UCB U.S. Atlanta Headquarters Awarded LEED Gold and WELL Platinum Certifications
Wednesday, September 28th, 2022
UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has been awarded the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification at the Gold level by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and WELL Certification at the Platinum level by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) for its Warehouse renovation on its U.S. headquarters campus in Atlanta. Part of the company’s global inspace project, the new Warehouse is designed to reshape employees’ work environment to stimulate innovation, reimagine collaboration, and create and deliver value for patients living with severe diseases.
First launched and implemented in UCB’s Brussels, Belgium, headquarters in 2018, the inspace model offers employees four main work environments with unique design elements and functions. From quiet workspaces that promote individual tasks and confidential discussions, to open workspaces that foster connectivity, the four distinctly designed areas within inspace allow employees to tailor their environment to best suit their work activities and goals.
“Everything we do at UCB is to keep people living with severe and rare diseases in mind – ensuring they can live their best lives, whatever that means for them – and the inspace reimagined work environment invests in our employees and facilitates collaboration as they pursue this mission,” said Patty Fritz, UCB’s Vice President of U.S. Corporate Affairs. “We are already seeing the positive impact the Atlanta Warehouse is delivering for our patients, employees, the environment, and the greater Atlanta community as it is the first building in UCB’s network of almost 40 countries to receive this level of distinction.”
The Atlanta Warehouse inspace project achieved LEED Gold certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions in areas including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. In the U.S. alone, buildings account for almost 40 percent of national carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions; LEED-certified buildings create 34 percent lower CO2 emissions, consume 25 percent less energy and 11 percent less water, and divert more than 80 million tons of waste from landfills. UCB’s Atlanta Warehouse is one of only 50 buildings in the pharmaceutical industry globally to achieve LEED Gold certification.
In addition to LEED Gold, the Atlanta Warehouse project also achieved WELL certification at the Platinum level by the IWBI and is one of only two WELL Platinum certified pharmaceutical projects in the world. The Warehouse is also the first project to be awarded WELL Platinum certification in the state of Georgia.
