Ernst & Young: Headquarters goes green

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

As one of New York City’s largest lighting retrofits,  Ernst & Young LLP today announced completion of a lighting retrofit project in its US headquarters in New York City. The project’s installation of energy-efficient lighting will cut the building’s annual energy use by approximately 2.9 million kilowatt-hours and reduce its CO2 emissions by approximately 2 million pounds.

Located in Times Square, the approximately 650,000 useable square foot office space supports approximately 5,800 Ernst & Young LLP employees. With the large employee population, the existing traditional lighting system consumed roughly 6.2 million kilowatt-hours annually. The new lighting system reduces the firm’s annual lighting energy use by 54%, and has improved the facility’s quality of light. Additionally, the project will reduce the firm’s lighting-related energy and maintenance costs by more than 50%, saving the firm $1M annually.

The lighting retrofit project is one component of a number of energy conservation strategies that will help reduce the environmental impact, particularly as it grows. The Ernst & Young organization primarily focuses on whether the majority of the buildings it occupies are energy efficient. For example, the firm’s goal is to have 50% of Ernst & Young LLP employees in LEED certified spaces by 2013. Moreover, the firm is making efforts to more efficiently use its office space by offering shared workspaces, which reduces the firm’s physical space requirements.

Leisha John, Ernst & Young Americas Director of Environmental Sustainability comments:

“Reducing the carbon footprint of our office space is part of our firm-wide strategy to reduce our environmental footprint as our business grows,” she said. . “In fact, by the end of 2013, we plan to have a majority of our employees working in LEED and or Energy Star certified space. The completion of this lighting retrofit project in the New York office brings us one step closer to that goal, and will be part of that office’s Energy Star application.”