

BuildingWise, providing a comprehensive set of consulting services and unmatched expertise in the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ to guide building operators, owners, and investors as they design, construct, or upgrade existing buildings to improve energy performance, grow net-operating income, reduce environmental impacts, and leverage for maximum marketing potential.

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PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Transamerica Pyramid (The Pyramid) located at 600 Montgomery Street is a beacon in the San Francisco skyline. The Pyramid is one of the country’s most architectural iconic highrise buildings, with peers such as New York’s Empire State Building and Chicago’s Willis Tower. Built in 1972, the 48-story building is home to some of the top-rated companies in the financial world. Recognizing that change was needed to meet San Francisco’s 2007 Green Building Ordinance, AEGON USA Realty Advisors, LLC, (AEGON) asset manager of The Pyramid and affiliate of Transamerica Pyramid Properties, LLC (owner), embraced a leadership role in sustainability efforts. Quickly mobilizing internal and external stakeholders, AEGON joined with its management team of Cushman & Wakefield, as well as consulting partner, BuildingWise, LLC to help guide its sustainability charge and secure LEED® Gold Certification in 2009 and LEED Platinum Certification in 2011.

San Francisco adopted its Green Building Ordinance in 2008 to create the country’s most comprehensive and substantive green building requirements for new commercial and residential construction. New construction and major renovation add up to less than one percent of the city’s real estate. The city is directly addressing the remaining 99% of the built environment with incentives, educational programs, and policies such as: mandatory recycling and composting, date-certain water fixture efficiency standards for all buildings, and the 2011 adoption of an energy labeling and auditing requirement for all existing commercial buildings.

SUSTAINABLE SITES The efforts made in alternative transportation exceeded expectations for both the area of San Francisco and the LEED rating system, earning all 15 points available, as well as the bonus point for regional priority, commemorating the building’s accomplishment even further.

ENERGY & ATMOSPHEREThe Energy and Atmosphere category of LEED yielded valuable points for the Pyramid because of an onsite combined cooling, heating, and power cogeneration system that was installed in 2009 to eliminate the need for city steam and reduce demand for electricity from the regional utility. It is now responsible for generating up to 70% of the building’s electricity and 100% of heating and domestic hot water needs, with a cost savings of nearly $700,000 a year.

PROJECT PROFILE: THE TRANSAMERICA PYRAMID

Transamerica Pyramid Properties, LLC, an AEGON company, and Cushman & Wakefield Achieve Highest Level of Certification Through Impressive Energy Conservation and Efficiency

Seeking a Platinum re-certification, The Pyramid looked to capitalize on its installment and use of a high efficiency co-generation system that combined cooling, heating, and power, allowing for termination of its reliance on city steam and significantly reduce demand for electricity from the regional utility. As a result, The Pyramid now generates up to 70 percent of its own electricity and increased its ENERGY STAR rating from 77 to a phenomenal 98, a near perfect score.

The Pyramid also improved indoor environmental quality and increased outdoor air ventilation rates to all occupied spaces by at least 30% above the minimum rates required. The Pyramid is now cleaned with products that contain 90% high recycled content or meet rigorous EPA and Green Seal™ standards for sustainability. The roof of The Pyramid also qualified as high in solar reflectance, offsetting the heat island effect that is prevalent in many urban areas, with a rating of 62 on the Solar Reflectance Index, far exceeding the minimum rating for LEED of 29.

The ownership, property management, and leasing agency continue to educate building occupants and the community about sustainability through a “Green” portion to their website at www.thepyramidcenter.com, as well as hosting a variety of events including an annual Health and Sustainability Fair, annual Carbon Footprint for tenants, and providing recycling, composting, and e-waste events regularly.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Over 12 months raised ENERGY STAR rating from 77 to 98

70% of its own energy

is generated by The Pyramid Building

87% of the building’s occupants use alternative transportation

20% reduction of water over the past year

70% of ongoing consumables are recycled or composted that otherwise would have been sent to local landfills

Savings of more than $100,000 on annual garbage costs

STRATEGIES & RESULTS

The Pyramid’s LEED Platinum certification is the culmination of a long-standing commitment to energy efficiency and exceptional leadership. Having already achieved Gold just over a year prior, The Pyramid leadership focused on ways to continually increase and improve: energy efficiency, encourage use of alternative transportation by tenants, water usage reduction, recycling and composting to reduce the building’s waste stream, and the use of green cleaning products.

MATERIALS & RESOURCES

The Pyramid reuses, recycles, or composts 70% of the ongoing consumable waste stream (by weight). It also demonstrated reuse or recycling of 75% of the durable goods waste stream during the LEED performance period. Combined, these efforts have resulted in a savings of more than $100,000 annually.

BUILDINGWISE, LLC I MONTEREY BAY I SAN FRANCISCO | WWW.BUILDINGWISE.NETBUILDINGWISE, LLC I MONTEREY BAY I SAN FRANCISCO | WWW.BUILDINGWISE.NET