German chemical company BASF has received two LEED-Platinum certifications for its North American headquarters in New Jersey, the highest green building award.
The 325,000-square-foot building is the 5th building in the US to earn this distinction and the first one in the Garden State. The building earned a double certification because it applied for certification for both the interior (LEED for Commercial Interiors) and the building itself (Core & Shell).
More than 40% of the site is open space, and the building uses 25% less energy than the industry standard (ASHRAE Standard 90.1 2004). Most offices and meeting spaces are lit with daylight and 90% have views of the outdoors. A rainwater capture system and low-flow plumbing cuts indoor water use 40%.
BASF is among the top five global companies that disclose and take action om greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project.
Energy Conversion Devices, one of the pioneering solar companies that shut its doors this year, sold its battery subsidiary to BASF. But BASF is fundamentally a chemical company, involved with protecting patented GMO seeds along with the likes of Monsanto.
The Christman building in Lansing, Michigan was the world’s first to earn dual LEED Platinum certification. The other three buildings that hold this distinction are the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Harvard University’s Campus Services center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and National Grid’s corporate center in nearby Waltham.
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