If you look around Emory’s Atlanta campus, you’ll see green everywhere. You won’t just spot the greenery of the trees, whose leaves are more abundant since April’s arrival, but also the “green” programs Emory has put into action over the past few years that make its campus a leader in environmental sustainability efforts. From green building for both new construction and renovations of University structures to campus-wide programs—like their alternative transportation, recycling, and no net loss of tree canopy initiatives, Emory’s attention is heavily focused on all things environmental.

Green building stepped into the spotlight for Emory when the campus became involved in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program—a rating system that provides building owners and operatives a way to determine their structures’ environmental impact and green performance in the categories of human and environmental health, sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor air quality.

In 1999, administrators and the senior vice president of Campus Services, Bob Hascall, attended a workshop and learned about the rating system. After the workshop, the Campus Services team suggested the Whitehead Biomedical Research Building as a pilot for bringing LEED to Emory, and plans began. According to Laura Case, project manager for Campus Services, Emory quickly took to the idea of sustainable development with long-term financial savings and a lessened environmental impact, and the pilot LEED program began. She also notes that the green programs like recycling and transportation Emory already had in place eased the transition into the LEED program. Around 2001, Whitehead became the first building in the Southeast to receive the certification.

Whitehead’s green features include a cistern that collects rainwater to use for irrigation; the building also uses condensate recovery to collect water for cooling purposes and use alongside mechanical equipment. Whitehead also incorporates state-of-the-art technology to significantly reduce energy needed to cool the building. At the time of Whitehead’s construction, it was difficult to meet LEED’s site development area concerning construction waste management, as no facilities were available for the recycling of these materials. However, the project stayed true to its mission and utilized Emory’s internal recycling program, successfully diverting construction materials from a landfill.
In addition to Whitehead, Emory currently has four LEED certified buildings of varying status (certified buildings can range from Certified to Gold levels) and three more awaiting the seal of environmental approval.

In 2002, Emory’s Math and Science Center earned LEED certification and was met with rave reviews as well. In fact, Whitehead and the Center were so successful, according to Case, that Emory has been able to retain more employees and ensure less employee absence as there have been fewer complaints of allergy-related problems and illness due to the increase in quality indoor air in the buildings. The Math and Science Center boasts high marks in water savings, like Whitehead, for its waterless urinals, and the building incorporates an 80,000-gallon retention vault for storm water, which is then used for on-site irrigation. A large percentage of construction material was recycled as well as purchased from local vendors. No-VOC paints, glues, and caulk were also used to complete the project.

The Candler Library’s renovation and expansion project earned the campus its first Silver LEED certification after its 2003 completion for the project’s ability to restore and expand while meeting green building standards. Low-flow aerators added to water fixtures in the building reduce water consumption in the structure by thirty percent. Heating and cooling efficiency was also addressed as care was given when selecting building components like insulation. As it was a restoration project, 78 percent of the original shell was retained, and 60 percent of new building materials have a recycled content. Fifty-seven percent of construction waste was diverted from a landfill, as Atlanta saw the springing up of waste recycling locations in the area.

The Winship Cancer Institute, completed in 2003, also received certification, with the campus’s most recent certification and first Gold-level LEED, the Goizueta Business School, following on its heels in 2005. The Goizueta project was able to divert eighty-five percent of its construction waste from a landfill, largely due to area recyclers being able to accept concrete for reuse—an indication that the market, like Emory’s campus, is also going green.

Current LEED-certified structures and future plans combined situate Emory’s buildings on a campus with over two million square feet of green structures. The University has made the commitment that all ongoing or future construction must earn LEED certification at the Silver level or higher.
In 2005, around the time of their most recent certification, Emory completed a strategic plan that will follow the University through 2015. Under the plan, a Sustainability and Advisory Committee was formed to further highlight and elevate the University’s green commitment and move their efforts beyond the building realm.

Specific and impressive goals have been set by the Committee. According to Ciannat Howett, director of Emory’s sustainability initiatives, goals include the reduction of energy consumption on campus by 25 percent per square foot, the diversion of 65 percent of waste from landfills to recycling outposts, and the assurance that 75 percent of Emory’s cafeteria menus will consist of sustainable, organic, and local ingredients—what Emory calls SOL food—all by 2015. They also remain committed to their No Net Loss of Forest Canopy Policy and alternative transportation programs. The Forest Canopy Policy attempts to save and replant trees removed for new construction. If they cannot be saved, new trees are planted that must be equal to the size of the previous tree’s canopy. The campus awards priority parking to car pools and vans, gives away free MARTA passes, coordinates with area shopping centers to set up Park and Rides, and provides alternative fuels to its fleet of shuttle vehicles: 100 percent of the vehicles are alternatively fueled, and about half run on bio diesel created from the cooking oil of Emory’s cafeterias.

Emory takes its role as both a university and green university seriously, incorporating sustainability not only into campus operations but academics as well. Through pioneering efforts with the LEED program and green building, along with other campus initiatives, Emory is proving Kermit wrong: it is easy being green.

For more information on the many green efforts of Emory University, visit www.emory.edu.

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