This case study was organized by Leonardo Academy, based on information provided by Jim Bullock, theDirector of Facilities of the J. Paul Getty Trust. It focuses on the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California.  The building is LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) Certified.

The Getty Center is located west of the San Diego Freeway and south of Sepulveda Pass corridor in Los Angeles, California.  This one million square foot building opened in November 1997 and was LEED-EB Certified in January 2005.  LEED-EB has been an effective tool for maintaining and operating the Getty Center in a sustainable way. 

Green Practices
The Getty Center employs a variety of green practices that save money and reduce the building’s environmental impact.

Cost saving initiatives
The Getty Center has saved money through the incorporation of several LEED-EB practices, including the use of water efficient irrigation techniques.  Energy savings have resulted from the use of compact fluorescent lamps and modified lighting schedules.  Parking structures have carbon monoxide monitors that are used to mange the ventilation of the parking structures and lights are staged by level. 

Green site & building exterior
The Green Site & Building Exterior Plan incorporates the use of low water consumption native plants that minimize erosion, dust, visual impact, and wildfire hazard. The Getty Center uses periodic rental of a goat herd to help manage fuel levels on rugged slopes. Approximately 300 goats are on site for two months of each year to reduce the vegetation load.

Green interior
Daylighting has been an important focus due to the daylighting initiative that was in place when the building was constructed.  Building managers encourage the visual connection to the outdoors that appropriate daylighting and views bring to occupants.

The Getty Center formalized their existing cleaning practices into green cleaning practices.  The cleaning process is important to their mission and involves selecting gentle products and minimizing pollutant sources to minimize any potential impacts on the art work in the building.

The Getty Center currently diverts approximately 40% of waste generated from the landfill through recycling.

Management tools and systems
Getty Center building operators use a variety of computer programs and systems to assist them with efficient building management. A Staefa System is used for the building management system and Archibus is used to determine distances and acreage. Maximo, a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), is used to mange the performance of numerous tasks for energy and atmosphere credits including:

• Generating preventive and corrective maintenance work orders (PM/CM)
• Tracking equipment history
• Maintaining an inventory of maintenance parts and supplies
• Maintaining job plans
• Tracking the status of work orders
• Collecting data on maintenance jobs

The Work Management System creates reports for each shop, including:

• Maintenance
• Electrical
• HVAC
• Central Plant
• Grounds
• Logistics (Shipping/Receiving, Mail Services, and Warehouse)
• Audio Visual Services

For each shop the Work Management System reports describe:

• Planned vs. unplanned work (Coverage)
• Job estimates vs. actuals (Productivity)
• Overtime
• Backlog
• Cancellations (PM Compliance)
• Work distribution

Benchmarking Activities
Benchmarking involves tracking operating costs including utilities, custodial, building maintenance, security, and grounds, and comparing these costs with a group of 35 other museums.  The benchmarking effort is useful in identifying best practices, and other opportunities for improvement.

Spreadsheets to Log Usage

• Log all fluorescent lamps purchased and track picograms of mercury per lumen-hour relative to the LEED-EB Compliant lamp purchasing plan for the building
• Log all cleaners and paper products purchased
• Track utility bills
• Record and classify parking spaces
• LEED-EB checklist

Alternative Transportation Activities to Reduce the Environmental Impacts of Building Occupant Commuting
The Getty Center has a very aggressive alternative transportation program. The Getty GO intranet site allows for the tracking of the Getty Center’s alternative transportation program.  There are carpools that get TOH parking, vanpools, and subsidized bus cards.  Incentives for alternative transportation use include $25 gift certificates for every 25 days of using alternative transportation and one personal day for every 100 days.  Alternative work schedule and rideshare results have resulted in 1.6 staff per vehicle trip.

Governor’s Rideshare Commendation

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently presented the Getty with a commendation for the Getty rideshare program, which has exceeded state and national rideshare goals.  The current goal of most rideshare programs is a 1.5 average vehicle ridership.  However, only 20 percent of companies across the country meet this goal.  The Getty, with the help of staff, has exceeded this marker with a 1.6 average vehicle ridership.

Road Map Going Forward for its Sustainability Journey
The Getty Center is using LEED-EB as the road map for its sustainability journey. The Getty Center strategy has been to use the initial LEED-EB certification application to benchmark the building’s current (at that time) level of sustainability of operations and to use each subsequent recertification application as opportunities to set increasingly higher sustainability goals and each recertification awarded to track the achievement of these higher goals.

Implementing this strategy, the Getty Center earned used LEED-EB Certification at the ‘Certified” Level in January 2005. The Getty Center was the fist building to earn certification under LEED-EB 2.0.

Sustainable Sites
Explore possibility of earning heat island effect reduction credit for the roofing with the existing white marble gravel roof surface.

Energy and Atmosphere
Increase staff education to reduce energy use.

Materials and Resources
Increase the amount of construction waste that is recycled to 75%.
Increase occupant recycling to over 40% of the waste stream.
Have 90% of annual purchases be IAQ compliant products.
Have 90% of annual cleaning product purchases be sustainable products.

Indoor Environmental Quality
Provide increased lighting controllability for building occupants.
Increase daylighting and views.

The sustainability road map continues following Silver Certification as the Getty Center will continue to make building improvements toward LEED-EB Gold Certification in 2008/2009. Additional credit areas and actions that they will be striving for include:

Sustainable Sites
Mitigate onsite stormwater.

Energy and Atmosphere
Increase building systems monitoring and incorporate enhanced metering.

Materials and Resources
Have 10% of annual purchases be composed of alternative materials.

Indoor Environmental Quality Increase ventilation and outdoor air delivery.
Document the productivity impacts of high indoor environmental quality.
Increase controllability of temperature & ventilation systems.

For more information on the Getty Center and its sustainability practices and goals, please contact:
Jim Bullock
310-440-6425
jbullock@getty.edu