Our showcase green building saves land, water, energy and more...

NRDC's office in Southern California is at the forefront of green building design in the United States. We chose a site in Santa Monica's pedestrian center to take advantage of existing services like transit and to avoid building on undeveloped land. Then we renovated the 1920s structure to conserve water and energy and showcase environmentally sound materials. And on the ground floor, we constructed an environmental learning center. The result: a building that's sustainable, economical, educational and pleasant to work in.

While our L.A. staff was settling in, NRDC received the highest certification available for green building design, a Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program.

The David Family Environmental Action Center in the lobby provides visitors with interactive information about NRDC's history as well as pressing issues such as global warming and ocean protection. At its core is the Leonardo DiCaprio e-Activism Zone with high-speed access to NRDC's online activist network.