University awarded first LEED Gold rating
The University of South Carolina, a leader in collegiate sustainability, celebrated a green milestone on Earth Day (April 22), when it was awarded its first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold rating for its Honors Residence.
Josh Boltinhouse, the Midlands Branch chairman of the S.C. chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), presented S.C. Honors College Dean Dr. Davis Baird with an official plaque on the lawn of the honors college residence hall, which opened last August.
“We applaud the University of South Carolina for its continued commitment to sustainability,” Boltinhouse said. “It is good to see that a major organization like a university is really out there promoting sustainability. That, in and of itself, educates a lot of people on what being green and what being sustainable is about. The thousands of students who come through the university are going out there with these ideas and planting them in the workforce so that this next generation has the background knowledge to be more sustainable.”
Boltinhouse said the USGBC is working to produce more responsible, healthier and better places to live. Its LEED certification program is the nationally accepted standard for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. There are four LEED certification levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.