April 9, 2015 – The San Francisco Travel Association, the official destination marketing organization for the City and County of San Francisco, has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification for Commercial Interiors from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). 

This distinction is held by only two percent of commercial office spaces in the United States.

“As an organization, we embrace and reflect the values of the destination that we represent – San Francisco.  Environmental responsibility is part of the San Francisco brand so it's a natural extension of creating effective marketing for the city and our partners,” said San Francisco Travel President and CEO Joe D'Alessandro. “When we moved from our old offices, we recognized the opportunity to really 'walk the walk' about being a green business,” he added.

“One of the benefits of our new environment is that the space is very open and filled with natural light.  Everyone gets to enjoy the spectacular views from the 29th floor, which inspire us as we literally tell the world about the beauty, diversity and uniqueness of San Francisco,” D'Alessandro said.

As part of their support of the City of San Francisco's sustainability vision, San Francisco Travel searched for viable buildings located within close proximity to public transportation.  One Front Street was selected for a number of reasons; including the fact it is in the center of downtown San Francisco.  The building had existing LEED certification for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (EBOM).

After extensive construction, San Francisco Travel moved into their new home on the 29th floor at One Front Street in May 2014.

The organizations' new home occupies a little less than 20,000 square feet of open offices, conferencing space, classroom and study space.  Recycling collection points have been placed throughout the space and a green housekeeping policy is in place.  These services are paid for separately by the owner. 

Building materials and furnishings were selected for their recycled content and impact on indoor air quality.   Carpeting is rated Green Label Plus by the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) and contains recycled content.  All flooring is either Floorscore or Greenguard certified and installed with low volatile organic compound (VOC) adhesives and contain recycled content.  All furniture selections have been analyzed for the recycled content and green guard certification status.  None of the millwork contains any added ureaformaldehyde.  All sealants are low VOC.

Water and energy conservation and efficiency are achieved through a variety of features.  Low flow and sensory fixtures and equipment reduce water use by more than 40 percent.  Lighting throughout the offices incorporates motion sensors.  The HVAC systems do not incorporate chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) refrigerants.  Most new equipment and appliances purchased for the project are energy star rated.

Green practices were also employed during the construction phase.    The contractor diverted more than 75% of all the construction waste from the landfill. 

For more than 100 years, the San Francisco Travel Association has worked on behalf of its partners to promote San Francisco as the destination of choice for conventions and leisure travel. The association is an outgrowth of the San Francisco Convention and Tourist League, a non-profit, local business association founded in 1909 to reclaim the City's position as a world-class destination in the wake of the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire.

San Francisco Travel continues that mission today, aggressively marketing and selling San Francisco to attract visitors. San Francisco Travel is a private, not-for-profit, 501(c)6 membership organization, headed by a Board of Directors made up of 45  business leaders from various companies, elected by the membership. Additionally, in 2003, the Association established a 501(c)3 foundation to raise scholarship funds for students enrolled in local hospitality management programs and to produce educational programs.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a voluntary, consensus driven, internationally recognized green building certification system providing third-party verification that a building or community was design and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across metrics such as energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality and resource stewardship.

The goal of the LEED credit system is to allocate points for various green building strategies "based on the potential environmental impacts and human benefits of each LEED Credit." To weight these impacts, the USGBC relies upon the environmental impact categories of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Tools for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) as a basis for weighting each Credit.   Points are distributed across major credit categories.   The Impact Categories used to determine LEED point allocation include:

• Reverse Contributions to Global Climate Change
• Enhance Individual Human Health and Well-Being
• Protect and Restore Water Resources
• Protect, Enhance and Restore BioDiversity and Ecosystems
• Promote Sustainable and Regenerative Material Resources Cycles
• Build a Greener Economy
• Enhance Social Equity, Environmental Justice, and Community Quality of Life
   

For more information on qualifying for LEED certification, visit www.usgbc.org.

The San Francisco Travel Association is a private, not-for-profit organization that markets the city as a leisure, convention and business travel destination.  With some 1,500 partner businesses, San Francisco Travel is one of the largest membership-based tourism promotion agencies in the country. Tourism, San Francisco's largest industry, generates in excess of $9.38 billion annually for the local economy and supports more than 76,800 jobs.

The San Francisco Travel business offices are located at One Front St., Suite 2900, San Francisco, CA 94111. 

San Francisco Travel also operates the Visitor Information Center at Hallidie Plaza, 900 Market Street at the corner of Powell and Market streets. For more information, call 415-974-6900 or visit www.sanfrancisco.travel.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) offers non-stop flights to more than 34 international cities on 29 international carriers. The Bay Area's largest airport connects non-stop with 78 cities in the U.S. on 15 domestic airlines. SFO is proud to offer upgraded free Wi-Fi with no advertising. For up-to-the-minute departure and arrival information, airport maps and details on shopping, dining, cultural exhibitions, ground transportation and more, visit www.flysfo.com.  Follow SFO on www.twitter.com/flysfo and www.facebook.com/flysfo.

American Express® is the official Card partner of the San Francisco Travel Association.

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