LEED Certification: Ohio Schools Aim For Green Buildings

The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Schools Rating System was adopted in September by the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) as part of its school design standard.

Hundreds of new and renovated Ohio schools are set to meet higher energy efficiency and environmental standards under the “Green Schools” Initiative. There are four progressive levels to LEED certification: certified, silver, gold and platinum; under the initiative, all future OSFC-funded buildings will be encouraged to meet LEED for Schools Gold certification.

To qualify for LEED for Schools designation, buildings must meet specifications for land use, water and energy efficiency, construction materials and indoor air quality. More than $4 billion is targeted for school facilities under the state’s Tobacco Securitization plan, meaning more than 250 buildings will register for silver certification in the next two years.

“The LEED criteria have been shown to have a positive effect on student health, attendance and performance. While the state is sharing in the cost of the upfront construction, the benefits — including energy savings — accrue directly to the school districts participating in our programs,” said OSFC Executive Director Michael C. Shoemaker in a news release.

LEED for Schools is a new design and construction certification for K-12 public schools. Building service contractors can help school buildings earn points toward LEED certification with green cleaning programs. Points in Innovation in Upgrades, Operations and Maintenance and Low Environmental Impact can make a big difference for facilities looking to be certified.

CRI Offers New Certifications

The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) has introduced two green additions — higher performing vacuum cleaners that improve indoor air quality, and a green cleaning chemical certification — to its Seal of Approval carpet cleaning testing and certification program.

The new Seal of Approval/Green Label vacuum program is tiered, with the entry level of Bronze requiring a 10 percent improvement of cleaning performance over the existing Green Label program, with tougher standards for Silver and Gold performance levels.

The new Green Chemical certification requires the manufacturer to provide CRI with documentation from Green Seal or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program, attesting that the product meets criteria for environmental friendliness.

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United Group Limited completed its acquisition of UNICCO Service Co., one of North America’s largest integrated facilities services companies, at the end of September. The Australian diversified service and infrastructure company paid $408 million for UNICCO, based in Newton, Mass.

UNICCO has more than 18,000 employees, bringing combined company personnel to 30,000 employees. UNICCO’s president, George Keches, and UNICCO’s senior management team will remain, and Lou Lanzillo, vice chairman, will become United Group’s COO in the Americas and Europe, said United Group’s Managing Director and CEO Richard Leupen in a news release.

“We see this acquisition as an important part of our long term strategy to lead specialist market sectors and provide a long term growth platform for our business,” Leupen said.