Mexico. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) awarded the BBVA Bancomer Tower LEED Platinum certification in the Building Design and Construction (BD+C) category, which is one of the most demanding sustainable building standards in the world.
The BBVA Bancomer Tower thus becomes the only building in Mexico over 230 meters high to obtain this recognition.
The LEED certification -Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, for its acronym in English- promotes the design and construction of sustainable buildings, being the BD+C category (design and construction of buildings) one of the most complex to obtain, since it considers from the materials used in the construction, the efficient use of resources, such as water and energy consumption, to the final aspects of quality of life and comfort inside the building.
The BBVA Group's commitment to the environment, society and its employees is demonstrated by its 14 LEED-certified properties in the world, of which three have the silver seal, 10 hold the gold seal and now the BBVA Bancomer Tower with the platinum seal.
The sustainability of BBVA Bancomer's buildings is evident in four buildings: Silver seal in Training Center II (Toreo), gold seal in Training Center I and BBVA Bancomer Operational Center and platinum seal in Bancomer Tower.
In Mexico there are 27 properties with platinum certification, of which 14 are in the category of BD+C New Construction, and of these, there are only three in Mexico City:
- • BBVA Bancomer Tower, with 188,777 m2 of construction
- • Centro Constituyentes Campus, with 23,500 m2 of construction
- • Center For the Promotion of Construction and The Room. A.C.(CIHAC), with 896 m2 of construction
The certification process is based on obtaining points. The characteristics of the property are evaluated in blocks and each block is subdivided into criteria, and for each criterion covered a point is awarded. The ratio of points obtained is what determines the seal of the property. The BBVA Bancomer Tower was valued in six blocks:
Sustainable site
The BBVA Bancomer Tower has a location on an urban site with existing infrastructure, thus preserving the habitat and natural resources. It has easy access to the main means of public transport. It has an indoor parking lot for 2,880 cars and 234 bicycle spots, as well as facilities with lockers and showers.
Water efficiency
It is one of the strengths of the property. It meets all the criteria required by the USGBC and considers aspects such as the elimination of the use of drinking water for irrigation, assesses the systems of collection and use of rainwater, as well as the reuse of wastewater and gray water, which decreases the volume of liquid required to the water system of Mexico City.
Energy and Environment
The building has state-of-the-art intelligent systems that allow efficiency in energy consumption. The savings, more than 20%, are compared to a typical building that does not have sustainable strategies in place. As an example, the BBVA Bancomer Tower has 100% LED lighting that allows maximum lighting efficiency. It also uses "green energy" that is produced by sustainable plants.
Materials and resources
In the construction of the BBVA Bancomer Tower, regional materials were used, which are those that are within a radius of 500 miles from the construction. As for the waste management of the work, more than 75% of the reusable materials are channeled to the appropriate sites for processing. 100% of the wood used was certified.
Quality of indoor life
The BBVA Bancomer Tower has mechanisms to incorporate external air into the internal ventilation. The air is filtered and distributed in the building, this is a great advantage derived from the temperature of the external air in Mexico City. The design of the building and the distribution of the workspaces allow the existence of large spaces of natural light where there are views to the outside in more than 90% of the spaces
Innovation
By keeping 100% of the parking indoors, the design of the BBVA Bancomer Tower minimizes the effect of heat island and carbon emissions. There is a facility to work on site 100% of the wastewater. The use of high-efficiency furniture and the use of treated water and rainwater allows a decrease of 80.5% of the requirements of the vital liquid.
By obtaining this important certification, BBVA Bancomer reaffirms its character as a Socially Responsible Company, concerned about the well-being of the community it serves and of which it is part and reaffirms its commitment to the environment, its environment, its customers, its employees and society in general.
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