Sustainability

Chubb´s main office, located in São Paulo, offers all the infrastructure to make a sustainable contribution to the environment. The building, Eldorado Business Tower, is one of the few in the world that has got the stamp Green Building in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum category, the agency that certifies environmentally sustainable buildings. It is the first building certified in this category in all Latin America, the eighth in the world and the third outside the United States. The office has systems in operation that make it self-sustainable in the supply of water and electricity. The water used for human consumption comes from two deep tubular wells and receives treatment directly from a station, without relying on the local authority water supply. It has capacity to meet 100% of the energy demand with uninterrupted supply, without relying on the local body.

Other procedures aimed at energy efficiency, such as rational use of water, selective collection, sustainable materials and environmental quality, contribute to a more sustainable world.

• 33% savings in consumption of drinking water, compared to the North American standard.
• 100% savings in drinking water for irrigation.
• 18% savings in energy consumption.
• 74% of all waste generated in the work was diverted from landfills.
• 30% of all material used is from recycled source.
• 50% of all purchased material is locally sourced.
• 95% of all wood certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council).
• 25% reduction in flow and volume of water released in public water system during the rains.

Collection, treatment and use of rainwater for irrigation, washing floors and supply of toilet bowls and urinals in public areas.

• Landscaping specification with native plant species adapted to the local climate as they consume less water.
• Use of water saving equipment, such as toilet bowl with box attached and double drive (3 or 6.6 liters), low flow urinals (0.7 liters per drive) and automatic closing, washbasin taps with automatic closing and taps of general use with flow suppressors.

Low percentage of glass and transparent area in the facade (43%) and use of high performance glasses, reducing the gain of thermal load by the internal environment and, consequently, an increased demand for air conditioning.

• Floors blinds coupled to an innovative system that controls automatically the opening and closing of same, in reason of the incidence of solar radiation in each façade of the building, thus reducing the gain of the thermal load in the façade and avoiding glare in the internal environments.
• Efficient lamps and project developed with low power density in the environments (watts/m2).
• Elevators with call anticipation system and mechanism that recovers energy during braking.
• Building systems properly commissioned, ensuring that they were implemented and tested and that operate in accordance with the project.
• Individual energy measurement system with computerized system for the integrated management of building energy as a whole.
• Enthalpy wheel that benefit from the remaining thermal energy (cold air), which is exhausted from the building, allowing to cool the air that is entering the building, thus reducing energy consumption for air conditioning.
• High performance engines with Procel stamp.
• Innovative air conditioning with VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) system, multi-split system with an external unit (condenser) connected to multiple indoor units (evaporator), ensuring a better air distribution, flexibility of use and the measurement of consumption energy individually by tenants.

• Suitable infrastructure to make selective collection
• Selection and application of materials with high recycled content (30%).
• Materials extracted, processed and manufactured within a radius of 800 km (50%).
• Use of products with FSC certified wood (95%).

• Use of cooling gases for air conditioning system with low potential of aggression to the ozone layer and global warming.
• Ban smoking inside the building and in areas near the air inlets and windows.
• Project developed to obtain a high rate of air circulation in the environment and its filtering through special filters.
• CO2 sensors to monitor and ensure adequate renewal of air in internal environments.
• Selection and purchase of paints, sealants, varnishes and carpets with low emission of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), harmful to the occupant’s health.
• Implementation of an Internal Air Quality Management Plan during the construction stage, ensuring the cleanness of the environment and air conditioning ducts for the occupants.
• Large glazed areas on the façades to ensure the integration of the user with the external environment (90%).