PIDC Receives Sustainability Award for Work at the Navy Yard

by Navy Yard
November 30, 2022

PIDC received the Industry Innovation/Corporate Sustainability Award, which honors environmental excellence, leadership, and accomplishment, from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for more than twenty years of leadership in redeveloping a former military shipyard into a mixed-use campus with a focus on sustainable development.

Kate McNamara, PIDC’s Senior Vice President at the Navy Yard, accepted the award on behalf of PIDC at the 52^nd Annual Environmental Partnership Dinner held in Philadelphia on Nov. 17. Watch the video about the Navy Yard’s sustainability efforts below or on YouTube.

Since PIDC acquired the shipyard on behalf of the City of Philadelphia in 2000, PIDC has remained committed to providing a sustainable, efficient, and green work environment for the 150 businesses on our diverse 1,200-acre campus.

Navy Yard businesses and employees work in adaptively reused buildings or LEED certified new construction, enjoy over 20 acres of open park space that reduces stormwater runoff, and have access to green transit options like Navy Yard buses, Indego bike share, car share, and EV chargers.

Sustainable site operations at the Navy Yard include:

• SOLAR: More than 1,200 solar panels have been installed in our community solar power system that allows companies at the Navy Yard the opportunity to share the benefits of solar power without installing panels on their own property. The Navy Yard Community Solar project was the first of its kind in PA. When fully operational it will produce 930,000 of kWh of clean, reliable, and cost-effective power per year.
• BUILDING RE-USE: PIDC and several private development partners have renovated many of the former Marine and Navy officers’ quarters and historic buildings. These now provide beautiful, historic, and eclectic office space to a wide variety of commercial tenants – examples include URBN Corporate HQ and the reuse of former Marine Barracks and Admiral Quarters.
• HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS: PIDC strongly encourages the design and construction of high-performance, sustainable buildings at the Navy Yard. We require our partners to construct highly sustainable projects that in most instances include LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) certifications, the rating system created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
  In total, 85% of existing buildings are LEED certified buildings, including Philadelphia’s first developer-owned LEED Platinum building built in 2005 and Philadelphia’s first double LEED Platinum building built in 2013.
• STORMWATER MANAGEMENT: We have worked closely with the Philadelphia Water Department’s Watersheds Initiative; the Navy Yard has piloted the use of innovative stormwater management systems. Examples of demonstrated improvements include rain gardens, sidewalk and landscape buffers, and drainage swales, all of which prevent considerable levels of runoff from reaching city sewers.
• ARBORETUM: The Navy Yard was certified as a Level-1 arboretum in 2018 by Arbnet with more than 2,000 trees already established demonstrates the Navy Yard’s commitment to public greenspace, sustainable landscapes, and resiliency. As one of only five arboretums in Philadelphia, it is especially important that the Navy Yard preserves and expands greenspaces at the Navy Yard. By building upon and sustaining green spaces, the Navy Yard can assure that future generations have a place to appreciate nature in an urban environment, while at the same time developing the Navy Yard to create equitable growth, jobs, and accessibility for decades to come.

• FUTURE DEVELOPMENT: As we embark on our $6B, 15-20-year development, we have put sustainability at the forefront by thinking of and planning for:
  • Smart, interconnected system linking multiple transit modes
  • Parking & mobility hubs
  • Expanded transit, including autonomous
  • Enhanced bike & pedestrian amenities
  • Exploring LEED district
  • Incorporating sea level rise and climate change / Elevated buildings and infrastructure
  • Evaluating sustainable power alternatives
  • Pursuing pilot projects for advanced energy management (e.g., building-to-grid tech)
  • Integrated green stormwater management
  • Advanced energy management (e.g., building-to-grid tech)