WM School of Education Receives Gold LEED Rating

By Amber Lester Kennedy Sunday, July 10, 2011

The College of William and Mary’s School of Education has received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The LEED green building certification system offers a way for builders and building owners to measure sustainability efforts in new construction. Gold is the second highest rating a building can receive.

The building, which opened to students last fall, achieved LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use, as well as incorporating several other sustainable strategies. LEED certified builders save money and contribute to a healthier environment by using less energy and water.

“With each new LEED-certified building, we get one step closer to USGBC’s vision of a sustainable built environment within a generation,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council, in a press release. “As the newest member of the LEED family of green buildings, the William and Mary School of Education is an important addition to the growing strength of the green building movement.”

Some of the features that helped the school earn Gold certification include 30.5 percent less water usage when compared to similar-sized buildings; 20.8 percent less energy use; over 90 percent of demolition material was recycled; and all of the storm water is treated for quality.

The School of Education is the third building at the college to receive Gold certification. Alan B. Miller Hall and the Cohen Career Center have also been certified as Gold; several other buildings have also received LEED certification, including the Jamestown Dorms.

The college has increased its dedication to sustainability in recent years. In 2007, William and Mary’s students voted to pay an annual $30 fee to support sustainability projects and research at the college. The fee generates more than $200,000 each year for green projects and research, administered by the Committee on Sustainability. The college also recently announced it will offer an in-house carbon-offset program that will allow individuals and institutions an opportunity to offset their carbon-producing actions by contributing money to carbon-reducing projects.

“Our success in this area is a tribute to the cooperation among project manager Joe Martinez and the facilities management staff, the faculty, staff and students who teach, work and learn in these buildings, and our architects and contractors,” said Anna Martin, vice president for administration, in a press release. “It is the commitment to the principles of sustainability by all involved that moves us forward.”