NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- Executing on its commitment to sustainability, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) announced that the expansion of its North American headquarters on the Newtown Square campus in Pennsylvania has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the highest rating given by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Designed by FXFOWLE Architects and opened in May 2009, the 200,000-square-foot building is currently the largest LEED Platinum-certified facility in the State of Pennsylvania.
Situated adjacent to an existing LEED-certified office on the SAP Newtown Square campus, the four-story building received the maximum number of LEED points in the water efficiency and innovation and design process categories. By using a state-of-the-art water management system, SAP expects to save over one million gallons of water per year. Rainwater is collected in a 50,000-gallon cistern that supplies water for landscape irrigation and the flushing of toilets in some of the building's bathrooms. Low-flow bathroom fixtures help further reduce the water usage of the company's nearly 2,000 Philadelphia-area employees and the approximate 3,000 annual visitors.
"When we laid the foundation for the new SAP building in Pennsylvania, our goal was to create an inspirational work place for our Philadelphia-area employees and show our commitment to sustainable development and growth in North America," said Bill McDermott, co-CEO of SAP AG. "We are also a company that lives and breathes innovation for our customers — in how they run their businesses, achieve their sustainability goals, power their business networks and empower their employees. The SAP office building in Newtown Square is among the pioneers in green building design worldwide. This is one of the ways that we role model the strategies that we believe in."