LEED Certification Awarded to JCPenney Home Office in Plano, Texas

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) has been awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for its Home Office campus located in Plano, Texas.

The 1.9 million square-foot building serves as a workplace for more than 5,500 associates and is the third largest campus facility in the nation to receive this designation. Adding to this distinction, JCPenney recently received a LEED for New Construction Silver certification for the JCPenney store in Fairview, Texas and a LEED for Existing Buildings Silver certification for the JCPenney supply chain facility in Reno, Nev. LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

“JCPenney’s LEED certifications demonstrate tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. “JCPenney makes a conscious effort to efficiently use natural resources in order to bring an immediate, positive impact on our planet, which will benefit future generations to come.”

Completed in 1992, the JCPenney Home Office relocated to Plano after operating its headquarters in New York City for nearly 80 years. The facility was purposely constructed with sustainability in mind using environmentally-sound materials and energy-saving features. Situated on a landscaped campus, the building is surrounded by a variety of native Texas wildflowers, prairie grasses and drought-tolerant trees and shrubs. The site is enhanced by a six acre lake that provides an environmental necessity for collecting the entire site’s stormwater runoff. An automatic window shade system and wider than normal exterior overhang reduces solar heat gain by limiting the amount of direct sunlight allowed into the building. JCPenney operates one of the world’s largest thermal ice storage system and offsets the peak demands of electrical usage by making ice each night to cool the building the following day.

Over the last five years, the Company has addressed areas related to energy and water savings, indoor environmental quality and recycling waste by implementing nearly 40 sustainable improvements at the Home Office that 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
• Utilizing used cooking oil from the cafeteria to make biodiesel to fuel maintenance vehicles
• Providing reserved parking spaces for associates who participate in the rideshare program or drive high efficiency vehicles
• Educating associates on the importance of energy conservation and recycling through regular company communications and Earth Day fairs held annually at the Home Office

“As an environmentally-conscious retailer, JCPenney made a concerted effort to take a hands-on approach to making the improvements needed to achieve these LEED certifications,” said Mike Theilmann, chief human resources and administration officer for JCPenney. “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 percent by 2015.”

Source: http://www.jcpenney.net/