Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has announced that it has been awarded LEED Gold certification for its new Limerick plant. It is the first medical device manufacturing building to be LEED certified to the Gold level under LEEDv4 in Ireland.
LEED, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. Edwards Lifesciences is committed to achieving excellence in its operations and communities. The company is working to ensure that its new buildings are designed in a manner that is environmentally friendly, intelligent, and equipped with the latest advances in efficiency.
“We are proud to have the first medical device manufacturing building to receive this level of certification in the country. Our new Limerick plant was designed to improve the employee experience, as well as reduce the building’s carbon footprint. The building is powered by 100% renewable electricity and will be carbon neutral and zero waste-to-landfill. The building also features open work areas, and recreational spaces for our employees to enjoy. We want our employees to feel comfortable in the building, and we want to make it easy for them to behave in an environmentally friendly way,” says Andrew Walls, Edwards’ general manager for its manufacturing facilities in Ireland.
180 bicycle racks with showers and changing facilities have been built to promote alternative commuting and the parking lot is equipped with electric vehicle charging stations. The building has capacity for three ISO 7 clean rooms, laboratories, a cafeteria, gym, and external athletic courts. A rainwater harvesting system for reuse of non-potable water will allow the company to reduce its water consumption by 60%.
At the new plant, employees will be responsible for the manufacture of breakthrough innovative heart valve therapies and life-saving medical technologies.
