NSF Receives Silver LEED Certification

By FES Staff -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 7/23/2008 10:37:00 AM

NSF International received the silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification for the recent expansion of its Ann Arbor, Mich.-based corporate headquarters and laboratories. To achieve silver LEED status, NSF demonstrated that the design of its new building is saving 26 percent of energy costs when compared to traditional buildings.

NSF’s other sustainable efforts include:
• Up to 50 percent of NSF’s drinking water treatment systems lab’s test water is now recycled and reused.
• Using wind, solar and hydro-electric sources for 50 percent of the energy sources used to power the facility.
• Using 12 percent post-consumer recycled material in the building, including recycled carpeting.
• Using compact fluorescent lighting, which uses at least two-thirds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, throughout the building.
• Water-efficient landscaping reduces landscaping water needs by 50 percent. This includes planting native drought-tolerant grasses and plants to protect building and parking lot runoff.
• Using locally manufactured resources and obtaining almost 85 percent of all building materials locally.
• Providing 21 acres of open space, 217 percent more than the minimum code requirements.

In addition, the organization promoted Petie Davis to business unit manager of NSF’s sustainability programs, which include sustainable forestry, organic certification, green chemistry, and water conservation as well as the sustainable supplier program and sustainable product certification program.