University Gives La Verne First Gold LEED Building

La Verne has joined the ranks of those cities that can claim a top rated LEED certified/environmentally friendly building thanks to the University of La Verne.

University officials announced the Vista La Verne is the first gold LEED certified building for the school and for the city as well.

The U.S. Green Building Council, USGBC, awarded the University with the prestigious green building certification earlier this month.

“The University has been a leader within our community for sustainability opening the LEED-Silver Abraham Campus Center in 2009 (the first LEED building on campus and in the City of La Verne) and now has taken an even bolder step further, adding the first LEED-Gold Facility.  It is truly exciting to be part of these historic projects for the University,” said Senior Director, Central Services and Planning, Chip West.

The LEED program, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is voluntary and “provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions,” according to the U.S. Green Building Council website.

Vista La Verne, the University’s newest residence hall, officially opened in fall 2012 and it is home to more than 370 students. Some key components of the LEED certification include a reflective roof to deflect heat and cold, low-flow bathrooms to reduce overall water usage by more than 40 percent, and use of recycled materials.

“It was important for the University to build a LEED-certified building because of our commitment to sustainability,” said Associate Vice President for Facility and Technology Services, Clive Houston-Brown. “Three of our four core values include issues related to sustainability and we are a signatory of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, ACUPCC.”

The University also added a covered bike shelter, parking around the residence hall for energy efficient vehicles and sustainable landscaping with California native species and drought tolerant plants.

“The green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to respond to the most important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependencies on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy and threats to human health,” President, CEO and Founding Chair, USGBC, Rick Fedrizzi said.

LEED green building certification takes design, construction and operation of the building into account and there are currently more than 100,000 projects participating in the rating system.

“The strength of USGBC has always been the collective strength of our leaders in the building industry,” Fedrizzi said. ‘Given the extraordinary importance of climate protection and the central role of the building industry in that effort, The University of La Verne demonstrates their leadership through their LEED certification of Vista La Verne’.

Article courtesy the University of La Verne