Episode 11: The Story of Thornburg Investment Management’s Extraordinary LEED Gold Certified Headquarters

Money Conscious with Sasha Millstone

Hi all,

I thought it might be a nice idea to take a little break from the stock and bond markets, so this week I decided to share with you an experience I found inspiring.

Money Conscious Episode 11 is The Story of Thornburg Investment Management’s Extraordinary LEED Gold Certified Headquarters. My guest is Sergio Silva, Facility Manager at Thornburg Investment Management’s 100,000 square foot certified LEED gold headquarters in Santa Fe. Sergio joined the company in 2015 and currently oversees all aspects of building and grounds maintenance, including physical infrastructure, security, testing and inspections, environment, and health and safety requirements. He is dedicated with a passion to ensure that this building reaches the highest possible environmental standards.

I met Sergio recently at a conference hosted by Thornburg, and I was privileged to have him take me on a tour of the headquarters. I was absolutely fascinated as he described the foresight and comprehensive planning that went into the design and construction of this green building. He described how the development of new technologies means that, over time, the building’s energy efficiency is increased, and its environmental impact grows lighter. Always motivated to achieve higher environmental standards, Sergio is mindful about ongoing maintenance and application of new ideas that make a huge impact. This About Green Buildings article delves more into that impact and spotlights how significant green buildings are to solving the problems of climate change.

I asked Sergio to share with my listeners what makes this building such an excellent example of the extraordinary efficiency that can be achieved when businesses choose to make their buildings green.

In today’s episode, Sergio and I share the highlights from my tour, including how:

The building was designed to use 47% less energy and 43% less water than a facility of a typical size.
This building has achieved 100% carbon neutrality. The rooftop installation of solar panels produces a surplus of energy annually, directing the unutilized power from the building back to the local power grid. This clean energy counters Thornburg’s carbon emissions and offsets its carbon footprint.
Passive water harvesting, an underground cistern and an outdoor porous paving system allow the headquarters to reduce outdoor water use and direct cleaner water back into the community.
Significant environmental elements are integrated into the interior and exterior of the building.
Noteworthy interior features include a highly efficient underfloor air delivery system, sensor-controlled T5 lighting, operable windows, low-emitting materials and extensive controlled daylighting to make use of solar energy.
The building honors the beauty of Santa Fe’s natural environment while incorporating the latest in building technology and design.
And much, much more!

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Happy listening!
Sacha

P.S. Consider taking a minute to review the Thornburg Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Annual Report released in June 2022. It contains additional insight on the building and Thornburg’s approach to the environment and sustainability. Pages 20-21 are specific to the building, with additional details throughout the report.

Full Bio for Guest Sergio Silva

This episode’s guest is Sergio Silva, Facility Manager at Thornburg Investment Management’s 100,000 square foot certified LEED gold headquarters in Santa Fe. He is in charge of the building’s physical infrastructure, security, testing and inspections, environment, and health and safety requirements. Before joining Thornburg, Sergio was in the U.S. Navy where, for four years, he led a specialized team of seven troubleshooters over two Operation Enduring Freedom deployments. Earlier in his career, Sergio spent six years as assistant chief engineer at the El Dorado Hotel in Santa Fe and as an avionics electrical depot technician at Santa Fe Aerospace. He has completed extensive coursework in mechanical and electrical engineering and earned certificates of completion from the Naval Air Training Facilities in aviation electrical troubleshooting, wire repair and safety practice, conventional weapons testing and release and wire bundle repair. In 2003, Sergio was named New Mexico Lodging Association Engineer of the Year and during his distinguished career in the Navy, he was awarded three U.S. Navy and Marine Corps achievement medals, a good conduct medal, Sailor of the Quarter and, in 2009, Sailor of the Year Strike Fighter Squadron 115.

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