Release date: 15-Mar-05
Contact: Nancy Seideman at 404-727-0640 or nseidem@emory.edu

Emory Growing 'Green' With First Gold LEED Certification at a University

Emory University has taken a "LEED" in environmental sustainability with the first building on a university campus to earn gold-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings certification (LEED-EB), a rigorous process overseen by the U.S. Green Building Council. A meticulous renovation of the Goizueta Business School mechanical systems resulted in the gold rating for the facility.

"The USGBC is pleased to recognize the accomplishment of Emory University and its project team in earning certification as LEED-EB Gold," says Tom Hicks, program manager of LEED for Existing Buildings at the U.S. Green Building Council. "This designation identifies Emory's building as a pioneering example of sustainable building performance and demonstrates the environmental leadership of the university.ÊEmory's commitment to LEED-New Construction and LEED-Existing Building helps our common mission of transforming the building industry and creating a greener, healthier world for future generations."

Emory's Winship Cancer Center, the Mathematics and Science Center, and Candler Library also recently received LEED certification under LEED-New Construction. Both the Mathematics and Science Center and Candler Library have been re-submitted for "silver" certified status. (LEED certifies at four levels: "certified," "silver," "gold" and "platinum.") These campus facilities will join ranks with the university's Whitehead Biomedical Research Building, which in 2002 was the first facility in the Southeast--and among only 28 in the nation at the time--to be LEED certified.

Emory currently has three more buildings submitted for LEED review, and three other registered projects. All total, Emory is home to 11 buildings that have been, or are being, designed and renovated or constructed according to LEED principles, for a total of about 1.1 million square feet--or 25 acres.

"Emory's commitment to a comprehensive 'green' building program and our emergence as a national leader in this growing trend reflects our intention to develop an environmentally sustainable campus," says Emory University President James Wagner. "Major institutions simply must take the lead in responsible planning to address the challenges of declining air quality, depletion of natural resources and traffic congestion."

Emory's board of trustees endorsed LEED in 2002 for use as a guiding principle in the development of all the university's construction and renovation projects. The intensive LEED process evaluates the environmental sustainability of building design, construction and operation, and focuses on building site selection and erosion control, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

"LEED makes good business sense," says Robert Hascall, senior associate vice president for facilities management. "By building 'green' we are reducing long-term operating costs for the university and our impact and footprint on the environment around us."

Atlanta will be the site for the U.S. Green Building Council's 2005 annual international conference in November, and Emory will serve as a showcase for LEED design and implementation.

Emory's green building program is one of the university's many environmental initiatives, including an extensive alternative transportation program, the creation and continued development of a core walking campus, and a nationally recognized recycling program.

For more information on LEED and the programs of the U.S. Green Building Council, visit www.usgbc.org.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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