SPE’s Culver City Lot Project Fulfills the USGBC’s Stringent Standards-


Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) recently announced that it has been awarded the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification for the studio’s Lot and Office Transformation (LOT) Project. “We are proud to receive this designation for our newest buildings on the lot,” said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures. “It’s our belief that we have a responsibility to help create a greener world for our community and future generations, and this project is an important part of our overall sustainability efforts.” The LOT Project included two new 100,000 square foot office buildings, named after Jack Cohn and Harry Cohn, and a parking structure located at the studio’s historic lot in Culver City, California. The Jack Cohn and Harry Cohn buildings were awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council for an all-around conservational approach in design and construction.

Criteria factors in the SPE Lot Project include: the use of local, recycled building materials; avoiding over 16,128 tons of construction waste material from being thrown into landfills; the use of motion detector lights and energy efficient light bulbs; the installation of an on-site filtration system for storm water runoff as well as low-flow toilets and urinals; the use of low-emitting carpeting, paint, sealants, adhesives and wall coverings; the enforcing of “Green Housekeeping” building maintenance standards; and the availability of preferred parking for low emitting and fuel efficient vehicles as well as car pools and van pools. To boot, the LOT Project incorporated a high-tech, energy efficient central cooling plant. “Naturally, a project of this size and scope was undertaken with a great deal of thought and care,” said Jeff Hargleroad, Executive Vice President, Corporate Operations. “We recognized early on this was a great opportunity to pursue design and construction practices that would map to our core values as a company; it became obvious that this was the right thing to do.” Last summer, SPE’s Culver City lot was the first and only studio to achieve ISO14001 certification, with energy and environmental initiatives that encompassed nearly all aspects of the studio’s operations. As a pioneer in the green movement, the possibilities are endless in what sustainable projects they will take on next.