Sony has gone green! Sony Electronics headquarters in San Diego received the U.S. Green Building Council Institude LEED-Gold certification, joining a family of over 18,000 member organizations and companies.

In the Sony Electronics official Press Release, Ed Cotter, Executive Vice President of Sony Electronics said, “When we began laying out initial plans for our headquarters, we knew we wanted ‘green’ to play a major role in its construction.  As a major consumer electronics company, we take sustainability very seriously and seek out efforts to reduce our environmental footprint wherever possible.”

With so many companies globally trying to go green, I feel it’s very impressive when large electronic companies make decisions and changes to help the environment; yet another reason why I’m such a fan of Sony.  Some of the building’s new green design elements include:

• Solar Panels over the parking garage
• Low-flow water fixtures
• Light sensors and 140 parking spaces reserved for carpools and fuel-efficient cars
• 80 bicycle racks
• The building was designed to use mostly natrual light and capture 90% of storm water runoff from the site.

Sony is also purchasing renewable energy credits (equivalent to 70 percent of total annual energy costs) to ensure that headquarters stays a carbon neutral site.