Princeton Review recognizes Lewis & Clark as green school

Lewis & Clark has been recognized as one of the greenest schools in the nation, according to the Princeton Review. It is among only 22 schools to make the publication’s 2014 Green Rating Honor Roll, which highlights sustainability-related practices, policies, and academic offerings.

BofA launches green office initiative

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has launched a competition across the bank's U.K. operations designed to encourage staff to save energy and reduce paper usage. The competition will see 13 of the company's divisions ranked based on the extent to which they reduce their printing and whether or not monitors are switched off overnight, and in order to drive, improvement performance will be made public every week.

LEED-Platinum skyscraper is an 'energy hog'

Opened in 2010, the Bank of America Tower in New York City was praised as a model of sustainability. But the LEED-Platinum building has proved to be anything but, according to an article by Sam Roudman in the New Republic. Roudman writes that while the building boasted green features such as waterless urinals and rainwater harvesting, it actually uses twice the energy per square foot as the Empire State Building, which is 80 years old.

Ohio State University has new efficient chilled water system

The South Campus Central Chiller Plant will provide the Medical District of the Ohio State University a long term, efficient, and sustainable solution for chilled water production and distribution. The design incorporates sustainable principals and will be integrated with the planning of LEED certification of other District facilities.

Public comment for LEED for Homes now open

USGBC is addressing the changes made to energy codes over that last three years in the residential construction market sector with an update to the current version of LEED for Homes (2008). The first step in this process is a public comment period, open now through September 16, 2013, that presents all changes to the public for review and feedback.

Historic LEED-certified buildings

USGBC may be celebrating its 20th anniversary, but the buildings that have achieved LEED certification embody a history that stretches far deeper into the past than 1993. In fact, USGBC recently certified the oldest LEED buildings both in the United States (Fay House at Harvard University, built in 1807) and in the world (a Venetian Gothic palazzo from 1453). Other historic LEED-certified buildings include Pavilion IX at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, DC.

California office park gets LEED makeover via PACE program

A four-building, 250,000-square-foot office park in Sacramento, California, will get the upgrades it needs to qualify for LEED status, thanks to a $3.16 million contract under a local commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. The arrangement is being touted by the backers as the nation's single largest PACE deal yet. The PACE financing model, authorized in 30 states, makes it easier for property owners to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in homes and businesses without prohibitive upfront costs. Instead, projects are paid back through an annual property tax assessment.

New green student housing at University of Washington

A new 668,800-square-foot student housing project at the University of Washington includes 1,650 beds in three mixed-use residential halls (Elm, Poplar, and Alder) and a pair of apartment buildings (Cedar Apartments). Heat recovery ventilation was integrated into Poplar Hall, and an innovative heat exchange system in Alder Hall pumps heat from the grocery coolers to neighboring occupied spaces. Cedar Apartments received LEED certification at the Silver level, and Alder Hall, Elm Hall, and Poplar Hall each earned Gold ratings.

Green roofs for buses bring nature into the urban environment

Landscape artist Marc Granen designed the ultimate solution to the lack of green areas in urban environments: green roofs for buses. If mounted on top of public transport vehicles, these roofs can contribute to the amount of air-purifying green spaces, while at the same time serving their purpose to the community. The moving garden is suitable for all shapes of buses. Instead of heavy soil, the design uses thin hydroponic foam, which is much lighter and much easier to modify into a desired shape without being broken or cracked. To keep the system irrigated, Granen decided to make use of the waste water from the air-conditioning system, which is collected and recycled.

ING leases 144,000 square feet at iconic 230 Park Avenue

US, Inc. has signed an 11-year lease extension for 144,000 square feet at the historic 1.4-million-square-foot 230 Park Avenue. The owners of the building, Monday Properties and Invesco Real Estate, have overseen over $100 million in capital improvements at the structure, making 230 Park Avenue the first Pre-War office building to achieve LEED Gold certification under the USGBC.