Premier Recycle partners with Google on sustainable building project

Premier Recycle, a San Jose, California-based construction and demolition (C&D) recycler, recently partnered with XL Construction on Google’s first-ever mass timber building in Sunnyvale, California. 

The innovative project uses a new type of engineered wood that involves layering and laminating smaller pieces of wood together to create larger beams and walls. According to Google, mass timber’s regenerative qualities and its ability to absorb and store carbon over time—a process called carbon sequestration—make it a sustainable and environmentally friendly choice for building. 

It also helps decrease carbon emissions that come from the extraction, production and transportation of traditional building materials. Because of this, 1265 Borregas is projected to have 96 percent fewer embodied carbon emissions than an equivalent steel and concrete structure, when you factor in sequestration over time.

Achieving these climate benefits requires careful attention to the mass timber lifecycle, which is why 100 percent of the structural mass timber lumber we used for 1265 Borregas was procured from responsibly managed forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

In addition to the carbon-reducing properties of mass timber, 1265 Borregas is also an all-electric, LEED Platinum building, and it includes solar panels on its roof, which generate electricity for the building. All of these features work together to advance Google’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions and operate on carbon-free energy 24/7 by 2030.

Premier played a key role in recycling materials for this project, supporting its goal of reducing construction waste. 

“The collaboration between Google, XL Construction and Premier Recycle showcases the impressive results of prioritizing sustainability,” says Premier in a statement announcing the partnership on LinkedIn. 

According to Premier, roughly 580 tons of material was diverted over the course of the project.