Taiwan’s landmark skyscraper Taipei 101 is seeking to become the world’s tallest green building, its owner Taipei Financial Center Corporation (TFCC) announced yesterday. Harace Lin, chairman of TFCC, told a press conference that the company plans to apply for the Leadership in Energy and Environment

Design (LEED) certification for the building. To obtain that certification, Lin said, Taipei 101 will invest NT$60 million (US$1.8 million) over the next 18-month certification process to undergo hundreds of building modifications.

After the transformation is completed, Taipei 101 is estimated to save NT$20 million in energy costs each year. Lin said that Taipei 101 wants to be an international model of environmental protection and social responsibility.

“Taipei 101′s management team is expecting to make it an icon of green building industry in Taiwan and worldwide,” Lin said. “As the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101 aims to raise people’s awareness about our environment and be a pioneer of international green building certification for existing buildings, ” he added.