ORLANDO, Fla. (April 03, 2014) - Wyndham Vacation Ownership (WVO), the world's largest vacation ownership company and a member of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE: WYN) received its first-ever gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for the company's headquarters building at 6277 Sea Harbor Drive in Orlando, Fla. The certification makes the WVO headquarters the largest LEED-CI (Commericial Interiors) Gold level certified project in the state of Florida and among the largest LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors) 2009 Gold Level Certified Project in the Southeast U.S.

LEED is a third-party certification program and premier benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. It uses a point system to determine the environmental merits of a building, with four levels of certification, depending on how many points the project has earned: Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum. A framework for delivering operational benefits throughout the life of the building, the rating system encourages owners and operators of existing buildings to implement sustainable practices and reduce the environmental impacts of their buildings.  It also allows them to address the major aspects of ongoing building operations and maintenance.

Prior to WVO moving into its new headquarters at the end of 2012, the Sea Harbor Office Center underwent an impressive build-to-suit renovation, including sustainable design and furnishing of an office environment, energy efficiency and superior employee comfort and diversion of construction waste from local landfills. The Sea Harbor Office Center is owned by an affiliate of Lexington Realty Trust.

"Attaining LEED Gold certification for WVO's Orlando corporate headquarters supports our continued commitment to corporate social responsibility and the environment," said Julie MacPherson, vice president, facilities, Wyndham Vacation Ownership. "In 2008 we achieved LEED Silver Certification at another of our Orlando offices  and our recent move provided us with the opportunity to pursue innovative ways to build on our past achievements and maximize our green efforts."   

Receiving 66 points out of 100, WVO achieved Gold Certification through:

  • Reducing its energy use for lighting by 32 percent
  • Reducing its energy use for HVAC by 31 percent
  • Reducing water consumption 41 percent through the use of low-flow toilets, faucets and fitness center showers
  • Diverting 89 percent of construction waste from the landfill
  • Controlling 88 percent of lighting through occupancy sensors
  • Installing a heat reflective ENERGY STAR-rated cool roof
  • Using 97 percent new ENERGY STAR equipment and appliances
  • Maximizing daylight and access to views
  • Low-emitting materials such as paints, sealants, adhesives, flooring, and engineered wood products
  • Implementing an ergonomics program focused on furniture options and associate coaching

At its headquarters in Orlando, Fla., the company uses mostly LED and fluorescent lighting,  is in close proximity to LYNX Bus services, serves sustainable and fair trade Arbor Day Coffee, offers a carpooling program through ReThink Your Commute and provides predominantly shaded garage parking as well as a variety of on-site services, such as a fitness center, staffed health clinic, dry cleaning services, Starbucks and cafeteria.

About Wyndham Vacation Ownership
Wyndham Vacation Ownership , a member of Wyndham Worldwide's (NYSE: WYN) family of companies, is the world's largest vacation ownership business, as measured by the number of vacation ownership resorts, individual vacation ownership units and owners of vacation ownership interests. Wyndham Vacation Ownership develops, markets and sells vacation ownership interests and provides consumer financing to owners through its five primary consumer brands, CLUB WYNDHAM®, WorldMark® by Wyndham, Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, Shell Vacations Club and Margaritaville Vacation Club®. As of December 31, 2012, Wyndham Vacation Ownership had developed or acquired more than 185 vacation ownership resorts throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and the South Pacific that represent more than 23,000 individual vacation ownership units and more than 900,000 owners of vacation ownership interests. Wyndham Vacation Ownership is headquartered in Orlando, Fla., and is supported by more than 15,000 employees globally.

Contact:

Michele Pinnau
Manager, Corporate Communications
407-626-5941
Michele.Pinnau@wyn.com

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