UConn Aims To 'Leed' The Way

New Construction Policy To Increase Sustainability

By: Timothy Bleasdale

Posted: 3/27/07

In the past, UConn's environmental record has received a lot of criticism for incidents such as the drying of a section of the Fenton River in 2005 and concerns that its landfill and chemical pits may have been contaminating local wells. But in recent years, the university has been taking action to become more environmentally friendly. The most recent step in this progression toward greater environmental stewardship is the new Sustainable Design & Construction Policy approved by the university's Board of Trustees early last week.

The Sustainable Design & Construction Policy requires all new building and renovation projects at the university costing $5 million or more to follow the U.S. Green Building Council's guidelines for silver level LEED certification.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, which serves as a national benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings, according to the U.S. Green Building Council's Web site. The program is designed to promote whole-building approaches to sustainability issues by addressing performance in "five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality."

According to Media Communication Director Karen Grava, the policy was drafted by the director of the Office of Environmental Policy (OEP), Rich Miller.

"We've had sustainable building guidelines in place since 2004, but they aren't as detailed as the LEED guidelines," Miller said. "Our guidelines were more of an outline … now with the new policy we've committed it as a performance mandate that all building projects of at least $5 million must meet a minimum of silver LEED certification."

The requirements for the silver level LEED certification include, among other things, the use of approved adhesives, paints and other building materials that do not emit gasses, as well as taking energy-efficient measures and using recycled materials, according to the U.S. Green Building Council Web site.

The trustees' decision comes near the halfway mark of the UCONN2000 building project to give the university's campuses a $2.3 billion face-lift. The university still has about $1.3 billion remaining to spend during the project, according to the OEP Web site.

"There are only maybe five public universities around the country that require LEED certification and maybe 10 private institutions," Miller said. "For a public university to not just mention LEED but to go to LEED silver is pretty unusual and something to be proud of."

Miller also said that building to LEED standards will not significantly increase the cost of the building, with the increase being at most one percent, but likely less. Recent information, he said, points to the increase being closer to half a percent, but the increase in cost will continue decreasing every day as green building becomes more and more the norm, according to Miller. Additionally, the savings in energy will help to offset the extra expenditures to reach LEED certification.

"The Burton-Shenkman Complex is about 35 percent more efficient than a normal building built to regular standards would be," Miller said. "We'll be saving about $40,000 a year which means a quick payback of three to five years in energy savings alone. These buildings are also more durable, so you save on maintenance and repair costs."

The new guidelines have pleased many critics of the university's environmental record. One such critic was Helen Koehn, chairwoman of Citizens for Responsible Growth, who recently told The Hartford Courant that she was pleased with the progress.

"Congratulations and kudos and it's about time," Koehn said. "It's really wonderful that they're going to make that effort. We're all going to be better off and save money in the long run."

The university has already used these greener building practices once, with the construction of the $48 million Mark R. Shenkman Training Center. The facility includes an indoor football field made of recycled tires and shoes and temperature regulation controlled by infrared radiant heating capable of directing heat down toward the playing surface.

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