U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum Certification

Lake Contracting Project Receives U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum Certification—Project is One of Only Sixteen with Platinum Certification in the United States
May 19, 2009

(Somerville, MA) – May 19, 2009 – Lake Contracting, Inc. is pleased to announce the certification of a project for a major university in Cambridge, MA as a LEED-CI Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This project is one of only a handful in the United States with the LEED-CI Platinum status, and one of the first in New England.

“As a company, Lake is committed to responsible green building, which we believe is essential, not only to improving our environment today, but also to creating a sustainable future,” said Dana Lake, President and CEO of Lake Contracting. “We were honored to be chosen for this project. The LEED Platinum certification, one of only sixteen in the US, not only verifies the quality of our work together, but also demonstrates the ability of Massachusetts institutions and businesses to be leaders in green building nationally.”

As a part of the project team, Lake Contracting is pleased to share with the university a commitment to sustainability and is proud to be a part of this impressive accomplishment. This is the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) Platinum project at the university, and only the second Platinum project on this university’s campus.

Lake has substantial experience in green building for educational institutions. In another premiere environmentally-focused construction project, for Perkins School for the Blind, the Lake team installed a geothermal system, converting a disused bomb shelter into a heating and cooling system for a school building.

As the USGBC has stated, green buildings are a vital solution to climate change, that can often be overlooked. Because buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of CO2 emissions in the United States—as a result of result of operational factors such as energy usage and water consumption—their impact on the environment can be significant.

The U.S. Green Building Council created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System to encourage and facilitate the development of more sustainable buildings. LEED guidelines provide for optimized energy performance, water efficiency, use of recycled materials, sustainable sites, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design process.

The USGBC recently conducted a final review of the university project’s documentation and accepted all 48 of the credits submitted. This project had an outstanding 99% recycling rate.

According to the official LEED scoring system, 21-26 credits are required for basic Certification, 27-31 credits are required for a Silver Rating, 32-41 for a Gold Rating and 42+ for a Platinum Rating.

To learn more about Lake Contracting, Inc., visit www.lakecontracting.com.

To learn more about the U.S. Green Building Council and LEED visit www.usgbc.org.