Student Union receives LEED certification

Monday, March 20, 2017

Renovations recognized for sustainability

The U.S. Green Building Council recently recognized the Oklahoma State University Student Union as a certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building (LEED). The third-party verification that the LEED designation represents, ensures a building’s performance has improved in areas that matter most. Certified buildings are resource efficient, use less energy and water, reduce greenhouse emissions, and ultimately save money.

The idea for the OSU Student Union to become LEED certified began as a student initiative, and the Student Union team worked diligently to achieve the goal and meet certain building council prerequisites.

During the most recent renovation, several features were added to the building to make it more sustainable. Thanks to those improvements, the building now captures and reuses at least 93.2 percent of rainfall, uses at least 46 percent less fresh water, saves more than 2.7 million gallons of drinking water per year and uses at least 15 percent less energy on lighting.

“We are thrilled and excited to be officially-certified as a LEED building,” said Mitch Kilcrease, Student Union director. “This began as a student-led initiative, and we are happy to continue our part in honoring OSU’s commitment to sustainability and environmentally-friendly initiatives.”

LEED is a globally recognized symbol of excellence in green building. LEED certification ensures electricity cost savings, lower carbon emissions and healthier environments for the places individuals live, work, learn, play and worship. LEED’s global sustainability agenda is designed to achieve high performance in key areas of human and environmental health, acting on the triple bottom line – putting people, plant and profit first.

Oklahoma State University is home to the most comprehensive Student Union in the world. A recent $65 million renovation has given new life to the historic building. For more than 65 years, the Union has been a central part of university life with thousands of students, faculty, staff and alumni visiting each day. For more information about the Student Union, please visit union.okstate.edu or follow OSUUnion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest or YouTube.