Over the last couple of years Housing and Residence Life has taken some major steps in their efforts to become more environmentally responsible. As we've renovated buildings, we've looked at ways to make them more energy efficient and earth friendly. As part of this effort, we've been following standards and guidelines set forth by the U.S. Green Buildings Council through their Leadership in Energy Environmental Design (LEED) certification program.
The LEED program is intended to promote the design and renovation of buildings that will operate in an environmentally responsible way and to identify those that are successful in doing so. The Meyland and Van Antwerp Hall renovations were both completed with the goal of being LEED certified and are currently being evaluated by the U.S. Green Building Council to see if all requirements have been met. As of October 15, 2007 Meyland Hall became one of the first residence halls in the Midwest to become LEED certified, and we expect to receive certification for Van Antwerp Hall in the near future.
In addition to changes specific to the renovations of Meyland and Van Antwerp halls, this summer we changed over almost all of the cleaning chemicals used in the residence halls and apartments to green, biodegradable products.
To learn more about what Housing and Residence Life is doing in their effort to become LEED certified, visit the U.S. Green Building Council's website.
