Green Philadelphia Businesses and Buildings

Comcast Center

Altering the city's skyline forever, Philadelphia's Comcast Center officially opened for business on June 8, 2008. The 975-foot-tall office building is currently Philadelphia's highest structure—not to mention the tallest green building in the country. The building is 100% LEED certified, featuring high-performance, spectrally selective glazing glass walls and atriums to maximize daylight, and an automated light-dimming system and occupancy sensors to reduce energy use. Though the tower boasts a significant physical footprint, its minuscule carbon footprint is truly remarkable. From its waterless urinals to the massive landscape irrigation system that pumps cold water run-off under the lobby and keeps the space cool, the Comcast Center is a marvel of green design. With countless other companies going green right underneath its sweeping shadow, the Comcast Center is an inspiring testament to the vital role business plays in creating an environmentally sustainable community.

Pennsylvania Convention Center

The Pennsylvania Convention Center (PCC) is also an important part of Philadelphia's commercial and cultural landscape, bringing visitors and conventioneers to the city from all parts of the world for conferences, exhibitions, and other events. As the convention center expands, so do its ambitious green initiatives that address air quality, waste minimization, energy efficiency, water conservation, and procurement. PCC’s commitment to going green extends even to its cleaning policy, which calls for the use of products with low environmental impact thus reducing exposure to potentially hazardous contaminants and greatly lowering the building’s overall carbon footprint. The convention center also remains committed to reducing waste and recycling. The PCC already recycles paper, aluminum, glass, plastics, and metal. Cardboard is compacted and recycled from the show floor. The convention center recycled a staggering 189 tons of waste in 2007.

Philagreen Hospitality Association (PGHA) is compromised of hospitality and environmental professionals joined together to encourage and support sustainable ‘green’ business practices. PGHA offers services ranging from using environmentally friendly cleaning products, to reducing waste and energy, to obtaining a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

PECO Building

Long a symbol in the Philadelphia skyline, PECO is going green from the top down, literally, with a 45,000-square-foot living roof atop a section of the headquarters. The living roof is expected to absorb 60 to 70 percent of the estimated 1.5 millions gallons of rainwater that fall on the structure annually. During the green roof's peak growth period in summer, rainwater absorption is projected at 85 percent. During heavy storms, the roof is expected to reduce runoff by at least 50 percent.

The ambient surface temperature of the living roof is expected to be cooler by 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer, compared with the ambient surface temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit on a conventional black roof, according to performance projections. This is a part of PECO's $15.3 million initiative to become more environmentally friendly. The comprehensive program includes the opening of PECO's first 'green building' in West Chester, the installation of a green roof and a new Crown Lights system at the company's Center City headquarters, with the goal of gaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for many company work sites, and environmental and energy efficiency community and customer support.

Furthering its pledge to sustainability, PECO Energy also donated $50,000 to the Free Library of Philadelphia to help the Central Library branch on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway become the largest public building in Philadelphia with green-roof technology. The 5,000-square-foot green roof will soon adorn the historic Beaux Arts building.

Quick Facts

• The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN) sponsors Buy Local Philly, a campaign to support local, independent businesses to keep money in the community.
• The American Commerce Center is slated for completion in 2012 and will be constructed with US Green Building Council LEED Gold Certification in mind.
• For the first time in nearly 100 years, the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania will be constructing a new building with plans to achieve a Platinum Level LEED Certification.
• The Pennsylvania Convention Center (PCC) contributes to saving the environment by using cleaning chemicals that are green seal certified, and by upgrading all restrooms to cut down on waste of water, soap, paper products, and energy.