Sony Pictures Entertainment Receives LEED Gold Certification for Culver City Lot Office Project

CULVER CITY, Calif., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced that it has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold certification for the studio's Lot and Office Transformation (LOT) Project by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The LOT Project included the construction of two new 100,000 square foot office buildings, named after Jack Cohn and Harry Cohn, and a parking structure located at the heart of the studio's historic lot based in Culver City, California.  

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090128/SONYPICLOGO)

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090128/SONYPICLOGO)

"We are proud to receive this designation for our newest buildings on the lot," said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures.  "It's our belief that we have a responsibility to help create a greener world for our community and future generations, and this project is an important part of our overall sustainability efforts."

"We're excited to be recognized by such a respected international body," said Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures.  "We're also gratified that the buildings and the park area between them have become a new 'center of gravity' for our lot, a place where employees and visitors come to eat, exercise and meet with one another in an atmosphere that can be both relaxed and refreshing."

The LEED Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for evaluating water, energy and atmosphere efficiency; material and resource selection and indoor environmental quality of sites for sustainability.

The Jack Cohn and Harry Cohn buildings, which were designed for Sony Pictures by Gensler Architecture with developer Georgetown Company and general contractor CW Driver, were recognized by USGBC for a number of factors related to their design and construction. Elements rated positively by USGBC include: the use of local and recycled building materials as well as diverting over 93 percent (16,128 tons) of construction waste material from landfills; the incorporation of onsite filtration system for storm water runoff and low-flow toilets and urinals; the use of low-emitting carpeting, paint, sealants, adhesives and wall coverings; the installation of motion detector lights and energy efficient light bulbs; the implementation of "Green Housekeeping" building maintenance standards; and the availability of preferred parking for low emitting and fuel efficient vehicles as well as car pools and van pools.

In addition, the LOT Project included the construction of a state of the art, highly efficient central cooling plant.

"Naturally, a project of this size and scope was undertaken with a great deal of thought and care," said Jeff Hargleroad, Executive Vice President, Corporate Operations. "We recognized early on this was a great opportunity to pursue design and construction practices that would map to our core values as a company; it became obvious that this was the right thing to do."

As the first and only studio to achieve ISO14001 certification (the international standard for managing an organizations impact on the environment), Sony Pictures Entertainment has had an established sustainability practice studio-wide since 2001.

Led by Lynton and Pascal, the studio's emphasis on the pursuit of environmental sustainability has taken on a new energy in the past two years. Goals announced in the fall of 2008 include a commitment to go "zero waste" on the studio's main lot. A composting program in partnership with the City of Culver City has helped move the company significantly forward to meet that goal. In addition to the LEED building project and other facilities and operations initiatives, the studio is pursuing sustainable practices across production, consumer products, employee programs and community outreach. For more information on SPE's sustainability efforts, visit: http://www.sonypictures.com/green/.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation.  SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 140 countries.  Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

SOURCE Sony Pictures Entertainment