Association of Engineers gives NY firm green award.

The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) has named Cushman & Wakefield the 2006 recipient of the prestigious Environmental Project of the Year award, for its energy-efficient accomplishments at Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe) headquarters in San Jose, Calif., the firm announced today.

During the past six years, Cushman & Wakefield, the world's largest third-party manager of corporate real estate, has been systematically testing the energy-efficient management of buildings and grounds in a number of its managed office properties. In 1999, Cushman & Wakefield and its client, Adobe, formed a partnership that has resulted in enormous cost savings and energy related efficiencies at Adobe Towers, the three-building Adobe headquarters in downtown San Jose.

The two firms have undertaken several hundred distinct conservation measures, primarily in the areas of lighting, climate control, indoor and outdoor water conservation, waste management, and support for workers who arrive by means other than automobile.

"Working step by step with clients, Cushman & Wakefield is creating environmentally correct building models that the industry is closely paying attention to," said George Denise, Cushman & Wakefield's General Manager of Facilities at Adobe. "We anticipate that in the very near future a large majority of Class-A office buildings will routinely be expected to be "green."'

The Environmental Project of the Year award will be presented at the AEE Awards Banquet, to be held in Washington D.C. on September 13 during the World Energy Engineering Congress.

"We are extremely pleased and honored to have been selected as the recipient of this high profile award from AEE," said Frank Freda, executive vice president, Client Solutions, Cushman & Wakefield.

All three of the Adobe Towers are now certified Energy Star, which is half of all buildings so rated in Silicon Valley. In addition, Adobe Towers is one of three properties in California, of more than 600 considered, to have received the state's, "Flex Your Power" program's 'Best Overall" award for energy management practices. At Adobe Towers, electricity use per employee has decreased by 35% and natural gas use by 41%. Domestic water use is down by 23% and water use for landscape irrigation is down by 76%. At least 85% of all solid waste is diverted from landfill through a combination of recycling and composting. Of the entire Adobe workforce, 20% use public transit--five times the San Jose average. According to an independent engineering consultant, Adobe has reduced pollution from all sources generated through their total operations by 26%.

The effect on cash flow has been equally dramatic: $1.1 million invested in energy conservation and other sustainability projects, instantly offset by $311,000 in utility and government rebates, has yielded a savings of just less than $1 million per year (a 122% return on investment).

Adobe is currently seeking the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC's) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building certification for Adobe Towers at the platinum level, the highest possible. Its application achieved a full 67 points; it takes 64 or higher to earn platinum. As a result, Adobe Tower will be the first platinum level certified USGBC in their new LEED-EB (for existing buildings) program.

The Cushman & Wakefield energy efficiency effort began in 1999 with the formation of an energy committee to study means of reducing consumption in all 1200-plus properties the company manages on behalf of numerous corporate clients. Since 2000, all of the firm's site managers have been required to register their buildings with Energy Star, benchmarking them and helping to identify less than efficient practices. Cushman & Wakefield now has more Energy Star certified properties than any other third-party manager and the third largest number of Energy Star certified properties of any portfolio.