Commercial project ratings scale up at environmental institution

by Jonathan McGaha | December 19, 2013 12:00 am

A building certification program celebrated a landmark in membership growth. Office space at a Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.[1] production facility in Knoxville, Tenn., became the 20,000^th commercial project to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)[2] certification since the rating system started in 2000. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)[3], which runs the program, launched a new version, LEED v4, at the Greenbuild[4] conference in November.

Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO at USGBC, says they demonstrated that LEED works and organizations that use it set a high bar for leadership.

“But there is much work to be done, and even as we mark this milestone, we’re completing the launch of the next version of the rating system that will drive building performance to the next level,” Fedrizzi says.

LEED v4 increased technical rigor, made a more intuitive online platform and simplified LEED credit submittal requirements and made new market sector adaptations for data centers, warehouses and distribution centers, hospitality, existing schools, existing retail and mid-rise residential projects.

Sustainable features of the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters project include a high-efficiency HVAC system and water-efficient plumbing fixtures that reduced water use by 32 percent. More than 24 percent of all workstations, seating and building materials is recycled content, and a quarter of the building materials were harvested or manufactured within 500 miles of the project.

Additionally, the project features high-efficiency lighting fixtures, daylighting and lighting controls and renewable power sources that generate more than 50 percent of the required power.

The Knoxville plant is the seventh LEED-certified facility for Waterbury, Vt.-based coffee company, which was the world’s largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified-coffee in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Jason King, senior director of facilities and engineering at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, says one of his company’s goals is to transform the way the world understands business.

“The passion we bring to creating great coffee is the same passion we put toward energy efficiency and environmental responsibility,” King says.

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