Environmental

Piedmont is dedicated to environmentally sustainable practices that enhance our commitment to provide highest quality office properties. We strive to own and manage workplaces that are environmentally conscious, productive, and healthy for our tenants and employees by:

  • Empowering our property teams with the data and tools they need to sustainably manage their buildings.
  • Leveraging industry partnerships with BOMA, ENERGY STAR, WELL, U.S. Green Building Council, and GRESB, to confirm and advance the energy and sustainability performance of our assets.
  • Implementing processes that continually improve our environmental performance.

To learn more about our various sustainable initiatives, view our Annual ESG Report.

Our Green Bond Framework  outlines criteria for project evaluation and selection as well as reporting parameters and other pertinent information related to the allocation of the net proceeds from Piedmont’s green bonds.

Our Green Bond Allocation Report  details the allocation of the net proceeds from Piedmont’s August 2020 green bond  issuance.

Piedmont leverages industry partnerships including BOMA, ENERGY STAR, WELL and U.S. Green Building Council, to advance the energy and sustainability performance of its assets.


Piedmont ranks in the top 1% among program participants based on the number of buildings owned and managed with Building Owners and Managers Association ("BOMA") 360 designations

BOMA 360 is a program that evaluates six major areas of building operations and management and benchmarks a building's performance against industry standards. The achievement of such a designation recognizes excellence in building operations and management

Approximately 88% of Piedmont's office portfolio is ENERGY STAR® certified (based on Square Footage)

ENERGY STAR is a voluntary government program backed by EPA that provides unbiased information to organizations and consumers about cost-effective, energy-efficient products, practices, and services. ENERGY STAR certified buildings earn a score of 75 or higher on EPA's 1-100 energy performance scale and are verified by a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) or Registered Architect (RA). A score of greater than 75 indicates the building is more energy efficient than 75% or more of the U.S. commercial building stock.

Approximately 65% of Piedmont's office portfolio is LEED® Certified (based on Square Footage)

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ("LEED") is the preeminent program for the design, construction, maintenance and operations of high-performance green buildings. LEED certification designates commercial buildings that are designed, built, and operated to minimize environmental impact while offering healthy settings in which to work and live. Piedmont has been a Silver member of the U.S. Green Building Council since 2007.

Recognition

Fourteen of our assets have been awarded a TOBY award.

The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Awards are sponsored by BOMA on an annual basis and honor the best of the best in commercial buildings.

The annual Outstanding Building of the Year ("TOBY") Awards are the most prestigious awards of their kind in the commercial real estate industry, recognizing excellence in office building management in fourteen different categories based on size and facility type. Buildings are judged by their peers on all facets of building operations including energy management, tenant relations, community involvement, emergency preparedness and security. Upon winning at the local level, a building then competes regionally, with only a select few moving on to the International level.

Piedmont is honored to be recognized as a 2023 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year, marking the third year in a row that we have achieved the designation. Forty-five buildings comprising approximately 88% of total square feet, have earned the ENERGY STAR label.

Each year, the ENERGY STAR program honors a group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy achievements. ENERGY STAR Award Winners lead their industries in the production, sale, and adoption of energy-efficient products, services, and strategies. These efforts are essential to addressing the human impact on climate change.

Piedmont has been awarded the WELL Health-Safety Rating for its entire 17 million square foot portfolio spanning over 53 managed properties. The WELL Health-Safety Rating is an evidence-based, third-party rating system verified through the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) that focuses on all new and existing building and space type operational policies, maintenance protocols, stakeholder engagement and emergency plans to address tenant and visitor health and safety concerns in a post-COVID-19 environment now and into the future.

The WELL Health-Safety Rating provides a centralized source and governing body to validate efforts made by owners and operators. It leverages insights drawn from the IWBI Task Force on COVID-19, in addition to guidance on the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), global disease control and prevention centers and emergency management agencies, as well as recognized standard-making associations such as ASTM International and ASHRAE, and leading academic and research institutions, as well as core principles already established by IWBI’s WELL Building Standard, the premier framework for advancing health in buildings and spaces of all kinds.

Piedmont has been selected as a 2022 Green Lease Leader, Silver Level, by the institute for Market Transformation and the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Alliance for using green leases to protect occupant health, increase energy efficiency, modernize buildings and improve tenant-landlord relationships.

Green Lease Leaders is proud to be a part of the national trend toward green leases in commercial spaces, this year's Green Lease Leaders represent portfolios totaling nearly 2 billion square feet (sq. ft.) and comprise a diverse range of buildings from large and small commercial offices to industrial buildings to data centers. Altogether, Green Lease Leaders manage more than 5 billion square feet of commercial and government space across North America, representing a huge potential for growth in green leases. In the commercial sector alone, green leasing has the potential to affect 8 percent of leased space nationwide. IMT estimates that green leases can help reduce utility bills by up to about 50 cents per square foot (22 percent) in U.S. office buildings alone, and if all leased office buildings executed green leases, the market could reap over $3 billion in annual cost savings.