Office Depot’s LEED Gold store surpasses expectations

Boca Raton, Fla. Office Depot announced the efficiency results of the company’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified store.

The store, located in Austin, Texas, has lowered its carbon intensity by 23% due to a number of programs.

From November 2008 to November 2009, Office Depot tracked a variety of environmental impact factors including energy usage, carbon-dioxide emissions and water efficiency at the location and compared it to other Office Depot outlets in the same area.

“The energy savings realized at our first Austin store location has been even greater than what we had originally expected,” said Edward Costa, VP construction for Office Depot. “The Austin location allowed us to test a variety of new and innovative initiatives and solutions that resulted in both environmental and economic benefits.”

In addition to lowering its carbon emissions, the Gold-certified  store has reduced its electricity use (kWh per square foot) by about 14% and reduced its carbon footprint (per square foot) by 23%. It has lowered its annual electricity costs by approximately 16%; and overall, and is 15% more energy efficient (per square foot) than the chain’s other stores in Austin.

Among the store’s sustainable features are: solar tracking skylights; solar energy; lighting retrofit to energy-efficient T5 lighting; light sensors in all offices; a recycling program, a reflective white roof; polished concrete floor and recycled content carpet; and high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning units.

“Our Austin experience shows that a LEED-certified store is dramatically more energy efficient than a non-certified store,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, director of environmental strategy for Office Depot. “The results prove how beneficial a green building can be from both an environmental and economic perspective.”