Office Depot opens its first LEED CI registered store in Texas

Office Depot expects the store to be LEED CI-certified a few months after its opening. Beginning with the Austin store, the company’s all new and relocated North American stores will follow suit by receiving LEED CI certification. The fourteen new stores planned for 2010 also fall under this green strategy.

The LEED CI-registered store features skylights to harvest daylight for 90% of the store; reflective roof, which features a membrane that helps to prevent absorption of the heat from the sun and keeps the interior of the store much cooler; Energy Star-rated HVAC equipment, which exceeds the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards; T5 energy-efficient lighting, which is over 30% more efficient than typical retail lighting and will contribute to a more than 20% reduction in energy use; and daylight and occupancy sensors, which reduce energy use.

The store is installed with water conservation interior fixtures, including tank-less instant hot water heaters, low flush toilets, low flow urinals and automatic shutoff sensors in restrooms that will use over 30% less water than the typical facility. The project involved construction materials that consist of at least 10% recycled content. About 50% of the wood used was sourced from Forest Stewardship Council certified sources. Low VOC emitting interior materials and finishes were used.

The facility is equipped with Energy Management Systems that allow tracking of energy usage and trends from one central location.

According to Kevin Peters, President of North American Retail for Office Depot, the company aims to continue the success of its LEED Gold-certified store which opened in 2008 in Austin, Texas. The store made Office Depot the first retailer to receive LEED Gold Certification on a store prototype.

LEED CI is the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) recognized system for certifying high-performance green interiors that are healthy, productive places to work; are less costly to operate and maintain; and have a reduced environmental footprint.