SAS named NC Green Company of the Year

SAS, the leader in business analytics, has been named Green Company of the Year by the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA). The award, presented on 13 November at the association's annual banquet held in Cary, North Carolina, recognised SAS for its sustainability activities undertaken in 2008.

“This is the first year that NCTA has given an award for Green Company of the Year,” said Brooks Raiford, NCTA President and CEO. “Nominees must have developed a green technology or have implemented a sustainable plan to be more environmentally conscious. While it's fair to say that all of this year's nominees for this category have made remarkable efforts, SAS has certainly set the standard when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint."

“We're very pleased to be honoured for our green efforts,” said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight, “but we're even happier that this category has been created. It's the right thing to do for our future, and in many ways, companies can see a bottom-line benefit from adopting sustainability principles.”

In April, the company launched SAS for Sustainability Management, a solution that helps organisations accurately measure and manage their environmental impact. SAS for Sustainability Management introduces the first decision-support software platform for proactively identifying innovative strategies that effectively address complex environmental, social and economic situations while achieving stakeholder objectives.

This year SAS also constructed a one-megawatt photovoltaic solar array on the SAS headquarters campus in Cary. Scheduled for completion in December, the array will provide sustainably sourced power to the Progress Energy public grid. SAS' solar farm is estimated to generate 1.7 million kilowatt-hours per year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 1 600 tons annually. This is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from the consumption of more than 167 000 gallons of gasoline.

SAS also broke ground this year on a new office building and Executive Briefing Centre built with sustainable construction methods that encourage recycling of materials. It will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for water and energy conservation, and include features such as solar-thermal water heating and regenerative drive elevators.

According to the association, the NCTA 21 Awards celebrate innovation and hi-tech excellence in North Carolina and honour companies and individuals who represent the best and brightest in technology, and have demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation.