Aetna’s 500,000 sq.ft Atrium Building Receives LEED Silver Certification

By Joel ScanlonApr 25 2012

Healthcare benefit company Aetna has received LEED Silver certification for its newly renovated Atrium building, which is located in its Hartford campus next to its headquarters in Farmington Avenue. The renovation process was completed over a period of two years with most part of the work completed during 2010.

Green features of the building include the implementation of a green programme for plantings and lawns and reduced irrigation practices. Bathrooms have been fitted with dual flush water closets and low-flow sensor faucets. This has resulted in reduction of water consumption by 35%. The wattage for the entire lighting system was reduced which led to annual savings of $189,000 for Aetna. More than 6% of the daily energy needs of the building were supplied by 1,000 solar panels which have been installed in the building. Apart from this Green-E energy is being purchased to support 15% of the building’s load for the next five years. 50% of construction waste was redirected to various recycling programmes and renewable materials were used for 10% of the building’s components. Other features include usage of highly efficient ventilation systems and filters to improve the overall quality of air and the implementation of a certified green cleaning service.

The roofs have been designed to allow natural daylight into the building and all the furniture in the building have been LEED certified. The workstation tables and surfaces have been made using 70% recycled materials. Aetna has already earned a similar certification for its customer centre located within its headquarters. The company has carried out various other green projects and is part of green initiatives across the country.

Source: http://www.aetna.com