Managing Successful LEED Projects

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), provides third-party certification of the environmental preferability of buildings. The LEED rating system has helped to create a standard for green building and sustainable development.

Over the last 11 years, SSC has led the design and certification process for numerous LEED projects. Our experienced staff currently includes three LEED Accredited Professionals and four LEED Green Associates who are continuously expanding their knowledge and expertise in sustainable development. Consistent with our corporate mission of creating value and improving the quality of life for people and their communities through corporate sustainability programs, sustainable buildings and operations, and sustainability training and education, the LEED program has greatly benefited many of our clients. Two of our recent project successes are highlighted below.

4100 North Fairfax Awarded LEED GOLD

James Campbell Company's 4100 North Fairfax building was just awarded LEED for Existing Buildings Gold certification. The building, located in Arlington, Virginia, is a 280,000 sq. ft., 13 story multi-tenant commercial office building. The project team worked collaboratively to transform the existing building into a high performance, occupant focused space.

James Campbell Company enlisted SSC to implement sustainability improvements and manage the LEED certification process. SSC utilized over a decade of expertise in green building and corporate sustainability to develop building policies that optimized building performance and to coordinate implementation with building management and vendors. As part of the project, SSC also completed ENERGY STAR certification and performed an ASHRAE Level I and II Energy Audit to further reduce utility consumption.

"This LEED certification project had a clear goal of reducing energy demands without sacrificing the comfort of the tenants," says Jeremy Kuhre, SSC's Sustainable Buildings and Operations Manager and the project manager. "Over the past four years, the building's ENERGY STAR score has improved from a 62 to an 87 while occupant satisfaction continues to rise. This is an excellent example of achieving success across the triple bottom line: People, Planet and Profit." 

Read the full story here...  

YIKES Philadelphia Office Achieves LEED Platinum

SSC is proud to announce the recent success of our client, YIKES Inc., with the achievement of LEED for Homes Platinum certification. The YIKES office, located in Philadelphia's Fishtown, is the first LEED Platinum mixed-use rehab project in Pennsylvania. SSC was part of a project team that took a deteriorating and vacant building and transformed it into two storefronts - one of which serves as the office for YIKES, a web design and development company - and four apartments on the second and third floors. 

"This is an example of a truly "deep green" project:  the blighted building stood vacant for over five years; however, the owners saw the historical, economic, and environmental value of the building. While any renovation project is environmentally preferable to ground-up construction, what made this project a "deep green" project was the fact that the renovation also achieved LEED Platinum certification," says Tad Radzinski, President.

 

As a follow-up to the CertainTeed Ceilings Environmental

 Product Declarations (EPDs) published last year, CertainTeed has released two new EPDs for its Symphony m and Symphony f products. These additional EPDs are an affirmation of CertainTeed's commitment to product transparency and leadership in sustainability. SSC conducted the Life Cycle Assessments and prepared the EPDs for these and other CertainTeed Ceilings products. 

 

A major focus of the LEED v4 rating system, to be released soon, is Building Product Disclosure and Optimization. Specific credits will be achievable by using products with EPDs and other forms of product transparency. CertainTeed leads the industry in product transparency and sustainable product design. SSC is a key partner in developing and guiding CertainTeed's sustainability program and is proud to support its efforts toward continuous improvement.

 

View the full EPDs here.