Our Green Building

StopWaste’s office building in downtown Oakland, California was the first building renovation project in the nation to receive Platinum certification, the LEED Green Building Rating System’s highest honor.

Putting our waste reduction and sustainability principles into practice, we took a rundown structure built in 1927 and transformed it into a beautiful, environmentally responsible and healthy workplace.

Building Highlights

Waste Reduction

• Preserved 95 percent of the building’s original structural elements, including exterior walls, roof, floors, concrete columns and steel beams
• Recycled more than 75 percent of the construction and demolition debris
• Required new concrete to include 15 to 40 percent flyash—a recycled waste product from coal-fired power plants
• Left ducts, steel beams and concrete surfaces exposed, eliminating the need for drywall and other surface finishes

Fossil Fuels & Climate Change

• Designed building to exceed California’s building energy efficiency code by 40 percent, with features including daylit workspaces and a “cool roof” that reduces air conditioning energy use
• Installed a rooftop photovoltaic system to generate renewable electricity
• Chose location close to BART to reduce the transportation energy used by employees and visitors

Bay-Friendly Landscaping

• Created an environmentally friendly garden courtyard behind the building that earned the Bay-Friendly Rated Landscape label
• Chose outdoor furnishings made from recycled and salvaged materials
• Applied recycled compost and mulch to improve soil quality and plant health, save water and control weeds

Water Conservation

• Reduced indoor water use by 40 percent by installing dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals and low-flow faucets
• Installed permeable paving materials in backyard garden that allow rainwater to filter into the soil and recharge the groundwater
• Landscaped with plants that thrive with little or no irrigation in our dry-summer climate

Healthier Workplace

• Chose paints, sealants, adhesives, carpets, composite wood products and insulation that emit zero or very low levels of formaldehyde and other potentially harmful chemicals
• Require janitors to use healthy, eco-friendly cleaning products and practices

Green Products

• Purchased environmentally preferable materials for furnishings and finishes, including carpet tiles, ceramic tiles and workstations made from recycled materials, FSC-certified sustainably harvested wood cabinets, and salvaged granite countertops