J.C. Penney headquarters is LEED Gold

Plano, Texas J.C. Penney Co.’s corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas, has been awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The building serves as a workplace for more than 5,500 associates and is the third largest campus facility in the nation to receive the designation.

The company spent five years retrofitting the 1.9 million-sq.-ft. facility, addressed areas related to energy and water savings, indoor environmental quality and recycling waste.

"While purchasing renewable energy credits is an easier way to go 'green,' we chose to examine our operations and institute meaningful changes that will advance the company's goal to reduce energy usage 20% by 2015,” said Mike Theilmann, chief human resources and administration officer for J.C. Penney.

The improvements include:

• Retrofitting lighting systems with high-efficiency ballasts and lamps;
• Installing occupancy sensors in enclosed office areas to reduce lighting needs;
• Reducing daily air conditioning and lighting schedules to match operations;
• Upgrading plumbing fixtures that include motion-controlled faucets;
• Adjusting operating times for non-essential items such as fountain pumps and landscape lighting;
• Implementing the use of green cleaning products that have a low environmental impact and do not adversely impact air quality;
• Managing a comprehensive recycling initiative where associates recycle approximately 852 tons of paper, cardboard, plastics, cans and merchandise samples a year; additionally all cafeteria kitchen waste is recycled for compost; and
• Utilizing used cooking oil from the cafeteria to make biodiesel to fuel maintenance vehicles.