SAS Green Building Delivers Bottom-line Returns

As its Eco-friendly Headquarters turns four, the Business Analytics leader celebrates the financial benefits of going green

TORONTO , Dec. 1 /CNW/ - Continuing its commitment to environmental sustainability, SAS Canada today celebrated the four-year anniversary of its eco-friendly head office. Since the building's opening SAS has enjoyed a return on investment totaling 375 per cent per square foot, compared to its previous office at BCE Place, while cutting its annual CO2 footprint by 4,060 tons in 2009. Eliminating the over 4,000 tons of CO(2) is equivalent to taking 615 cars off the road or planting more than 20,000 trees.

According to Statistics Canada , the average Ontario office building uses 719 Kilowatt hours per square meter annually. Compare this to SAS's LEED Silver Certified building which uses 269 Kilowatt hours per square meter annually (a 62 per cent savings) and the decision to go green makes business sense.

"SAS recognizes that environmental sustainability is a continuous effort that requires conservative use of natural resources to help preserve them for future generations," said Stuart Bowden , Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations for SAS Canada . "The successes of our sustainability programs are both employee-driven and corporate initiatives. This combination has allowed us to reap the bottom-line benefits we've seen to date."

From harvesting rainwater used in the building's internal operations to the extensive use of indirect lighting, the building hosts a myriad of environmentally friendly features. A group of SAS employees also created the SAS Canada Sustainability Committee to quantify and manage green practices at the grassroots level within the company. Certified as LEED Silver in 2008, the headquarters continues to generate public recognition for its leadership in corporate sustainability practices. On April 23 , SAS Canada was honoured as the runner up for the 2009 Green Toronto Award for energy conservation. Canada's national news magazine, Maclean's, named SAS to its list of "Canada's Greenest Employers" for its policies to promote the three R's of environmental sustainability - reduce, reuse and recycle. The headquarters was also the winner of the Real Estate Excellence Award (REX) for Office Development of the Year in 2005.

"One of the design objectives for the SAS Canada building was to reduce energy consumption by at least 30 percent as compared to a "typical" Ontario office building," said Jerry McDermott, Manager of Real Estate and Facility Management at SAS Canada . "To date we have surpassed our goal by more than 100 percent and we will continue to strive to do better in the years to come."

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know(R)

The Canadian subsidiary of SAS has been in operation for 21 years. Headquartered in Toronto , SAS employs 240 people across the country at its Vancouver , Calgary , Toronto , Ottawa , Quebec City and Montréal offices. www.sas.com

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. (R) indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright (C) 2009 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

For further information: Editorial Contact: Suzanne Sprajcar, [email protected], [phone], Visit the SAS Press Center www.sas.com/presscenter