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Sustainability

A Pioneer in Sustainable Development

Irvine Company has been a pioneer in sustainable development with environmental stewardship at its core since the company’s founding in 1864. And, when the company made the historic decision to master plan The Irvine Ranch in Orange County, Calif. in the late 1950s, environmental stewardship was an inseparable component of that process as well.

Today our commitment to environmental stewardship is stronger than ever. Our teams of dedicated specialists take great pride in managing and caring for the environmental impact of our portfolio through water, energy and waste conservation and achieve significant savings across our entire portfolio. Our efforts range from the everyday—installing high-efficiency plumbing at hundreds of our properties—to the grand—preservation of more than 57,500 acres of open space and parks (more than 60% of the 93,000-acre Irvine Ranch).

We launched the world’s first fleet of hybrid-electric office buildings. We are No. 1 owner of Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED)-certified buildings (first in California with over 80 office buildings); and we hold the No. 1 ranking nationwide by the Environmental Protection Agency for energy-efficient buildings.

Each day, we continually seek ways to balance community needs with those of the environment throughout the company’s entire portfolio of office, apartment, retail and resort holdings in Orange County, San Diego, West Los Angeles, and Silicon Valley.

Hybrid Office Building

Energy Efficiency

As a long-term owner, we are committed to investing in energy efficiency because it’s good for the environment and for business.

Irvine Company is California’s largest Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) portfolio owner. More than 60 office towers totaling 18.4 million square feet have been awarded LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council in the “LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance” category—a designation reserved for the highest performing, most sustainable buildings. Platinum LEED also has been awarded to the 71 South Wacker building in Chicago and the 101 West Broadway building in San Diego.

In 2015, Irvine Company launched an initiative to become the world’s first major real estate company to create—in partnership with Advanced Microgrid Solutions—a fleet of hybrid-electric buildings powered by state-of-the-art energy storage systems from Tesla Energy. The hybrid-electric buildings reduce peak-energy consumption from local utilities, ease the need for additional power plants, reduce electricity costs and provide back-up power during grid outages.

The company’s portfolio of ENERGY STAR-certified office buildings ranked No. 1 nationally and in California among all building owners in terms of total number of buildings certified for 2015. An ENERGY STAR partner, 100% of Irvine Company high-rise properties have achieved ENERGY STAR certification; 102 office buildings received ENERGY STAR certification for 2015.

Irvine Spectrum Center

Recycling

Irvine Company’s commitment to sustainability can be seen in the wide variety of recycling programs it has initiated:

  • Fashion Island diverts almost all trash from landfills.
  • Neighborhood and community retail centers, Irvine Spectrum Center® and The Market Place recycle more than half of onsite waste.
  • Restaurant grease from retail centers is recycled.
  • Apartment communities recycle universal waste (items such as fluorescent lamps, batteries and lighting ballasts).
  • “E”-cycle programs at office properties pick up and dispose of electronic or “e” waste.
  • Residential jobsite materials are recycled during construction.
  • At Hotel Irvine, food waste is taken to a facility where it is converted into biofuel for trash trucks.
  • At our retail centers, all vendors and center-owned security and maintenance vehicles use alternative fuel and equipment.
  • Pelican Hill’s green waste is removed by a certified vendor and used to create compost.
  • Recycled paper is standard in all restrooms.
  • All chemicals are “Green Seal™–GS 37” certified.
  • Chemicals are purchased in concentrates to reduce packaging.
  • Vacuum cleaners meet the Carpet & Rug Institute “Green Label” test, which means they have been tested and certified by an independent laboratory and have met stringent criteria for low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.
  • Paints, carpets and adhesives with low VOCs are used in office buildings.
Irvine Company Water Conservation Experts

Water Conservation

Our Water Conservation Task Force, comprised of in-house water experts, meets regularly to report on progress, discuss new conservation approaches that are working, and to coordinate large-scale projects across our portfolio. This is a complex challenge, in part because our newer properties already have state-of-the-art water conservation systems that make additional reductions more difficult. But we are committed to make permanent changes and embrace an even stricter conservation ethic to better live with the new reality of life in a drought-threatened state. We’ve taken significant steps which have enabled us to aggressively reduce water use at our properties.