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KPMG attains 25th office under LEED certification

KPMG recently announced that its Short Hills, NJ office has attained Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Counsel, the 25th KPMG workplace to do so under its "Living Green" program.

“KPMG lives out its commitment to environmental sustainability through our Living Green program and this includes ensuring our office spaces are designed, constructed, and equipped in an environmentally-friendly way,” said Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, national managing partner for Diversity and Corporate Responsibility at KPMG, in a statement. “The certification of our Short Hills office means that the majority of our offices in the top markets where we do business are now LEED certified, which equates to nearly 50 percent of our employees being based in LEED-certified offices throughout the country. It’s very appropriate that we are making this announcement during Energy Awareness Month.”

Improvements to the 50,000 square feet Short Hills office space includes:

  • Carpet and ceiling tiles consisting of a minimum of 10 percent recycled content,
  • All of workstations being GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified,
  • Occupancy sensors that control over 75 percent of the office’s lighting, minimizing unnecessary electrical usage.
  • High indoor air-quality achieved by the selection of low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) adhesives, sealants, paint, coatings, flooring, and wood products with no added urea formaldehyde.

Since moving from their previous facility in 2012, the new LEED-certified Short Hills office has seen the following reductions per FTE (full-time equivalent) in 2013:

  • 32 percent reduction in electricity per FTE.
  • 26 percent reduction in total electricity.
  • 42 percent reduction in water per FTE.
  • 37 percent reduction in total water consumption.
  • 22 percent reduction in carbon emissions per FTE.
  • 15 percent reduction in total carbon emissions for the office.

 For more information on LEED, head to their website here.

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Audit Financial reporting
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