Adobe Systems Inc. HQ Goes Green

Adobe Systems Inc. has announced that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification for Adobe’s West Tower headquarters building in San Jose, Calif.

The Adobe tower is the world’s first commercial office building to earn the highest recognition under the USGBC’s permanent LEED Existing Building (LEED-EB) standard, according to a press release from Adobe.

Working with facilities management firm Cushman & Wakefield, Adobe has invested $1.1 million since 2001 for an energy and environmental retrofit of the three towers that comprise its San Jose headquarters. Over the five-year period the company reports that it has reduced electricity use by 35 percent, natural gas use by 41 percent, domestic water use by 22 percent and irrigation water use by 75 percent. Adobe now recycles or composts up to 85 percent of its solid waste.