• The new Student Center achieved a LEED Certified rating by earning 29 points from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™. 
• LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. It provides third-party validation of a building’s performance.
• The LEED rating system establishes performance criteria and points for implementing building designs that address Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. Buildings achieve a Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum rating based on the number of points earned.  

• Built on developed land. This avoided building on environmentally sensitive sites like undeveloped land.
• Alternative transportation options. To make it easier to get to campus and leave the car at home, the following elements were added to the building: locker room and showers, bike rack, preferred parking for car and vanpools capable of serving five percent of the building occupants, the building is located within a quarter mile of several bus lines and no additional parking was provided.
• Reduced heat island effect.  The roofing material reflects the heat produced by the sun. This not only reduces the exterior heating, but the need to use air-conditioning inside the building due to a hot roof. The concrete pavement has a high solar reflectance index.
• Reduced light pollution. There is no up lighting on the building’s exterior and all outdoor lamps are oriented downward.

Water

• Reduced potable water for irrigation by 50% by using drip irrigation with rain sensors and planting native and drought tolerant plants.

Energy

• Commissioned the building’s energy related systems to verify they are installed, calibrated and perform as intended.
• Purchased green power. Two-year contract with Seattle City Light's Green Up program to procure 100% of the building’s electrical usage from renewable wind power.

Materials

• Recycled construction waste. 83% of construction waste was recycled or salvaged.
• Bought building materials with recycled-content. The steel beams, furniture, paneling, cabinets and carpet contain some recycled content.
• Bought locally made building materials. The steel beams, brick, granite, concrete, and windows were extracted, harvested and manufactured within 500 miles of campus.

Indoor Environmental Quality

• Healthy indoor air. The building meets a standard which specifies minimum ventilation rates and indoor air quality levels to reduce the potential for adverse health effects.
• Construction IAQ management plan. To reduce indoor air quality problems, the heating and cooling ducts were covered during construction. After construction, outside air was flushed through the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system for two weeks to remove indoor air contaminants.
• Low-emitting materials.  All the adhesives, sealants, paints, carpets and composite wood emit low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) - chemicals that evaporate easily at room temperature.

Innovation Credits

• Green Power. The Student Center received one innovation credit for procuring 100% instead of 35% of the building’s electrical consumption from new renewable wind power.
• Education.  A second point was earned to educate people about the building’s green features through this case study, a web page, a display board in the building, and tours.
• Food waste composting.  The onsite facility composts kitchen food waste from the restaurant. The compost is applied on the landscape as mulch.
• LEED Accredited Professional.  One of the design team members successfully completed the LEED™ Accredited Professional exam.