Ernst & Young completes massive LED lighting retrofit

Accounting giant Ernst & Young has this month completed a wholesale retrofit of its lighting in its New York headquarters, a project the firm has revealed will save the company an annual total of $1 million (£642,000).

The installation - which saw LED lighting introduced to the New York building in one of the city's biggest ever retrofits - will save the company approximately 2.9 million kilowatt hours of energy each year, reducing the building's carbon emissions by as much as 907 tonnes annually.

And Leisha John, head of environmental sustainability for the American office, said the green outcome of the project is in line with the company's philosophy, and one part of a long-term project to cut waste and fuel costs for the firm.

"Reducing the carbon footprint of our office space is part of our firm-wide strategy to reduce our environmental footprint as our business grows," Ms Johns said.

"By the end of 2012, we plan to have a majority of our employees working in LEED or Energy Star certified space. The completion of this lighting retrofit in the New York office brings us one step closers to that goal, and will part of that office's Energy Star application."

The Times Square-based location is home to around 5,800 of Ernst & Young's worldwide employee base, with the building consuming around 6.2 million kilowatt hours annually through lighting costs.

But according to reports, the new system reduces the company's annual energy use by more than half, with the firm citing a 54 per cent annual saving. As well as the lighting retrofit, the company hopes to extend the eco-friendly solutions to other locations, including a central data centre located in nearby New Jersey.

As Crain's New York noted, the Ernst & Young retrofit marks a trend for big business to make even bigger investments in green solutions to enjoy significant day-to-day savings on the running costs of their facilities.

Realty corporation SL Green is also joining the revolution, with the newspaper reporting four of it's Manhattan-based buildings will be kitted out with over 8,000 new energy-efficient bulbs.