San Francisco Admirals Club – Built With Sustainability In Mind

Our LEED certified Admirals Club welcomes San Francisco travelers.

In April, American opened a brand-new Admirals Club lounge in the newly renovated Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Built with sustainability in mind, the SFO Admirals Club is anticipated to receive the prestigious LEED Silver certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s (LEED) Commercial Interiors classification.

American’s new lounge is designed to reflect the unique charm of the San Francisco Bay Area and showcases the welcoming scenery of Northern California. Upon arrival, guests are greeted with natural colored walls accented by recessed panels of bamboo wood – a subtle reference to the influence of the Asian culture in the Bay Area – and reconstituted zebra wood. A decorative built-in natural gas fireplace evokes hospitality.

To maintain a high level of sustainability, numerous environmentally friendly features are incorporated in the design of the SFO Admirals Club.  A few of these environmentally friendly features include:

• Water Use Reduction – Thoughtful selection of low-flow water fixtures reduce water use by 20 percent thereby reducing the burden on municipal water supply and wastewater systems
• Air Quality Improvement - Heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems use no chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-based refrigerants, which helps reduce stratospheric ozone depletion
• Energy Reduction – Innovative design of mechanical systems and electrical systems, and equipment energy specifications help reduce environmental and economic impacts associated with excessive energy use
• Waste Reduction - Construction and demolition debris were redirected back into the manufacturing process, reducing disposal in landfills and incineration facilities by 75 percent
• Recycled Content – Building products that incorporate with recycled content were used in construction and materials throughout the Club, including furniture and furnishings, use recycled content
• Recyclables Collection -   An aggressive recycling program reduces waste generated by travelers and employees
• Alternative Transportation – Travelers have convenient access to a pedestrian bridge to the AirTrain, which connects to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)

While the SFO Admirals Club is the first and only LEED Silver-registered lounge, American is committed to identifying and implementing sustainability programs to reduce its environmental footprint at other lounges as well.

ReCORK America
In 2009, the Admirals Club began partnering with ReCORK America and Sodexo to begin a recycling program to reduce the number of wine corks that end up in landfills.  This initiative, offered in every domestic Admirals Club lounge plus the San Juan location, recycles natural wine corks used by the clubs or brought into the clubs by customers, by donating them to ReCORK America.  In turn, ReCORK America sends the corks to manufacturers that can turn them into items, such as shoe soles or flooring.  To date, Admirals Clubs have donated over 30,000 corks.

One Bottle One Tree
Customers enjoying the lounge’s complimentary Club Choice wine selections are joining American in its efforts to promote a “greener tomorrow.”  Each bottle of Trinity Oaks wines purchased by the Admirals Club lounge contributes to the distribution of tree seeds around the world.  Since November 2010, the Admirals Club, in conjunction with the Trinity Oaks One Bottle One Tree program, has planted almost 40,000 trees on behalf of its customers.

Fair Trade Coffee
Select locations offer Sodexo Aspretto specialty coffee, featuring Trans-Fair, fair trade certified coffee beans, grown in an environmentally friendly way.  Sodexo’s partnership with Fair Trade USA supports coffee farming communities with projects that include repairing roads, building warehouses and funding schools.  For every pound of coffee purchased, a donation is made to the Stop Hunger Program through the Sodexo Foundation.

Paper-free Auto Membership Renewal
The Admirals Club automatic renewal program is a fast and convenient was to ensure lounge access is always available.  All new or renewal memberships purchased on AA.com with a credit/debit card are automatically enrolled in a hassle-free and paper-free auto-renewal program.