Waste Management to move headquarters location

Waste Management has recently signed a contract to consolidate its two Houston headquarter locations into what it calls the most sustainable office tower in Texas in 2020.

The New York-based Skanksa USA, which is developing Capitol Tower in Houston, has announced that Waste Management is moving into the building in late 2020. Waste Management will occupy 284,000 square feet across nine floors in the building at 800 Capitol. All of its current employees—roughly 1,000—now work in two locations, and they all will make the move to the new headquarters.

“The move to a new corporate headquarters is one part of our overall efforts to create great spaces for our employees to thrive, and to demonstrate our continued commitment to sustainability,” says Jim Fish, the president and chief executive officer of Waste Management. "This new work space is one of the many ways we are focused on investing in our people. Additionally, the building will be one of the most sustainable office buildings in Houston and supports our company commitments to conserving natural resources."

Skanksa says that when the tower opens in 2019, it will be the most sustainable office tower in the state, using 25 percent less energy than typical baseline facilities. The company adds that the building is one of only four core-and-shell projects in the country to be pre-certified under LEED v4 Platinum.

The building will feature a number of green amenities, including the 24,000-square-foot SkyPark, which Skanksa says is first and largest green roof in Downtown Houston to be open to all building tenants. Other sustainable features include: a 50,000-gallon rainwater collection system for reuse in landscape irrigation and restrooms; 90 percent access to daylight and views for tenants; a façade that significantly reduces solar heat gain; an energy recovery wheel to precondition fresh air intake; and district cooling to provide chilled water throughout the facility, lowering cooling costs.

“The new offices in Houston, which we will move into in late 2020, will provide us with an opportunity to create a unique space that will support our company strategic pillars and drive innovation and the use of technology.  This move is also a reflection of broader initiatives to invest in our people, and creating work environments that reflect our focus on service, safety and community,” Fish says.

Waste Management has also built and upgraded several facilities across its company this year, including opening a $14 million recycling facility in May known as the Sun 14 Recycling Facility in Davie, Florida.  The company has also built a new Driver Training Facility in Bremerton, Washington, which was modeled off of its existing facility in Fort Myers, Florida. Waste Management also invested in a new sales center in Phoenix, Arizona.