35 West Wacker has received the prestigious U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance v2009 Platinum Certification in October 2019. Main project highlights include the following:
- Achieving exemplary performance for reducing conventional commuting trips by 86%. Due to its location downtown and proximity to mass transit, the building was able to demonstrate a substantial reduction in commuting trips.
- Restoring an off-site area. Ownership signed an agreement with a land conservation organization to restore a one acre off-site area to its original Blackland Prairie ecosystem. The restoration will include removing existing Bermuda grass, which does not support wildlife, with plants native to the Blackland Prairie.
- Achieving a 20% reduction in indoor plumbing water use compared to standard fixtures. A large scale plumbing retrofit was completed before the start of the performance period. Upgrades included retrofitting all 3.5 gallons per flush (GPF) water closets with 2.4 GPF diaphragms, retrofitting 1.0 GPF urinals with 0.5 GPF diaphragms, and installing flow reducing aerators on lavatory and kitchen faucets. As a result of the upgrades, over 2.5 million gallons will be saved annually.
- Earning EPA's ENERGY STAR Certification. 35 West Wacker is currently ENERGY STAR certified.
- Implementing all no- and low-cost Energy Conservation Measures. An ASHRAE Level II audit was performed at the building which identified several Energy Conservations Measures (ECMs). All no/low-cost upgrades were completed including the following:
- Optimizing control sequences of general exhaust fans
- Installing time clocks to control and reduce runtime of exhaust fans at Catch 35 restaurant, building locker room, and 30th floor
These ECMs are estimated to save 263,000 kWh annually. This will result in a reduction of 181 Metric Tons of CO2, which is equivalent to the amount of emissions produced from the electricity use of 25 homes for a year.
- Purchasing 76% sustainable durable electric goods. From May through July 2014, the majority of office equipment purchased by tenants of 35 West Wacker was ENERGY STAR qualified or EPEAT rated.
- Reducing mercury content in lamps. The John Buck Company implemented a lamp purchasing plan which reduced the overall mercury content of the building to less than 70 picograms per lumen-hour.
- Recycling 47% of ongoing consumables. Although this did not earn a LEED point, the property significantly increased the recycling rate during the performance period. This improvement was a result of the implementation of a composting program at Catch 35 restaurant. Over 21 tons of table and food scraps from kitchen prep areas was composted during the performance period.
- Achieving exemplary performance for diverting 100% of durable goods waste. From May through July 2014, 3.7 tons of durable goods waste from the building was recycled and thus diverted from the landfill. Additionally the property team held a recycling event which allowed building occupants to bring end-of-life electronic equipment from home. Another 704 pounds of home electronic equipment was recycled.
- Diverting 95% of construction waste. During the performance period, 1.7 tons of waste related to a demolition project was recycled.
- Using high grade air conditioning filters. MERV 13 or 14 filters are installed at all air handling units. These filters remove more particulates than standard filters thus improving indoor air quality.
- Purchasing 65% sustainable cleaning products. Sustainable purchases included Green Seal certified cleaning chemicals, as well as paper products with recycled content.
- Having greater than 50% of individual workstations with lighting controls. The majority of individual workstations have furniture systems with built-in task lighting and/or powered task lighting.