ALAMEDA, Calif., July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc., , the premier specialty coffee and tea company in the U.S., today announced that its innovative new artisan roastery has been awarded LEED Gold level status by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Developed by USGBC, LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Peet's Alameda coffee roastery is the first LEED certified coffee roasting facility in the United States and the first LEED Gold certified building in the City of Alameda.
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In a brief commemorative ceremony today, Peet's, the USGBC and other partners unveiled a LEED Gold plaque and acknowledged those involved in bringing the project to fruition. Speakers at the ceremony included Peet's CEO and President Patrick O'Dea; Peet's Vice President of Operations and Information Systems Jim Grimes, who spearheaded the LEED certification for Peet's; USGBC Co-Founder David Gottfried; Joe Ernst of SRM Associates, the project developer and coordinator of the LEED design and construction team; and Andrea Traber of KEMA Green, Peet's LEED consultant on the entire project from development and design to construction, commissioning and LEED application process.
"Peet's took a LEED certified approach to the design and construction of its roasting plant in keeping with the company's guiding principle to positively contribute to the environment wherever the company does business," said Patrick O'Dea, president and CEO of Peet's Coffee & Tea. "For the past 42 years, Peet's has been dedicated to sustainable practices, and this building is yet another example of that commitment."
LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. To achieve LEED certification, the Peet's Coffee & Tea roastery proved sustainable design and construction in these five areas. LEED was established for market leaders to design and construct buildings that protect and save precious resources while also making sound economic sense.
"Peet's is to be commended for achieving LEED Gold certification for its roastery," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO, founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "This facility is a showcase for high-performance, energy- efficient space and healthy employees, and it serves as an inspiration for the community and the industry."
LEED certification of Peet's roastery is based on a number of green design and construction elements, including:
-- A significant improvement in the work environment for the company's roastery employees with ample work spaces, fitness room, lockers, showers, bike and automobile parking and expansive lunch/break room -- Use of natural light and the latest lighting technology to reduce energy consumption by 40 percent -- Total energy savings features beat California Title 24 by 32 -- Landscape design, irrigation system and the use of efficient fixtures (like waterless urinals) to reduce water usage by more than 50 percent -- Redesigned heat recovery during roasting to reduce gas usage by over 85 percent -- Environmentally-sensitive HVAC systems to reduce greenhouse emissions -- Significant amounts of recycled content/materials used during construction -- Waste diversion to recycling of over 75 percent during construction -- Close proximity to public transportation for employees and preferential parking for fuel-efficient vehicles and bicycle storage ABOUT PEET'S COFFEE & TEA, INC.
Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc., (PEET), is the premier specialty coffee and tea company in the United States. Peet's buys the highest quality beans in the world, artisan roasts every bean by hand to order, and delivers all of its coffee quickly for superior freshness no matter where it is sold. Founded in 1966 in Berkeley, California, by Alfred Peet, who is widely recognized as the grandfather of specialty coffee in the U.S., Peet's has a rapidly growing, passionate customer following that seeks out Peet's coffees wherever they go. Peet's is committed to strategically growing its business through many channels without compromising the extraordinary quality of its coffee. For more information about Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. visit http://www.peets.com/.
ABOUT LEED(R)
The LEED(R) (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System(TM) is a feature-oriented rating system that awards buildings points for satisfying specified green building criteria. The six major environmental categories of review include: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation and Design. Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels of LEED green building certification are awarded based on the total number of points earned within each LEED category.
LEED can be applied to all building types including new construction, commercial interiors, core & shell developments, existing buildings, homes, neighborhood developments, schools and retail facilities. LEED for Healthcare is currently under development and is expected to be released in early 2008.
Incentives for LEED are available at the state and local level and LEED has also been adopted nationwide by federal agencies, state and local governments, and interested private companies. For more information, visit http://www.usgbc.org/LEED.
ABOUT THE U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL
The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations. Since USGBC's founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 16,000 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED(R) green building rating systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry's popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo (http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/), and a network of 78 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups. For more information, visit http://www.usgbc.org/.
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