Community College District Takes the "LEED"

The San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD) and San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) received LEED certification on a new construction project for the Chemistry and Physical Science Building. LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” and is a program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to set a benchmark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The award was presented to the SDCCD Board of Trustees last November at their board meeting by Mike Villegas, Project Manager with Kitchell/BRJ, which oversaw the construction project. SBVC Chancellor Bruce Baron noted, “This LEED certification for the Chemistry and Physical Sciences building at San Bernardino Valley College was made possible by the support of the community through the Measure M and P bonds. They allowed us to maximize our resources in designing a sustainable learning environment for our students and employees.” The three story building includes a mixture of classrooms and laboratories for the science and math disciplines alongside the Student Success Center which provides tutoring and academic support. Some of the award winning features of the environmentally conservative building include: • Installation of low flow faucets and fixtures that reduce water consumption by 30% • Installation of native drought tolerant landscaping • Use of low emitting adhesives, paints, carpets and glue • Use of building lighting controls • Alternative use of construction waste and debris, cutting landfills dumping 75% • Creative use of interactive educational building signage with QR codes To receive the prestigious LEED award, the project had to have achieved 26 points among six categories that included: Energy and Atmosphere, Sustainable Sites, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environment Quality, Innovation, Design Process and Water Efficiency. Businesses and organizations across the globe use LEED standards to increase the efficiency of their buildings to help deliver energy and sustain water efficient, healthy environmentally friendly buildings and homes that are cost saving to improve our economy and comfort of our communities.