Bishop Ranch, the largest mixed-use business community in Northern California, has achieved LEED for Existing Buildings certification for 37 office buildings, among the most ambitious LEED projects to date.
With 6 million square feet certified, it’s the largest office park certification, accounting for over 10% of LEED certifications in California in 2012 by square footage.
The 585-acre corporate park has 600 tenants and 30,000+ workers, including retail, restaurants and a hotel. Most buildings are also Energy Star-certified.
It even hosts a farmers market twice a week.
"It’s one of the most varied portfolio of properties to have ever undergone the LEED certification process at a single time, with outstanding results, led by a remarkable team," says Barry Giles, Founder of BuildingWise, which consulted on the project.
PG&E and GE Global Software say they moved there because of sustainable building practices.
Toyota, IBM, AT&T, Marriott and even Chevron are there along with many small businesses.
They like the access to electric vehicle charging (ECOtality’s Blink system) and transportation program, comprehensive recycling and compost services, energy-reducing and waste management programs.
One of its key distinguishing initiatives is a transportation program that’s been successful in keeping 10,000 cars off the road each day. An array of incentives encourage people to leave their cars home, such as free bus passes and the "Guaranteed Ride Home" program.
Another important feature on such a huge campus is water use. Bishop Ranch has the most extensive automatic drip system installed yet with web-based irrigation controls. Fed directly through real-time feeds from the US Weather Service, the system irrigates based variables such as heat, wind and rainfall. It self-adjusts, watering only when and where it’s needed, also saving electricity.
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