BNY Mellon has announced that its Northpointe Data Center located north of Pittsburgh, was awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) coveted Energy Star. Northpointe is currently among the first data centers listed in the EPA's entire 11,000-plus registry of commercial properties to meet the stringent energy-efficiency specifications designed to promote superior energy use and performance, and prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

"It's by design that our on-going sustainability and energy conservation efforts have resulted in this new and significant data center Energy Star designation as we grow our business in an environmentally sustainable way," said Chip Logan, managing director, BNY Mellon facilities services and sustainability. "Together with our partners, we've implemented a program of continuous improvement that supports our high standards for energy use and even higher regard for the environment."

A team of professionals from BNY Mellon, Jones Lang LaSalle, H.F. Lenz, and Mechanical Operations Company, Inc., worked collaboratively to reach a level of energy efficiency at the 71,000 sq-ft data center built in 2006, which supports the company's commitment to environmental sustainability while also reducing operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with electrical usage. The team focused on utility improvements and successfully implemented a variety of solutions so that the center's critical systems such as the power and cooling supply remain in synch with the workload.

The EPA's national energy performance rating system provides a scale from one to 100, which helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to other buildings nationwide. Those earning the Energy Star use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and they also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Only buildings that score a rating of 75 or higher on the rating scale as verified by engineers are eligible for the Energy Star indicating that BNY Mellon's Northpointe data center is more energy efficient than most data centers.

"As one of the first few data centers in the registry, this achievement is even more significant," said William Stanley, managing director, BNY Mellon Technology Services Group. "Sustainability and smart business decisions are a good match. We've adopted new operating solutions to minimize energy use, reducing the overall carbon footprint of this building that have no impact whatsoever on the company's critical information technology infrastructure. " The new recognition is particularly noteworthy since BNY Mellon is also a member of The Green Grid, a global consortium of IT and related companies and professionals seeking to improve energy efficiency in data centers and business computing environments around the world.