Taipei 101, the world’s tallest office building and tallest “green” skyscraper, launched the nation’s first “green” lease initiative yesterday in a bid to get its biggest tenants to commit to environmental protection.
Taipei 101 was recognized earlier this year by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a globally recognized green building ranking system of the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
Its management said it hopes to encourage cooperation with its tenants in environmental efforts.
As part of these efforts, a “green” lease was signed with the building’s largest tenant, KPMG, the local affiliate of KPMG International Cooperative.
Under the terms of the 10-year lease, KPMG will use various methods to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, electricity, waste and water use, although it is under no obligation to actually do so.
The company has been asked to collect rainwater to water its office plants, to sort kitchen waste and to request cleaning contractors use environmentally friendly cleansing products.
“Before, it was mainly a one-way effort,” said Cathy Yang (楊文琪), vice president of Taipei Financial Center Corp (台北金融大樓公司), which owns the building.
“Now we want participation from our tenants to make the green operation of Taipei 101 sustainable,” she said.
However, Yang admitted that the lease — designed by the corporation with reference to USGBC guidelines — falls short of setting measurable goals and is not legally binding.
“We are not going to kick out our tenants because they fail to cut down their waste,” Yang said.
Taipei Financial Center Corp sees the “green” lease as a tool for raising “corporate social responsibility,” she said, adding that it hopes to sign more such leases.
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