Bank of America Opens First Banking Center Built to Meet Highest LEED Green Building Standards

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its $20 billion environmental commitment, Bank of America has opened one of the most environmentally-responsible bank branches in the nation, featuring a solar paneled roof, insulation made of recycled blue jeans and counters comprised of pressed wheat.

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Located in Adelanto, the banking center was designed to achieve "Platinum" certification, the highest standard in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. No other retail bank branch in the U.S. has achieved this certification level.

"Bank of America has a legacy of environmental leadership going back two decades, and this banking center shows our continued commitment," said Raquel Gonzalez, regional executive for Bank of America's Community West region. "We believe this will be the future of banking centers."

In its $20 billion environmental commitment, announced in March, Bank of America committed $1.4 billion to achieve LEED certification in all new construction of offices and banking centers. The Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park in Manhattan, scheduled to be completed in 2008, is designed to be one of the world's most environmentally-responsible skyscrapers. It also is striving to achieve Platinum LEED certification.

Green elements of the banking center include: Solar Energy: The roof is comprised of 64 photovoltaic solar panels that generate 18 Kw of power, enough for 60% of the site's energy needs. This solar generation facility also exceeds California energy standards for commercial buildings by 60%. Recycled Materials: More than 20% of construction materials is from recycled materials, including 100% insulation made of old blue jeans, and counters made of wheat byproducts, including kernels and chaff. Reduced Water Usage: Drip irrigation, low-water landscaping and low- flush plumbing enables the site to reduce water usage by 40% compared to traditional banking centers. High Efficiency Equipment: All windows are high-efficiency, as is the cooling system.

The banking center, which opened its doors to customers on December 12, was designed by Gensler, a leading global design, planning and strategic consulting firm specializing in sustainability. It took approximately six months to build. A second banking center, designed to meet LEED Gold certification standards, is scheduled to open mid-2008 in Los Angeles.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 57 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,700 retail banking offices, more than 17,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 23 million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 175 countries and has relationships with 99 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 80 percent of the Fortune Global 500. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Member FDIC.