The world headquarters of hospitality giant Carlson, located in Minneapolis — where it's known as 701 Tower — has earned LEED Silver certification for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED EB O&M) from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the company announced last month.
Carlson — which owns 1,070 hotels under the Radisson, Country Inns & Suites, Park Inn and Park Plaza brands, as well as 909 T.G.I. Friday's restaurants and a majority stake in Carlson Wagonlit Travel — now has Minnesota's 40th LEED EB-certified property thanks to an 11-month effort designed to bring the property up to LEED standards.
"This certification is the result of a lot of hard work and the collective dedication of the project team over the past 11 months and now it is up to all of us to sustain it," said Brad Lis, chair of the project and Carlson's vice president of Real Estate & Administrative Services.
LEED EB O&M addresses whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues, including chemical use, recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs and systems upgrades. Carlson's efforts in pursuit of LEED certification included implementation of an interior pest management program to reduce toxicity of pesticides; replacement of all high-flow restroom fixtures with water-saving models; the installation of ENERGY STAR-rated IT equipment; and sustainable food purchases through the Farm-to-Fork program initiated by the building café's service provider, Bon Appétit.
"The green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to respond to the most important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy, and threats to human health," said USGBC President, CEO and Founding Chair Rick Fedrizzi. "The work of innovative building projects such as Carlson's World Headquarters 701 Tower is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement."