Cox Enterprises Building Receives LEED Gold

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The U.S Green Building Council announced Oct. 2 that Cox Enterprises has been awarded LEED Gold certification for a new building on the company’s corporate campus.

The communications and media company’s new 600,000-square-foot office building used strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and environmental quality in order to meet LEED Gold standards.

“Cox is pleased to receive the LEED Gold certification for the newest addition to our corporate campus," said Cox Enterprises Chairman Jim Kennedy in a statement. “Through Cox Conserves, we decided it was appropriate to set goals and objectives in the area of conservation, consistent with how we do things in our businesses. This LEED certification represents our commitment to the environment through eco-friendly construction practices of our facilities."

The facility broke ground in 2010 and was completed last year to house technology operations and common areas to serve the corporate campus. Cox Enterprises provides eco-friendly transportation to the office with continuous shuttle service to and from nearby Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority stations and the company also provides bicycle storage and charging stations for electric vehicles.

To conserve water, an irrigation system captures nuisance groundwater and stores it in a 15,000-gallon underground cistern to eliminate the need for potable irrigation water. Low-flow plumbing is also featured throughout the building.

A high-efficiency HVAC system is used to minimize energy use during off-peak times and a free-standing solar canopy produces 139 megawatt hours of energy while providing shade for cars and preventing the release of 94 tons of carbon annually.

To ensure appropriate waste management, recycling stations are located throughout the building and a waste reduction system repurposes food and paper products from the dining facility into a soil amendment, which is then used to improve landscaping. During construction, more than 95 percent of waste was recycled or diverted from landfill disposal.

“From the very beginning, Cox’s energy building services and real estate teams made sure environmental considerations and employee needs were at the forefront of our planning," said Marybeth Leamer, the company’s executive vice president of human resources and administration and construction project chair, in a statement. "The result is an environmentally friendly facility that fosters a collaborative work culture."

The company reported that it prevents more than 41,000 tons of carbon emission and saves 32 million gallons of water each year.