Sustainability Roundtable Inc. Recognized Karen Cochran of PG&E as SBER’s Outstanding Executive 2013

At SR Inc’s Q4 Executive Symposium on Sustainable Optimization and Innovation: Advanced Sustainability Strategy held at Member-Client Nokia’s campus in San Diego, Karen Cochran was recognized as the “Sustainable Business & Enterprise Roundtable’s Outstanding Executive 2013,” for her outstanding leadership as Real Estate Sustainability Strategist at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Ms. Cochran has continued her work to aggressively pursue reductions in energy use to reduce the environmental impact of PG&E’s commercial buildings and facilities, and to align PG&E’s corporate goals with ENERGY STAR and LEED frameworks. 

SR Inc chose Ms. Cochran as Outstanding Executive 2013 due to her continued work to reduce the environmental impact of PG&E’s commercial buildings and facilities, specifically her leadership in developing life cycle replacement and design standards, which require all of PG&E’s projects to meet a minimum level of energy efficiency (based on LEED). The performance of these guidelines will be monitored with sub-metering and bill management systems, which are already in place. Additionally, this year, Ms. Cochran oversaw the remodeling of PG&E’s 145,000-square-foot San Francisco Service Center Garage, which was awarded a LEED Platinum certification. Sustainable design features of the Center include:

• A solar power array that produces 165,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually
• Seismic reinforcements that utilize a new design technique requiring 65 percent less material
• Mechanical system upgrades that include new digital controls, energy efficient equipment, and outside air ventilation
• Materials, including paint, adhesives, flooring, ceiling tiles, and countertops that emit low to no greenhouse gases
• Water from a natural underground stream that is redirected to cool mechanical systems and flush toilets

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