WESTWOOD, Mass. – The corporate offices of NSTAR (NYSE: NST), a natural gas and electric utility company, have earned Gold LEED certification.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, a program of the U.S. Green Building Council, offers varying levels of certification. NSTAR applied for and earned the second-highest rating; it is one of only three companies in Massachusetts to win an LEED Gold certification for an exising building.
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“Earning a LEED certification is truly a prestigious honor for any company,” Thomas J. May, NSTAR’s chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement.
“We work hard every day to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy to our customers, so it’s especially rewarding to be recognized for setting an example at our own facility.”
The utility received 55 of a possible 69 points for “green” elements at its renovated offices. Improvements included installing high-performance fluorescent lamps, adding occupancy sensors to cut off lighting to empty rooms, disabling lights near windows, and implementing “daylight harvesting”; installing new HVAC systems and moving designated smoking areas at least 25 feet from building entrances and air intakes; switching to an organic lawn maintenance program, implementing an erosion-control program and reducing outdoor water use by replacing grass with native vegetation; offering preferred parking for alternative-fuel vehicles and expanding parking for bicycles by adding another bike rack.
“NSTAR is to be commended for achieving LEED certification,” said Rich Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council. “The company’s corporate office will now be a showcase for high-performance, energy-efficient, healthy buildings – and an inspiration for others.”
NSTAR (NYSE: NST) is a natural gas and electric utility serving 1.4 million customers in New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven and other portions of eastern and central Massachusetts. Additional information is available at www.nstar.com.
