Lafarge North America opened doors at its new headquarters in Reston, Va. The space has been designed to maximize the use of recycled materials and create a space that will use electricity, water and other resources in a more efficient manner. “Moving to our new office has given us the opportunity to reduce our square footage, reduce our fixed costs and most importantly, increase the energy efficiency of our North American headquarters,” said Yvon Brind’Amour, senior vice president of finance for Lafarge North America.

The company’s search for new office space started more than one year ago. The move committee surveyed more than 20 potential sites and actively negotiated with five potentials before deciding on the office space in Reston. Lafarge was able to save more than 30 percent in rental costs in the new building, while gaining an office space that is better designed for their smaller, more mobile and more environmentally-conscious workforce.

Moving into a new office space gave Lafarge the opportunity to create a more sustainable office space with a lower carbon footprint. These sustainable features, many which feature Lafarge products, include:

Interior concrete walkways with lower release of volatile organic compounds compared to carpet walkways which rely on glue and other high-VOC materials

Lafarge synthetic gypsum wallboard which uses 99 percent recycled material

A sustainable design focused on allowing more natural light inside, resulting in lower demand for artificial lighting

Thermal monitoring ensuring different sections of the building are being heated and cooled individually without any wasted energy.

Water-efficient toilets, sinks and other products which result in a 30 percent reduction in water usage.

Motion sensor activated lights that automatically shut off when there is no movement in an area for a given period of time

In addition, more than 90 percent of the construction waste from the company’s headquarters will be recycled.