Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s corporate office in Des Moines has received LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which makes it the only LEED Platinum certified office building of its size in the world, the company said today in a news release.

Wellmark set a goal to reduce administrative expenses by 5 percent on an ongoing basis, as a direct result of efficiencies gained by moving to this building.

“Cost and paybacks were heavily weighted in every decision concerning Wellmark’s building,” said Dave Southwell, Wellmark chief financial officer. “Without convincing calculations to back them up, this building would not have been built. We expect the building will pay for itself in approximately 10 years. We’ve already realized $10 million in savings, which is halfway to our 5 percent goal.”

Estimated environmental savings include more than 20 percent a year on energy costs, a reduced need for artificial lighting and a ventilation system that provides fresh air without an increase in energy use.

In addition, Wellmark will see a 55 percent reduction in water use; the company will recycle rain water in an underground cistern and reuse it for landscaping and flushing toilets.

Wellmark met these additional recycling goals by:

• Moving two existing buildings from the construction site to new locations;
• Recycling 2.5 million pounds of construction waste;
• Buying products such as carpet, chairs and furniture that are made from recycled materials, or from elements that are recyclable; and
• Using 40 percent fewer copy and fax machines, saving 800 boxes of paper (an entire truckload), 200 toner cartridges and $200,000 per year.

LEED designation works on a point system in which projects earn points for satisfying specific green building criteria that fall into one of six categories.