Sabre campus one of largest US facilities to receive LEED designation
SOUTHLAKE, TX – April 9, 2008 -Sabre Holdings received a special certificate from the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, as part of a five-year celebration commemorating the designation of its global headquarters campus as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building. The Southlake-based facility is one of the largest in the U.S. to receive a silver award from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program.
A special certificate was presented to Dean Sanderson, vice president of Corporate Real Estate for Sabre Holdings, who, seven years ago, had the vision to create an environmentally friendly facility at a time when the construction industry was just beginning to explore sustainable facilities.
“Rather than just celebrate what we have already accomplished, we wanted to use this occasion as a way to encourage all of our employees to take the environment personally,” Sanderson said. “We want our employees – whether they are part of this campus or are located in any of worldwide facilities – to get personally involved and look for opportunities that they can make a difference. We find that most people do want to contribute – they just don’t always know what they can be doing on a personal level – so that’s what we focused on for this celebration.”
Some of these suggestions include: turning off their computers nightly, using refillable water bottles and coffee mugs, and refraining from using disposable items like Styrofoam cups and food containers. Sabre employees currently participate in daily paper, plastic and aluminum recycling programs. In addition, during the celebration, employees signed up to participate in the company’s Ride-Share program that earns wellness points for participants that can be applied to reduce their co-payment benefit costs.
These initiatives are organized by Sabre’s Southlake Employee Sustainability Committee, which is working with the company’s Corporate Real Estate group to explore future certifications for ongoing sustainable building operation.
The Sabre campus environmental efforts include:
- Incorporating several energy and water conservation practices, including the use of natural lighting, low-energy fluorescent lighting, low- or no-water appliances in the restrooms, and landscaping comprised of low-water, heat-tolerant native plants, to name just a few examples.
- Fifty percent of the building’s materials used for Sabre’s headquarters are from recycled content, the exteriors are comprised of locally available stone, rooms are wired with motion sensor lighting and daylight is maximized for workplace lighting energy conservation, among other features.
- Recycling: In 2006 alone, the Southlake campus recycled 98.52 tons and several other offices participated in recycling initiatives. And we continue to focus on identifying recycling and waste management opportunities at our larger offices.
The environmental focus at the Sabre campus is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program. The company has initiated a number of other programs in recent years which include:
- Travelocity was the first major travel agency to offer travelers the option to purchase carbon offsets when booking a vacation package by contributing to the Conservation Fund’s Go Zero program. Through Go Zero, 100 percent of every donation goes toward planting native trees to absorb and reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In 2006 alone, Go Zero donations helped the Conservation Fund plant nearly 10,000 trees, mostly in the Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana.
- Through lastminute.com’s Carbonwise program, customers can exclusively fund two sustainable energy projects that reduce CO2. When booking a flight, a calculator indicates how much carbon that flight will generate and how much it will cost to “neutralize” the trip. With Carbonwise, Sabre has now offset 20,000 tons with 15 percent of flight-only customers adopting it. That’s the equivalent of all UK households switching off their lights for three hours.
- In 2007, GetThere launched GetThere Green, a set of enhancements that facilitate the implementation of sustainability policies into managed online travel programs, including tools that help educate business travelers on carbon emissions. GetThere earned a commendation from the U.K.’s Institute of Travel Management in October 2007 for this set of enhancements.
- • Sabre Airline Solutions’ consultants and experts work with airlines around the world on fuel savings engagements. Every gallon of fuel we save our clients keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released in the atmosphere. Thanks to Airline Solutions’ Dispatch Manager Solution, which allows flight planning based on Variable Cost Index and takes into consideration current and forecast winds as well as specific aircraft performance data, a growing airline in India is saving on average 500 Kilos (176 gallons) of jet fuel per flight.
About Sabre Holdings
Sabre Holdings connects people with the world’s greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. Sabre Holdings supports travelers, travel agents, corporations, government agencies and travel suppliers through its companies: Travelocity, Sabre Travel Network and Sabre Airline Solutions. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, the company has approximately 9,000 employees in 59 countries and is owned by private equity firms Silver Lake Partners and TPG. More information is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com.