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eBay Inc. Opens New "Green" Building and Unveils Largest Commercial Solar Installation in San Jose

eBay Inc. Opens New "Green" Building and Unveils Largest Commercial Solar Installation in San Jose

Published 05-08-08

Submitted by eBay Inc.

San Jose, CA - MAY 8, 2008 - eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) today announced the opening of an environmentally friendly building on its North Campus in San Jose. It is the first building in San Jose to be built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standards for new construction, which is the second-highest LEED rating a building can receive. The building sits on a campus with the largest commercial solar installation in the city.

"eBay empowers people around the world to recycle and reuse, so constructing an environmentally friendly building from the ground up reflects our business values and our commitment to reducing our corporate footprint -- in the Bay Area and at all of our facilities worldwide," said John Donahoe, President and CEO of eBay Inc. "Going green is a great way to work."

The campus has 3,248 solar panels covering 60,000 square feet - more than a football field - of roof supplying 18 percent of the campus’s power with a 650 kW system. With the largest commercial solar installation that is operational in San Jose, and because of its proximity to public transportation, eBay’s new building and campus reflect the close collaboration between the city and eBay to reduce its environmental footprint. City staff was instrumental in facilitating eBay’s move to this campus and ensuring flexibility to expand as the needs for the building and campus evolved.

"Since its founding in 1995, eBay has transformed internet commerce and created new ways for people to build community online. I am proud that eBay was created in and is headquartered in San Jose," said Mayor Chuck Reed. "Congratulations on the opening of the new eBay building, which through its innovative design and green architecture is a flagship in North San Jose's center of innovation on North First Street."

Built from the ground up, the new building meets LEED specifications. LEED is the industry standard, third party rating system which certifies that a building has met the high standards for constructing an environmentally responsible and healthy place to work. In the new building, workstation lighting uses a dimming system that automatically dims based on the amount of sunlight entering the building, saving 39 percent of the energy normally used in the building for lighting. Low-flow showerheads and low-flow faucets have been installed to help reduce the amount of water used by 30 percent. Eco-friendly irrigation systems are also being installed and will reduce water use by approximately 30 percent. Lastly, more than 75 percent of the waste from the construction site was recycled, reused or otherwise diverted from landfill.

In addition, the features in the new green building offer a high-quality workplace environment for employees. Amenities include a state of the art fitness center and a light, airy, pan-Asian café complete with tandoori oven, wok station, noodle bar and fresh-made dim sum. Workstations and furniture throughout the building are "Greenguard" certified, meaning they emit a low number of particles to keep air cleaner.

eBay’s investment in its new "green" building is a reflection of its commitment to offer more ways for employees to incorporate green practices into their daily lives. SolarCity, which provided the solar panels for the new building, has offered employees a discount for installing solar panels in their homes and more than 500 employees have attended workshops about residential solar installations.

In addition, eBay Inc. offers employees a carbon offsetting program through TerraPass, which allows employees to measure their carbon footprint and purchase offsets to balance their impact. Further, eBay Inc. runs shuttles from its San Jose campuses to San Francisco in order to improve employee quality of life and get more cars off the road.

Being green is in eBay’s DNA. The marketplace was built to be an incredible engine for the reuse of goods and every day buyers and sellers are using eBay to make a difference on behalf of the environment. Over the last decade, this has translated into an estimated $100 billion in goods each year that were reused, as opposed to being thrown into landfills or producing and buying new items.

About eBay Inc.

Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. connects hundreds of millions of people around the world every day, empowering them to explore new opportunities and innovate together. eBay Inc. does this by providing the Internet platforms of choice for global commerce, payments and communications. Since its inception, eBay Inc. has expanded to include some of the strongest brands in the world, including eBay, PayPal, Skype, StubHub, Shopping.com and others. eBay Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.

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eBay Inc.

eBay Inc.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce leader including the Marketplace, StubHub and Classifieds platforms. Collectively, we connect millions of buyers and sellers around the world, empowering people and creating opportunity through Connected Commerce. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay is one of the world's largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2016, eBay enabled $84 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com

Global Impact at eBay

Global Impact is the good that happens when people connect on eBay. It’s how we bring our purpose to life: Creating a better, more sustainable form of commerce—where people are empowered, causes are supported and opportunities are open to everyone.

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