ASU recognized for its dedication to sustainable construction

The Arizona Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council recognized Arizona State University for its accomplishments in achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications for building construction.

ASU received two awards for the number of LEED building certifications in Arizona:

• Highest LEED Achievement – Most Certifications in Arizona

• LEED New Construction – Most Gold Buildings

The awards were announced by the USGBC Arizona Chapter during its first annual “Heavy Medals: Success Beyond a Scoreboard” awards luncheon. The event was held this fall at the Phoenix Convention Center West in downtown Phoenix.

“The benefits of attaining LEED certification demonstrates ASU’s dedication to incorporating many sustainable models in the built environment, such as water and energy conservation, and the reduction of landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ed Soltero, assistant vice president and university architect at ASU. “LEED silver certification is our minimum target for all new construction across all four ASU campuses.” 

ASU has the largest number of LEED-certified buildings throughout the Copper State and claims the top spot for achieving the state’s first-ever LEED platinum certification in July 2007. The nearly 180,000-square-foot Biodesign Institute B building is located on the ASU Tempe campus.

In addition to ASU having the most LEED certifications across Arizona, ASU also is a leader across higher education.

“Among U.S. universities, only Harvard University has more LEED-certified buildings than ASU,” Soltero said.

ASU has registered eight recent construction projects across ASU’s four campuses to the USGBC for LEED certification. So far this year, the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 4 on the Tempe campus received LEED Gold certification.