At Energy Future Holdings, we strive to be a leader in environmental stewardship, seeking to achieve improvements that lead to cleaner air, land and water. In support of the environment, the company is focused on a number of Green initiatives.
LEED Certification
EFH is pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification at three of the company's key locations: EFH corporate headquarters, TXU Energy's corporate and Luminant Academy.
LEED certified buildings are constructed or refitted using a suite of standards developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) that alleviate the environmental impact of the construction or refitting, use key resources more efficiently and provide employees with healthier work environments.
At EFH's corporate headquarters, located in Downtown Dallas' Energy Plaza, existing furniture, workstations, doors, knobs and handles, glass, ceiling grid and tiles, millwork, light fixtures, electrical plugs and even light switches were re-used on the redesigned floors occupied by employees. The building has also been refitted to maximize energy efficiency, and a minimal amount of debris from the project went to landfills. Click here for the LEED one-pager.
TXU Energy's Sierra Drive headquarters, located in Las Colinas, reused existing furniture, ensured that the new materials purchased for the build-out of the headquarters contained at least 20 percent recycled content and purchased new materials from local manufacturers. The company also utilized low-emitting materials and maintained air quality during construction. In March, TXU Energy announced the installation of LEDs in the parking garage, reducing annual energy consumption by 63 percent. This was the first project of its kind in North Texas.
Luminant Academy in Tyler was constructed using recycled, renewable and environmentally friendly materials such as sorghum board cabinet faces, counter tops made from metal shavings in a resin binder and corrugated metal interior siding. The Academy also earned LEED credits by utilizing unused Energy Plaza furniture and galvanized catwalk grating contributed by the Permian Basin power plant.
Green Councils
Energy Future Holdings companies have also ramped up their efforts to create environmentally friendly workspaces, and providing employees with opportunities to be environmentally active. In 2008, TXU Energy announced the creation of an employee-led Green Team that began making small, but important changes, such as removing Styrofoam products, setting printers to print double-sided and placing recycling bins around their Sierra Headquarters.
In early 2009, EFH, Luminant and Oncor followed suit by phasing out Styrofoam products and bottled water, giving employees reusable mugs and provided filtered water in break areas.
The Green Councils continue to be active, coordinating exciting special events that coordinate with Earth Hour, Earth Day and Arbor Day, in addition to unique opportunities for employees to make a positive impact on the environment.
In March, EFH and TXU Energy partnered with Techway Services to host an Electronics Recycling Day, which gave all Energy Plaza tenants and all Sierra employees the opportunity to bring unused electronic items from home so they could be recycled properly. More than 4,500 pounds of equipment were collected through the event.
Employee participation in company-sponsored green events has allowed EFH to improve the company's environmental footprint, create a culture of healthy living and reduce expenditures on wasteful products.