USGBC LEED Effort

As part of the ongoing effort towards environmental sustainability and stewardship by the College of Human Ecology and Cornell University at large, the College chose to pursue LEED accreditation for the design and construction. The LEED standard for new buildings has a total of 69 total achievable points in categories ranging from choosing a sustainable site, to energy, water, and materials resource conservation and efficiency. Out of the 69 total possible points, the College is attempting to achieve a maximum of 51. This equates to LEED Gold certification, the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) second highest honor for sustainable building design and construction. The building is using numerous strategies to achieve these points, from utilizing currently existing campus resources, such as the campuses exemplary public transportation system and ubiquitous pedestrian access, to new and innovative strategies, such as the use of native plants to eliminate the need for irrigation, and intelligent building monitoring and management tools to minimize energy and resource use.

In addition LEED certification on the HEB building, the College has chosen to pursue LEED certification on the Martha Van Rensselaer (MVR) '33 building rehabilitation project. The LEED standard for renovation projects has a total of 59 possible points. Under this rating system, the MVR'33 renovation project is attempting to achieve a maximum of 48 points, or LEED Gold certification, the USGBC's highest honor for sustainable building design and construction. While utilizing many of the same strategies as the HEB building, this project is more focused on the use of sustainable materials, and overall indoor environmental quality.

After the college has completed the certification of these two facilities, they will be exploring the possibility of certifying the complex as a whole certified under the new LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance standard. This standard works to maximize building efficiency and minimize environmental impact by addressing whole building cleaning and maintenance programs, recycling programs, exterior maintenance and system upgrades, in a way that is not comprehensively covered in any of the other LEED building rating standards. Certification in this LEED standard would ensure that the buildings are not only built to be environmentally responsible, but are maintained and used that way as well.

This diverse range of sustainable design and operations strategies will make the physical plan of the College environmentally responsible at time of construction and throughout their useful lives. Moreover, these efforts support the academic and professional interests of the college community, and have become an important part of the living classroom.