Leading From the Front: Bloomberg Scores 3 Sustainability Awards

At Bloomberg, we believe that operating sustainably is just smart business. That’s why we continue to stress the notion that a company doesn’t have to trade business success for sustainability efforts. We practice what we preach by pursuing innovative approaches to demonstrate success – and challenge other companies to do the same.

“This is about creating value – value for the business and value for society,” says head of Sustainable Business and Finance Curtis Ravenel in a press release about Bloomberg’s recognition as the Sustainable Business & Enterprise Roundtable’s Outstanding Corporate Leader of 2014. That’s just one of three recognitions our company recently received for our sustainability efforts. Bloomberg also received an “A” for Climate performance from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and became the second company ever to receive LEED Gold recognition for New Construction Data Centers.
Here’s how Bloomberg won all three sustainability awards:

“A” for Climate Performance by the CDP
CDP works with companies to catalyze action toward a more sustainable world. Each year, companies are scored based on the level of action reported on climate mitigation, adaption, and transparency. In January, Bloomberg was awarded an “A” for climate performance. The reward is due, in part, to how we operate every day.

“Sustainability started out as a side project for Supply Chains and then became integrated in our culture,” says Jack Davis, global manager of Supply Chain. “When Bloomberg ships b-units or computer monitors, we ship on ocean freights instead of planes,” says Davis. This is just one example of how, since 2008, we have focused on shifting our logistics profile to more environmentally-friendly modes of transport without compromising service levels. In that time, we have increased shipments via sea by almost 200% and reduced freight shipped via air by almost 20%, resulting in savings in excess of $1 million and lower CO2 emissions – it’s a win-win for the environment and the company’s bottom line.

Sustainability Roundtable
Bloomberg was recognized by the Sustainable Business & Enterprise Roundtable as the 2014 Outstanding Corporate Leader. Factors contributing to this recognition include the fact that the company’s commitment to the environment is a Chairman’s office initiative, that Bloomberg has goals to reduce emissions by 20% by 2020, that we integrate decision-useful sustainability information into our products and services, and that we have achieved a 67% reduction in waste – among other initiatives.

“Our warehouses started to question what do we throw away and where was our waste going? We realized there is a market for reducing waste,” says Supply Chain’s Bill Vincent. Over the last five years, Bloomberg has recycled a staggering 604,000 pounds (207 metric tons) of cardboard and plastic globally. Our recycling efforts reduce standard waste collection fees and generate revenue from recycled waste.

The LEED v4 Gold Status Award
“This is the first time Bloomberg has pursued a sustainability award for developing a data center,” says Dave Wildman, who manages Facilities’ infrastructure. Bloomberg is just the second company to be awarded the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for New Construction Data Centers. This rating is the fourth version of LEED and represents the first time LEED has a specific rating for data centers. We participated in the beta program to ensure we built our facility to the highest standard and to provide feedback to LEED to assist in the development of the new ratings system.

“Adam Hansen led the Orangeburg Data Center construction project and he had to deliver a super green facility on a tight budget,” Dave says. “It was tough, but we got it done. We are honored to be recognized as an industry leader.”