UCB’s Atlanta Warehouse is the first dually certified WELL Platinum and LEED Gold pharmaceutical project in the world and the first WELL Platinum building in Georgia

Together, the premier standards for green building and enhancing people’s health and well-being embody UCB’s ongoing commitment to sustainability

ATLANTA, Sep 26, 2022 – UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has been awarded the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification at the Gold level by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and WELL Certification at the Platinum level by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) for its Warehouse renovation on its U.S. headquarters campus in Atlanta. Part of the company’s global inspace project, the new Warehouse is designed to reshape employees’ work environment to stimulate innovation, reimagine collaboration, and create and deliver value for patients living with severe diseases.  

First launched and implemented in UCB’s Brussels, Belgium, headquarters in 2018, the inspace model offers employees four main work environments with unique design elements and functions. From quiet workspaces that promote individual tasks and confidential discussions, to open workspaces that foster connectivity, the four distinctly designed areas within inspace allow employees to tailor their environment to best suit their work activities and goals. 

“Everything we do at UCB is to keep people living with severe and rare diseases in mind – ensuring they can live their best lives, whatever that means for them – and the inspace reimagined work environment invests in our employees and facilitates collaboration as they pursue this mission,” said Patty Fritz, UCB’s Vice President of U.S. Corporate Affairs. “We are already seeing the positive impact the Atlanta Warehouse is delivering for our patients, employees, the environment, and the greater Atlanta community as it is the first building in UCB’s network of almost 40 countries to receive this level of distinction.” 

The Atlanta Warehouse inspace project achieved LEED Gold certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions in areas including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. In the U.S. alone, buildings account for almost 40 percent of national carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions; LEED-certified buildings create 34 percent lower CO2 emissions, consume 25 percent less energy and 11 percent less water, and divert more than 80 million tons of waste from landfills. UCB’s Atlanta Warehouse is one of only 50 buildings in the pharmaceutical industry globally to achieve LEED Gold certification.

In addition to LEED Gold, the Atlanta Warehouse project also achieved WELL certification at the Platinum level by the IWBI and is one of only two WELL Platinum certified pharmaceutical projects in the world. The Warehouse is also the first project to be awarded WELL Platinum certification in the state of Georgia. 

The UCB Warehouse inspace project is developed and designed to reflect UCB’s sustainable business approach, creating healthy work environments, and minimizing the company’s environmental impact on the greater Atlanta area. Key features achieved by the inspace project include:  

• Diverting more than 85 percent of Warehouse waste generated during construction – equating to more than 1,500 tons of waste and saving 60 loaded standard garbage trucks from the landfill.
• Reducing the Warehouse’s total energy consumption by 30 percent against the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Condition Engineers (ASHRAE) 90.1-2010 baseline and without using any fossil fuel energy sources, in support of UCB’s commitment to reduce its overall Green House Gas (GHG) CO2 emissions by 35 percent by 2030.
• Offsetting approximately 20 percent of the buildings’ anticipated total annual energy use by installing a 223-kWh photovoltaic array (solar panels) for supplemental power generation located on the roof.
• Installing two 8,000-gallon cisterns to capture rainwater for landscape irrigation serving both the Warehouse project site and elsewhere on campus which is sufficient to serve 100 percent of the annual irrigation needs for the landscape served by this system.

“Sustainability is an integral part of our business approach. UCB is dedicated to improving technology and energy efficiency in its facilities. Implementing the inspace model is one step of many as we work toward a more sustainable model for our Atlanta campus and beyond,” Fritz stated. 

The Atlanta Warehouse project was initiated in 2018 and Phase II of the project, which involved finalization of the building, and was completed in the second half of 2021. Phase III of the project is expected to begin in early 2023 with a planned redesign and renovation for an additional building on the campus. 

About UCB
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the central nervous system. With approximately 8,600 people in approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of € 5.8 billion in 2021. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB). Follow us on Twitter: @UCB_news. 

About the U.S. Green Building Council 
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is committed to a healthy, resilient and equitable future for all through the development of green buildings, cities and communities. For more than 20 years, USGBC has been advancing green building practices through the development of LEED, the world’s most widely used green building program. With the support of thousands of members, volunteers and partners, USGBC provides robust green building education courses, a rigorous professional credentialing program, and advocates for effective public policies. It convenes an international network of green building and sustainability leaders through the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, and forward thinking programs, including the Center for Green Schools. For more information, visit usgbc.org and connect on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About WELL
International WELL Building Institute pbc is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delos Living LLC. International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL Portfolio, WELL Portfolio Score, The WELL Conference, We Are WELL, the WELL Community Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rating, WELL Health-Safety Rated, WELL Health-Equity, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute in the United States and other countries.

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