U.S. Green Building Council has awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification to Emerson’s Global Data Center in St. Louis. The energy-efficient center has also been given another award from Sustainable Buildings Industry Council, a 2009 Beyond Green High-Performance Building Award.
The 35,000-square-foot data center is located on the headquarters campus of the company in St. Louis. Emerson’s engineering and manufacturing operations throughout the world is supported from this data center. When compared to conventional data centers, Emerson Global Data Center is 31% more energy efficient. The facility has a solar rooftop array covering an area of 7,800 square feet and comprises over 550 solar panels, making it the largest solar array in Missouri.
David N. Farr, Emerson Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President, said the LEED certification for the company’s data center demonstrates its commitment to the environment and energy efficiency. Through this certification and Beyond Green award, the company’s innovative approach to curtail energy consumption by utilizing efficient technologies has been recognized, Farr added.
Sustainable construction practices, such as diversion of over 80% of construction waste through recycling and saving in excess of 2.5 miles of copper pipes, were adopted during the construction of this data center. The company has invested $50 million in this data center, which adopts efficiency strategies recommended by the Emerson Network Power business.