PEORIA, Ill., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Caterpillar Administration Building, which serves as the company's world headquarters, has been awarded LEED-EB® O+M (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance) Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Achieving the certification makes the Caterpillar facility, located in downtown Peoria, the first building in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area to become LEED-EB certified and the second building in the Caterpillar family to earn the recognition. The Cat Financial Center in Nashville, Tennessee, received LEED-EB certification in April of 2009. LEED is a third-party certification program and a recognized benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED-Gold certification is the second highest rating obtainable in the system. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas: sustainable sites, water savings, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. Specific highlights include: - Decreased energy consumption by 40 percent through improved control systems, operating methods, and lighting automation. - Implemented a new irrigation system for all landscaped areas resulting in a 50-percent water use reduction - Implemented a green cleaning program with new environmentally-friendly chemicals and developed an improved pest management program utilizing the least toxic methods. - Leveraged Caterpillar's purchasing and recycling practices to reduce the environmental impact of materials used and conducted waste stream audits to drive continuous improvement efforts.
