Bridgestone Tower Receives LEED Gold Green Building Certification
Certification reflects the company’s commitment to sustainability
Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Americas, Inc., a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, has announced that Bridgestone Tower, its recently completed headquarters office in downtown Nashville, has been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC). Firestone Building Products, a Bridgestone subsidiary, is also headquartered in the building and provided roofing products for the project.
The LEED certification process recognizes exemplary maintenance practices for buildings that are designed, constructed and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. The Bridgestone Tower, owned by Highwoods Properties, was designed and constructed at Bridgestone’s request with the objective of being LEED Gold certified.
“Since the conception of Bridgestone Tower, our goal has been to achieve LEED Gold certification as another symbol of our commitment to the environment and sustainability and for the betterment of our workplace and community,” said Chris Karbowiak, Chief Administrative Officer at Bridgestone Americas. “Ensuring a healthy environment for current and future generation is a key pillar of our global corporate social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve, and we are proud that with this LEED Gold certification we are doing a small part to support the sustainability of our hometown of Nashville.”
The LEED rating system was developed by USGBC and is the most prominent program for recognizing sustainable building practices and strategies in the United States. Bridgestone Tower achieved LEED Gold certification for implementing solutions aimed at achieving high performance in multiple categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation.
“The work of innovative building projects like Bridgestone Tower is a fundamental driving force in transforming the way buildings are built, designed and operated,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC. “Achieving LEED Gold certification goes further than implementing sustainable practices – Bridgestone is showing its commitment to the environment and the city which it resides and has the power to influence others to do the same.”
The 514,000-square-foot, 30-story headquarters building completed in December 2017 received LEED Gold based on a number of environmentally-conscious designs and notable sustainability features, including:
· Reducing portable water use by using high efficiently flush and low plumbing fixtures;
· Implementing LED fixtures to promote interior lighting energy savings;
· Choosing materials manufactured within 500 miles of the project site;
· Using low-emitting materials for adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, flooring products and composite wood products and furniture;
· Implementing low mercury lamps;
· And using recycled content in materials
For the project, Firestone Building Products provided a white reflective roofing system that reduces the roof’s surface temperature, creating greater energy efficiency and exceeding many industry ratings requirements.
In total, Bridgestone now has five LEED-certified locations, including its manufacturing plant in Warren County, TN. The Warren County tire manufacturing plant began operations in 1990 and first earned the LEED V2 certification in 2008, becoming the first tire plant globally to achieve this.
For more information regarding the Bridgestone Tower LEED Gold Certification and scoring, please visit: https://www.usgbc.org/projects/bridgestone-americas-headquarters-0.
About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
Nashville, TN-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) is the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company. BSAM and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies are also engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produce air springs, roofing materials, and industrial fibers and textiles. The BSAM family of companies also operates the world’s largest chain of automotive tire and service centers.
About Holcim Building Envelope Division
Holcim Building Envelope produces a broad range of exterior building products, including the Elevate™ (formerly Firestone) lineup of metal roof and wall panel systems. To learn more, visit or www.holcimelevate.com.