Bloomberg's Data Center in Upstate NY Has a Rainwater Capture System That Saves Us 5 Million Gallons of Water Annually

May 28, 2018 1:35 PM ET

Originally posted on bloomberg.com/impact.

Bloomberg is always looking for opportunities to reduce water-consumption in our facilities. We used an estimated 122 million gallons of water in 2017, largely driven by our employees and building operations. Accurately quantifying the scale of our global water consumption has proven challenging, but that has not deterred our global water-reduction strategy.

  • Our growing number of LEED- and BREEAM-certified buildings has allowed us to implement water-reduction measures throughout the majority of our key locations globally. Among the innovations we use in our buildings:
  • Our new data center in upstate New York has a rainwater capture system that utilizes rainwater in its HVAC system, saving more than 5 million gallons of water annually.
  • Our new European headquarters, opened in late 2017, employs a variety of water-saving features. The building collects, treats and reuses rainwater from its roof and grey-water from sinks, saving almost 7 million gallons of water per year. Its airline-style vacuum toilets use 75% less water than typical toilets.
  • Low-flow fixtures installed in our 35 LEED/BREEAM offices worldwide provide a projected 37% reduction in water usage over traditional fixtures. With 64% of our employees working in LEED/BREEAM-certified office space, this equates to an annual water savings of more than 5 million gallons.

Click here to read more about Bloomberg's sustainable operations in our 2017 Impact Report.