Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release
provided by 
11.17.2008 - 09:37am ET
News from:
TIAA-CREF
TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate's One Boston Place Awarded First LEED-EB Gold Certification for Operations and Maintenance
Energy-Related Carbon Footprint Reduced By 67%; World's First LEED EB: O&M Gold Building
(CSRwire) NEW YORK, NY. - November 17, 2008 - TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate
announced today that One Boston Place in Boston is the first building to
earn the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold
designation from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) for
Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. LEED for Existing
Buildings: Operations & Maintenance is a rating system that recognizes
buildings with maximum operational efficiency and minimal environmental
impact.
In addition to being the first building to achieve LEED-EB: Operations &
Maintenance Gold certification, One Boston Place joins fewer than 100
buildings in the world that have earned LEED-EB certification. Since the
building was acquired by TIAA-CREF and SITQ in 2002, and managed by CB
Richard Ellis, water consumption has been reduced by 12,000,000 gallons
per year or approximately 50 percent and the building's energy-related
carbon footprint has been reduced by 3,000 tons per year or approximately
67 percent.
"We continually seek improvements to our properties that add value for our
tenants and clients and reduce the impact on the environment," said Tom
Garbutt, Managing Director and Head of TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate. "We
are very proud to earn the first LEED-EB Gold certification in this area
at One Boston Place and we remain committed to improving the energy
efficiency of our 43 million square foot commercial real estate portfolio
by ten percent by 2010."
"The partnership between CB Richard Ellis, TIAA-CREF and SITQ was integral
to our success in improving the energy efficiency and operating performance
of One Boston Place," added Emily Batchelder, General Manager for CBRE at
One Boston Place. "We look forward to continuing our work to maintain and
further improve upon the gains we’ve made to date."
To earn LEED-EB Gold certification, building staff performed a
comprehensive review of building operations with a focus on occupant
health and environmental sustainability. TIAA-CREF, with co-owner SITQ and
property manager CB Richard Ellis, has incorporated green cleaning
techniques, introduced a tenant recycling program, and performed a
comprehensive re-commissioning of all base-building systems. In addition,
the management team has offered in-house tenant sustainability
consultations and established LEED-compliant standards for the
construction of new office space within the building.
The USGBC's LEED Green Building Rating System(TM) encourages and
accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development
practices through the creation and implementation of universally
understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. Commercial
buildings, as defined by standard building codes, are eligible for
certification under six different categories. These include the LEED for
New Construction, LEED for Existing Buildings, LEED for Commercial
Interiors, LEED for Retail, LEED for Schools and LEED for Core & Shell
rating systems.
One Boston Place is the city's third-highest office tower, with more than
800,000 square feet of office space and nearly three dozen tenants,
including Bank of New York Mellon, Boston Capital Corporation, Robinson &
Cole and Wells Fargo.
One Boston Place is the 2008 Building Owners and Managers Association's
Mid-Atlantic Office Building of the Year and received the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR award in 2007.
About TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate
TIAA-CREF is one of the largest institutional real estate investors in
America, managing a global portfolio of direct and indirect investments
totaling approximately $68 billion (9/30/08). TIAA-CREF originated its
first commercial mortgage in 1934 and began direct investment in
commercial real estate in 1947. Today, TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate
invests in and actively manages real estate on behalf of individual and
institutional clients worldwide. TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate's property
portfolio consists of over $22 billion (9/30/08) in equity investments in
office, retail, industrial, and residential properties located across the
United States, Canada and Western Europe. TIAA-CREF is a national
financial services organization and the leading provider of retirement
services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields with $398
billion in combined assets under management (9/30/08).
About SITQ
SITQ is a real estate investment, management and development firm with a
portfolio specializing primarily in office buildings and business parks.
SITQ owns real estate assets of CAD $12.4 billion, consisting of 122
properties representing more than 39.6 million square feet of leasable
space. A leader in the Canadian real estate industry, SITQ also owns
assets in the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
SITQ is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du
Quebec. Its other shareholders are five leading Canadian pension funds.
The Company employs nearly 400 people in its head office in Montreal, as
well as its offices in Calgary (Canada), Paris (France), Frankfurt
(Germany) and Brussels (Belgium). For more information: www.sitq.com.
About CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), an S&P 500 company headquartered
in Los Angeles, is the world's largest commercial real estate services
firm (in terms of 2006 revenue). In 2007, CB Richard Ellis was named one
of the 50 "best in class" companies by BusinessWeek, and one of the 100
fastest growing companies by Fortune.
CB Richard Ellis's New England practice has offices in Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire. The firm serves real
estate owners, investors and occupiers by offering strategic advice and
execution for: property leasing and sales, property, facilities and
project management, corporate services, debt and equity financing,
investment management, valuation and appraisal, research and investment
strategy, and consulting.
Please visit our Web site at www.cbre.com.
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, and Teachers Personal
Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities
products.
(C)2008 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College
Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) New York, NY 10017
For more information please contact:
Abby Aylman Cohen, Media Relations Manager
TIAA-CREF
212-916-4381
917-596-4758
www.tiaa-cref.org
www.tiaa-cref.org
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