The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recognized Otis Elevator Company today for its leadership in environmental sustainability. Otis is a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

Located in China's Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), the Otis Elevator Company TEDA Center office building has achieved Gold-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. LEED is the USGBC's rating system for designing and constructing the world's greenest, most energy-efficient, and high performing buildings. LEED was established for market leaders to design and construct buildings that protect and save precious resources.

``Achieving LEED Gold certification at our TEDA facility is a significant accomplishment for Otis. We are proud to be recognized by USGBC for our commitment to the environment,'' said Otis President Didier Michaud-Daniel. ``The Otis TEDA Center office building reinforces our dedication to environmentally friendly operations while offering our customers an extensive range of innovative, energy-efficient solutions.''

The advanced, energy-saving technologies incorporated into the Otis TEDA Center office building reduce site energy usage by at least 25 percent. The office building features extensively insulated roof systems, reflective cool roofs to reduce heat island effects, high performance lighting equipment, radiant heating, and a demand-controlled ventilation system with CO2 sensors to ensure a quality indoor environment. As the first United Technologies facility to earn LEED Gold recognition, the building features Otis' energy-efficient Gen2(R) elevator system with ReGen(TM) drives, heating, ventilating and air conditioning and building automation systems from UTC's Carrier business unit, as well as security and access systems from UTC Fire & Security.

The Otis TEDA Center office building earned all four LEED Innovation in Design credits for pioneering initiatives in water conservation, green building education and green housekeeping. The building also earned all five LEED Water Efficiency credits for reducing potable water consumption and maximizing water efficiency.

``The strength of USGBC has always been the collective strength of our leaders in the building industry,'' said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. ``Given the extraordinary importance of climate protection and the central role of the building industry in that effort, Otis has demonstrated its leadership through the LEED certification of the Otis TEDA Center office building.''

Otis is committed to reducing energy consumption throughout the entire lifecycle of its products and processes around the world, leading the way to a greener future. Otis offers environmentally friendly options for its full range of products and customers can be assured of the safety and reliability Otis is known for, while receiving the added benefits of longer product life, greater energy savings and reduced environmental impact. Among these green solutions, Otis offers the energy-saving Gen2 elevator system which is up to 50 percent more energy efficient than conventional systems and does not require any additional lubrication, making the system cleaner for the environment. Otis also offers ReGen drives which reduce energy usage by up to 75 percent compared to non-regenerative drives and is the product of choice for energy-efficient building initiatives.

``We are proud to offer our customers a full range of green solutions that promote sustainable building development in China and worldwide,'' said Allen Ge, President of Otis China.