LEED® Project Certification Process + Case Study: StopWaste.Org
Leaving less for the landfill in Alameda County!
As a resident of Alameda County for over 10 years, I’ve enjoyed the support our community has for green building and sustainable living.
Whether its the restaurants in Berkeley making the effort serve tap water (Chez Panisse) or cities encouraging mixed-used development for urban planning (Emeryville), resource conservation is a core value.
It’s then no surprise that our local Waste Management Authority is organized around a waste reduction program, StopWaste.Org.
Its main objective is achieving a diversion rate of 75% and beyond (meaning 75% of waste being recycled and saved from taking up space in landfills).
Staying tue to its missions statement, the StopWaste.Org headquarters based in Oakland (1537 Webster St.) is a LEED®-Platinum certified building, which is the highest ranking possible offered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for best practices in green building and construction.
The LEED® project certification process (platinum, gold and silver rankings based on 69 points possible) considers the following areas:
Sustainable Site (14 pts): Conservation of resources during the project life cycle via use of alternative transportation and control of storm water management and roof heat island effects (large, dark roof surfaces transfer more heat into the building space below).
Materials and Resource (13 pts): Percentage of recycled material/re-use in building construction and building re-use (where an existing building is used to house a new project).
Water Efficiency (5 pts): Reduce/recycle landscaping water, water conservation (e.g. waterless urinals) and on-site water treatment (for more remotely-located or large scale projects).
Energy and Atmosphere (17 pts): Energy efficiency/re-use, on-site energy renewal, and green power .
Indoor Air Quality (15 pts): Use of low-emitting materials, thermal comfort and daylighting.
Innovation and Design Process (5 pts): Low-emission furniture and 40% water use reduction.
For its platinum ranking, the StopWaste.Org project achieved a 54 out of these 69 points – see the LEED® score card here.
Surprisingly, the project began with a silver certification as its goal but already achieved most of those requirements during the planning phase. As a result, the design team opted for the platinum certification costing only a 2% increase in the project budget.
Three of the key lessons that the project team learned are:
- Keep the project team consistent. Changes to staff affect team dynamics and commitments made to the project (i.e. affecting the teams “buy-in” on being green).
- Allow for some design flexibility. Green building can be challenging from a constructability point of view. Team work and thinking outside the box are important factors in overcoming such challenges.
- Involve the project subcontractors, field personnel and consultants. Projects are a dynamic team effort that benefit from group input from all members of the team.
To see the full case study report, click here.
In conclusion, the LEED project certification process includes a wide range of factors for project teams to consider through the planning, design, construction and operation phases. By addressing each area, project teams innovate new ways to conserve resources while meeting the LEED requirements.
