Educational Procurement Journal - December 2007 - (Page 14)

LEED & Leadership: ® A Commitment to LEED by Valerie Rhodes-Sorrelle, C.P.M., A.P.P. Grand Valley State University hen I set out to learn about the initiative known as “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED), I found that it is a combination of many things, but especially that it includes commitment and leadership. I was very pleased to discover that both of these qualities are in evidence at my institution, Grand Valley State University (GVSU), as well as many other colleges and universities. Let’s start at the beginning of my journey. I ﬁrst learned that LEED is a program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which “is a community of leaders working together to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated.” USGBC envisions “an environmentally responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.” LEED is a “Green Building Rating System” developed and managed by the USGBC. I thought, “OK, now, what does this mean in simple terms?” I found the answer in understanding that LEED was created to provide measurable standards that deﬁne what a “green” building should be, including how the building is constructed, what materials are used, and what maintenance and operational characteristics are adopted. There are four certiﬁcation levels: 1. Certified – the basic level 2. Silver 3. Gold 4. Platinum The certiﬁcation process tests whether a project meets certain required standards as well as a combination of additional supplemental standards. There is a point system, and points earned will depend on the project’s targeted certiﬁcation level. The point structure is as follows: 1. Certified 26-32 2. Silver 33-38 3. Gold 39-51 4. Platinum 52-69 W The Michigan Alternative & Renewable Energy Center is GVSU’s ﬁrst LEED building. This building is located in Muskegon, Michigan, and was cooperatively sponsored by the City of Muskegon, its local development agency, and the State of Michigan. This Gold LEED project features the building’s ability to generate 100 percent of its own electrical power. GVSU also boasts a Silver LEED building and has another project currently going through certiﬁcation. The engineering faculty and students, along with other community volunteers, have also constructed a LEED-certiﬁed house for a low-income family. What’s more, under construction are four new buildings that are targeted to be LEEDcertiﬁed. GVSU has made a commitment that all future buildings will at least meet the Certiﬁed level. My next learning step was to appreciate the environmental factors and beneﬁts of undertaking LEED projects. Beneﬁts include a reduction in the resources consumed during the construction and life of a building, as well as a reduction in the ownership and operational costs. With improved facilities, GVSU anticipates an increase in student learning and in faculty and staff productivity. The University also hopes that its environmentally friendly and efﬁcient buildings will encourage usage by the campus community as well as by outside organizations and events. I also wanted to know whether this was just a trend that would be dropped after a couple of years. Of course, in GVSU’s case, the answer is no because the single largest factor that has inﬂuenced the decision is the delivery of quality education in the best possible environment… while working within budget. As I continued, I wondered what other institutions were doing in the world of LEED. While the answer to that question is, “It varies,” I was pleased to ﬁnd out that many organizations have successfully completed LEED projects. For example, Oberlin College has constructed a building that is close to 100 percent self-sufﬁcient. Harvard has decided to purchase 100 perecent of its electrical power from renewable sources to support its LEED and sustainability program. To the Purchasing professional, a crucial question is, “Does LEED cost more?” The answer is that it can but December 2007 14 EDUCATIONAL PROCUREMENT JOURNAL

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Educational Procurement Journal - December 2007

Educational Procurement Journal - December 2007 Contents Letter From the CEO: Sustainability in Higher Education Heard On the Streets Calculating Procurement's Value Cost-Per-Copy Contract and Site-Based Funding At a K-12 School District Bargain-Basement Solutions to Automate and Streamline Procurement Processes LEED & Leadership Certification Roamin' with Yeoman Best and Final

Educational Procurement Journal - December 2007

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