UL Solutions recently announced that multiple buildings across Microsoft's corporate campuses in Redmond, Wash.; San Jose, Costa Rica; Dublin, Ireland; and Hyderabad, India have received UL Verified SPIRE Smart Building Ratings.
The rating for each building is based on the SPIRE Smart Building Verified Assessment, a comprehensive evaluation for smart buildings that results in an overall UL Verified SPIRE Smart Building Rating.
According to a July 20 press release, each of the Microsoft buildings received a three-star UL Verified SPIRE Smart Building Rating — the highest performing program rating to date.
In addition, Microsoft's facilities in Dublin, Ireland; Hyderabad, India; and San Jose, Costa Rica, are the first buildings outside of the U.S. to achieve a SPIRE rating.
Per UL Solutions, these ratings were based on multiple factors, including:
- Occupant engagement in building technology and experience innovation.
- A continuous cycle of planned technology upgrades.
- Physical security of critical networks and building assets.
- Actions to meet sustainability commitments.
- Flexible and robust reporting from connected building systems.
- Building lifecycle and operational management.
- Ongoing maintenance, support and awareness of IT network.
- Enterprise cybersecurity practices and policies.
Each facility awarded a UL Verified SPIRE Smart Building Rating received an in-depth, on-site and virtual audit of the building's technologies and processes.
UL Solutions focuses on six key, industry-driven building criteria categories that define the full scope of smart building performance, including power and energy, health and well-being, life and property safety, connectivity, cybersecurity, and sustainability.
As contended by UL Solutions:
The UL Verified SPIRE Smart Building Rating comes at a time when businesses are considering smart building needs in the face of new and evolving influences.
These include the decarbonization of physical assets, alignment of business and building missions, experiences and productivity of occupants, concerns over cybersecurity, and the introduction of artificial intelligence, image perception, and robotics into the built environment.
In addition to these issues, recent health concerns have brought new priorities to building operators looking for smart building systems to help keep occupants safe. SPIRE assessments provide insight into smart building performance and also help communicate a commitment to the health and well-being of its occupants.
Originally conceived as part of an overall initiative between the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and UL Solutions to share commercial, technical, and standardization insights to further their work in the ecosystem of smart buildings, the SPIRE Smart Building Program includes assessment criteria input from a TIA industry working group of more than 60 commercial real estate, real estate investment trust (REIT), asset management, technology, and telecommunications industry leaders.
"By being the first ever to earn the UL Verified SPIRE Smart Building Rating in multiple countries, Microsoft has taken a significant step in validating and demonstrating smart building innovation," said Sudhi Sinha, vice president of Ecosystems and Service Development group for UL Solutions.
Sinha concluded, "Buildings are complex ecosystems to manage, often with multiple priorities. By assessing, validating and rating key building elements that take into consideration the entirety of a smart building, the UL Verified SPIRE Smart Building Rating supports Microsoft's commitment to building performance and asset value. We thank them for putting their trust in UL Solutions to deliver on that promise."
