LEED Buildings

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program is hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

LEED certified buildings are proven to save money, improve efficiency, lower carbon emissions and create healthier environments for people. They are a critical part of addressing the climate crisis, meeting ESG goals, enhancing resilience, and supporting more equitable communities.

Take our Virtual Sustainability Tour to learn more about LEED buildings at ESF, as well as many other sustainable campus features. Visit our Buildings impact area page for more information about all of our campus buildings and their sustainable operation.

  The Gateway Center was awarded LEED Platinum Certification in 2014.     This is the highest level attainable within the program.

The Gateway Center, which formally opened in September 2013, is both a hub for campus activity and a teaching tool that demonstrates sustainability. The building features a combined heat and power system designed to provide the campus with 60% of its heating needs and 20% of its electrical power. It also features a green roof that uses native plant species from eastern Lake Ontario dunes and alvar pavement barrens at the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. The roof serves as both a research and demonstration project.

The building has received other honors:

Our LEED scorecard is on the USGBC website.

 In 2011, Centennial Hall became the first residence hall on the Syracuse campus, as well as the first building on campus to achieve the LEED Gold rating.

Centennial Hall was constructed using sustainable building materials, to the greatest extent possible, and prefabricated modular units that minimized waste and helped keep the project on a tight construction schedule. Windows were designed to take advantage of natural lighting, minimize heat loss and provide for natural ventilation. The storm water management system uses rain gardens to essentially eliminate runoff, the landscaping includes native plants, minimizes maintenance, and provides a pedestrian-friendly setting. Space for automobile parking is limited. The building also includes a popular indoor storage and cleaning facility for residents' bicycles.

"The work of innovative building projects such as SUNY-ESF's Centennial Hall is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement." said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Our LEED scorecard is on the USGBC website.

Marshall Hall was built in 1933 and is currently undergoing its first significant renovation in over 40 years. The current project is taking the building down to its structural skeleton and building it back better than ever before. This project is designed with a Deep Energy Savings Retrofit target of 50% energy reduction relative to the building’s existing consumption and the goal of LEED Gold certification.

Marshall Hall will be equipped with high-efficiency condensing boilers. Additionally, the perimeter steam radiators, gravity unit ventilators, fan coil units and all steam and condensate piping will be replaced with a building-wide hydronic heating system with occupancy-based controls.

Marshall Hall is on schedule to reopen for the Fall 2023 semester. 

Over the course of several years, students taking CME 496, Principles of Green Buildings, took the LEED Green Associate exam, while also completing the requirements for LEED Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance certification.  The class submitted their application in and the College hopes to have the final approval soon.

In 2008, Baker Laboratory underwent a large rehabilitation project and added high-tech lecture halls and computer labs, using the latest in green construction practices at the time. Green innovations used in the project included extensive use of electronic lighting controls and occupancy sensors in the rooms and a sophisticated building management system. This digital control system regulates the air handling and exhaust systems.

Baker also features a 23 kW (kilowatt) photovoltaic system, which provides window shading to the south side of the building. The building extensively utilized recycled building materials, maximizes the use of natural lighting and recovers storm water from the roof for gray water applications. Four 1,000-gallon storage tanks are installed in the basement of Baker Lab to collect rainwater from the roof. The water is used to wash vehicles in the Colleges fleet.

A milestone towards a sustainable future

Congratulations and a big round of applause are due to Bangladesh's apparel makers for bringing glory to the nation by reaching a new milestone of having 200 globally certified green factories.

Achieving the certification of LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, always carries great pride for any individual factory, but when 200 factories from a single sector achieve such recognition, it brings prestige, pride and joy beyond comparison, not only for the individual factories but also for the nation.

Therefore, when the news broke that the number of globally recognised green garment factories in Bangladesh reached 200, I, along with, all stakeholders of the sector felt overwhelmed with joy and pride. The presence of such a large number of green factories can't be found in any other country. That means Bangladesh is a global leader in green garment production and environmental sustainability.

Bangladesh is also home to half of the world's top 100 green factories, including the highest-rated green factory in the world. Thirteen out of the top 15 LEED green factories are located in Bangladesh. As the momentum continues, 18 factories received LEED certification so far this year despite all the challenges in the global and local arena.

Awarded by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the LEED rating system is an effective and globally accepted tool to evaluate the environmental performance of buildings and measure their sustainability. It provides a framework for healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green buildings. It is widely recognised as the industry standard for green building in the US and used in more than 160 countries.

Among the Bangladeshi green garment factories, 73 are platinum-rated, 113 are gold-rated, 10 are silver-rated, and four have simply received certifications. Some 500 more factories are in the pipeline to receive LEED certifications.

In February, Green Textile Limited Unit 4, a joint concern of Epic Group and Envoy Legacy of Bangladesh, became the best green factory in the world by scoring 104 out of 110.

To receive the certification, factories are required to maintain the highest standards regarding carbon emission, energy and water usage, waste management, and indoor environmental quality under the strict supervision of the USGBC.

Green factories use energy-efficient and environment-friendly technologies and practices that save water and energy, minimise pollution and help save the planet as well as protect the health of their employees. The air and water bodies are not polluted in the vicinity of green factories thanks to their advanced waste management system.

The growing number of green garment factories in the country is a testament to Bangladesh's RMG industry's rapid transition towards environmental sustainability. Pursuing economic growth at the expense of the environment is no longer an option for us because Bangladesh, along with the whole world, is facing severe impacts of climate change.

Going green is not only good for the environment, but also for business since major brands and buyers prefer to source from green factories as part of ethical sourcing and ethical consumerism campaigns.

In order to take environmental sustainability to the next level, the RMG industry is now focusing on circular fashion. To this end, manufacturers, buyers, and recyclers are making concerted efforts in collecting and reusing textile waste. As a result, clothes are being produced using recycled fibres and fabrics, which is giving rise to a circular and climate-neutral garment sector in Bangladesh.

The author is president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

How LEED Updates Will Impact Cleaning Contractors

Contributed by The Ashkin Group

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is revising its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System, introducing new prerequisites that will apply to buildings seeking certification and the cleaning contractors that clean these facilities.

This is according to Steve Ashkin, a board member at the USGBC and the professional cleaning industry’s leading advocate for sustainability. Board members will vote on these new prerequisites and related issues, with their decisions made public in late September 2023, at the International Greenbuild Conference in Washington, DC.

Among the prerequisites and requirements LEED is concentrating on include the following:

• Redirecting LEED’s emphasis from certifying new construction to certifying pre-existing buildings.

• Increasing the number of credits (points) from one to three that can be earned by facilities using Green Cleaning methods and products. “This indicates the importance LEED puts on Green Cleaning,” says Ashkin.

• Addressing climate change issues, helping facilities reduce their negative impacts on the environment, and become more resilient to the effects of climate change.

• Focus more on social equity issues such as quality of life issues and improved living standards for cleaning workers.

So, we are clear, prerequisites are requirements that a facility must meet before it can begin the LEED certification process. A perfect example is ensuring that Green Cleaning products are already being used in a facility.

“When it comes to equity, my focus is on fairness and justice for cleaning workers and their well-being,” adds Ashkin. “I want to see cleaning workers — in fact our entire industry — be more respected and valued.”

Ashkin adds that while most contract cleaning companies are beginning to address equity issues, “too many are still involved in illegal contracting, paying workers under the table, and even hiring child workers. This is bad for [our] workers and the entire cleaning industry.”

Ashkin adds that once the prerequisites have been voted on and are in place, their impact will stretch beyond building owners and managers.

“LEED is looking at the total picture,” adds Ashkin. “There can be no missing links, and this includes how a facility is cleaned and maintained.”