MassMutual garners acknowledgement for energy efficient buildings

Date: 5/24/2011

SPRINGFIELD — Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) announced that it has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Existing Buildings at its corporate office in Springfield. The LEED Rating System was designed by the U.S. Green Building Council to encourage and facilitate the development of more sustainable buildings. LEED is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

"Achieving the LEED Silver Certification is in the best interest of our company, employees and policyholders, and it is something that we are very proud of," Roger Crandall, chairman, president and CEO of MassMutual, said. "This certification is a strong validation of MassMutual's commitment to the environment, ensuring that we continue to operate efficiently while reducing our carbon footprint and keeping the Earth beautiful for generations to come."

MassMutual earned the award for its main building at company headquarters at 1295 State St. in Springfield. The project was a two-year effort to ensure the building, which was built in 1927 with multiple additions over the years, is operating in a highly efficient and environmentally-friendly manner.

MassMutual achieved LEED certification for improvements to its energy usage, lighting, and water usage as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. By using fewer natural resources, LEED certified buildings save money for families, businesses and tax-payers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for resi-dents, workers and the larger community.

"Building operations are nearly 40 percent of the solution to the global climate change challenge," Rick Fedrizzi, pres-ident, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council, said. "While climate change is a global problem, innovative companies like MassMutual are addressing it through local solutions."

LEED certification of MassMutual's headquarters was based on the adoption of a number of sustainable building operations, processes and system upgrades. Including:

• Green site and building exterior management.
  
  
• Promoting public transportation, car pooling and telecommuting.
  
  
• Providing bicycle storage and shower/changing facilities.
  
  
• Optimizing energy performance by reducing use of electricity, gas and oil through utilization of solar energy and conservation measures.
  
  
• Reducing water usage through utilization of high-efficient/low-flow plumbing fixtures through-out the facility.
  
  
• Waste management and recycling programs.
  
  
• Green cleaning and low environmental impact pest management.

"These improvements will not only help us to protect the environment, but it will also lower operating costs, increase efficiencies and provide a healthier work environment for our employees," Crandall noted.

Founded in 1851, Mas-sMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyholders. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policy-holders every year since the 1860s.

With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company's strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long-term.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Mass-achusetts MassMutual and its affiliated companies and sales representatives.

MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Corner-stone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Com-pany; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC, member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

For more information, visit www.massmutual.com.

The Washington, D.C.,-based U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.

With a community comprising 80 local affiliates, more than 18,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 155,000 LEED Professional Credential holders, U.S. Green Building Council is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2009 to 2013.

The council leads an unlikely diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and non-profit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students.

Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39 percent of CO2 emissions, 40 percent of energy consumption, 13 percent water consumption and 15 percent of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity.

Greater building efficiency can meet 85 percent of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.

The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED green building certification system is the foremost program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. More than 32,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems, comprising over 9.6 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 114 countries.

By using less energy, LEED-certified buildings save money for families, businesses and tax-payers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.

The council was co-founded by Fedrizzi, who spent 25 years as a Fortune 500 executive.

Under his 15-year leadership, the organization has become the preeminent green building, membership, policy, standards, influ-ential, education and research organization in the nation.

For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.