Unilever North America Headquarters Receives LEED Platinum Certification for Sustainability
The sustainably-built, energy-efficient building was also named
Commercial LEED Project of the Year by the New Jersey chapter of the
U.S. Green Building Council
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The newly redeveloped Unilever North America headquarters building in
Englewood Cliffs, N.J., has received LEED Platinum certification from
the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the highest level of LEED
certification available for sustainable buildings. The certification
process assesses buildings across several categories including: location
and transportation, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and
atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality,
innovation and more.
As further recognition of the building as one of the most sustainable
and technologically advanced redevelopments recently completed in the
New York metropolitan area, Unilever’s building has been named the LEED
Commercial Project of the Year by the USGBC in New Jersey. The project
was also recognized by the New Jersey Business & Industry Associate New
Good Neighbor Award.
Plans for the new corporate headquarters launched in 2014 in support of
the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, which calls for the consumer goods
company to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 percent while doubling its
business. The new building unified four office buildings from the
Englewood Cliffs campus into a single, state-of-the-art workplace. The
project was completed in 2018.
“The Englewood Cliffs headquarters project was developed with
sustainability at its heart, and it was evident at every step of the
process from choosing our partners and planning to construction and
design,” said Unilever North America Workplace Director Nathaniel
Barney. “At Unilever, we believe we have a responsibility to make sure
our operations leave as small a footprint as possible on our planet
while also providing our employees with a safe, healthy, and productive
work environment. We are proud to earn the LEED Platinum certification
as a result of these efforts.”
Workplace strategists and designers from Perkins+Will helped Unilever
craft a future-proofed vision for its new headquarters—a concept and
design known as “the Marketplace”—which entailed the creative
retrofitting, renovation, and repositioning of the company’s existing
corporate campus. The 325,000 square foot renovation included interiors,
as well as the construction of an entry pavilion and common area that
stitched together the open space between individual buildings to create
an entirely new, enclosed structure. The efficient building achieved a
41% reduction in square footage, while being able to house more
employees, which means less resources are needed to light and climate
control the building.
The final building design incorporates smart technologies by EDGE that
record data and automate the building’s features and functions,
including Internet of Things (IoT) systems that enable the building to
learn from occupants’ behaviors and remember their preferences.
The entire project was carried out with sustainability at the heart of
the strategy. During the building phase, 75 percent of the construction
materials were diverted from landfill. A shuttle service from New York
City, Hoboken and Jersey City has supported a 40% reduction in
individual cars.
“This was a collaboration in the truest sense of the word,” says
Perkins+Will Principal Paul Eagle. “Not only did the new headquarters
have to be modern, flexible, and conducive to employee health and
well-being, but it also had to fulfil the ambitious sustainability goals
set forth by Unilever. It all hinged on an incredible team working
together to break new ground and develop a new model for sustainable,
suburban campuses.”
With the workplace strategy and design concept from Perkins+Will in
place, real estate experts at Cushman & Wakefield served as project
manager and, together with developers EDGE Technologies and Normandy
Real Estate Partners, devised a sustainability strategy and transaction
approach that reduced the headquarters’ energy cost dramatically to
offset the overall cost of occupancy.
About Unilever U.S.
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal
Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products with sales in over 190
countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. In the United States
and Canada, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben &
Jerry’s, Breyers, Degree, Dollar Shave Club, Dove, Hellmann’s, Klondike,
Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Love Beauty and Planet, Magnum, Nexxus,
Noxzema, Pond’s, Popsicle, Pure Leaf, Q-tips, Seventh Generation,
Simple, Sir Kensington’s, St. Ives, Suave, Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto,
TAZO, TIGI, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are
trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan underpins the company’s strategy
and commits to:
-
Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health
and well-being by 2020. - Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com.
About Perkins+Will
Perkins+Will is an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and
design firm established in 1935. Founded on the belief that design has
the power to transform lives and enhance communities, we collaborate
with clients all over the world to create healthy, sustainable places in
which to live, learn, work, play, and heal. More than 2,000
professionals across over 20 Perkins+Will offices include some of the
brightest minds in architecture, interior design, branded environments,
urban design, and landscape architecture. Clients consistently turn to
us for our leadership and expertise in areas like sustainability,
resilience, health and wellness, and mobility. Additionally, our 10
Research Labs catalyze innovative design technologies and solutions that
result in better, smarter, more competitive built environments. The
recipient of hundreds of design awards each year, and a progressive
leader in corporate social responsibility, Perkins+Will is consistently
ranked among the world’s top design firms. Our family of partner
companies includes retail strategy and design consultancy Portland;
transportation planning consultancy NelsonNygaard; healthcare
technology planning firm Genesis Planning; and luxury hospitality design
firm Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR). For more information, visit www.perkinswill.com.
About Perkins+Will New York Studio
As one of the first U.S. studios established by the firm, Perkins+Will’s
New York presence has a long history of leadership in design, practice,
and environmental stewardship in the Northeast region and beyond. The
multiple-practice office is renowned for its strengths in the design and
execution of major architecture, interiors, and planning projects,
including branded environments for corporate/commercial, civic,
healthcare, higher education, and science/technology sector. The New
York office is led by architects, interior architects, interior
designers, and workplace strategists, and nearly all are LEED Accredited
Professionals. The office environment is a collaborative workplace with
a commitment to delivering innovative design solutions that support
client goals. The studio is LEED-CI Gold certified and located in New
York’s Union Square neighborhood.
Contacts
Media:
Unilever
Catherine Reynolds
MediaRelations.USA@unilever.com
(201)
894-7760
kg&a
Vakis Boutsalis
vakis@kga-inc.com
(416)
578.1741