Downtown, North Shore buildings to halve energy, resource use

Published: Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 5:52 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Owners of 61 properties Downtown and on the North Shore – including major structures One Oxford Centre, BNY Mellon Center and Three PNC Plaza – on Tuesday agreed to cut energy, water and transportation consumption by 50 percent by the year 2030 as part of a national campaign to conserve resources.

The effort — called the Pittsburgh 2030 District — sponsored locally by the Green Building Alliance, was announced during a meeting of property owners who publicly pledged the goals for their buildings during an event at the Benedum Center, Downtown. About 200 attended.

They represent 38 percent of the Downtown business district and more than 23 million square feet of office space.

“I think that speaks to how progressive and aware property owners are in Pittsburgh,” said Michael J. Schiller, executive director of the Green Building Alliance. “This is the celebration. The work starts right after this,” he said.

Pittsburgh has 83 buildings certified as environmentally friendly under Leadership in Energy and Enviromental Design standards.

As part of the effort, owners of the buildings will look for ways during the next 18 years to cut consumption, whether it’s by installing new lights or windows, or replacing older or inefficient heating and cooling systems.

Pittsburgh is one of three cities that have signed up for the challenge. The others are Seattle and Cleveland.

Sam Spatter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7843 or sspatter@tribweb.com.

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