Oberlin College
OP-3: Building Operations and Maintenance

The department recognizes that Green Seal is a great source when it comes to making a decision on a product. Green cleaning chemicals are used when the option is available and equally as effective as its conventional counterpart. Currently, Green Seal certified products are used for all daily cleaning needs. The paper products that we stock are manufactured by Eco Soft and are Green Seal Certified. Both our tissues and paper towels are made from 100% recycled materials, as well as the core and box are 100% recycled material. Our hand soup products are GS-41 certified. All vacuums on campus meet or exceed the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) requirements for efficiency. The college is in the process of 100% conversion to Windsor Sensor vacuums. The Windsor vacuum is LEED qualifying with CRI SOA Silver Performance and noise levels less than 70 dBA. Oberlin College recycles carpet after its use on campus. In 2003 the college won the State of Ohio Department of Administrative Services STS Recycler of the Year Award for the amount of carpet it recycled. Oberlin College uses Sherwin Williams paints in all campus buildings. These paints have no odor, no silicates, and no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Oberlin protects the health of the campus community by carefully selecting products such as these that will not negatively impact indoor air quality.

Oberlin College has developed a Building Construction Standards and Performance Guidelines document for building construction and management. This document lays out standards and guidelines (in addition to USGBC LEED) for selecting materials, vendors, and contractors during construction projects. The document includes sustainability provisions such as proper waste disposal, preferring the use of recycled carpets, protection of trees, erosion control, “no incandescent fixtures”, low VOC finishes, ensuring safety and security, building automation controls, Oberlin College’s diversity and non-discrimination policy. As stated, the Oberlin College Board of Trustees adopted a policy that all new construction and major renovations on campus have to be designed and built in accordance with the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver standard or equivalent. Current LEED buildings on campus include: William’s Field House (2009): LEED NC 2.2 Gold, Bertram and Judith Kohl Building (2010): LEED NC 2.2 Gold, Allen Memorial Art Museum (2011): LEED Gold, and Kahn Hall (2010) NC Silver. Kahn is sustainability-themed first-year residence hall. Its sustainable design and in-depth energy metering through the Campus Resource Monitoring System provide students the opportunity to explore how their actions affect their resource usage. The historic Apollo movie theater renovation was LEED certified in 2012. In addition: • In the fall of 2006 a group of students brought the idea of a sustainable living theme house called SEED, Student Experiment in Ecological Design, to the administration. The first phase of renovations were conducted in the summer of 2007 and students moved into the house in fall ’07. Additional renovations and retrofits are anticipated over the coming years. The house accommodates a total of eight students and is designed to spread the advantages of sustainable living into the local community. • Oberlin College’s most impressive green building, however, isn’t LEED certified – it was built prior to LEED. The Adam Joseph Lewis Center (AJLC) for Environmental Studies was one of the first and most innovative green buildings on a college campus. It helped launch the green building movement of the mid-1990s and its innovative systems have since inspired green buildings in many other locations and settings. In 2010, Architect Magazine polled 150 green building experts and named the AJLC the top green building built since 1980. The Living Machine processes wastewater into reusable grey water via the natural cleansing methods that occur in a wetland—plants, bacteria, protozoa, and other aquatic microorganisms are used to clean and condition the water for reuse. It is operated by a group of about 10 students. The Living Machine provides excellent opportunities for Oberlin College students and the community to explore issues of wastewater, wetland ecology, microbiology and plant dynamics. With the installation of a solar parking pavilion adjacent to the existing photovoltaic (PV) array on the roof of the innovative AJLC, Oberlin had the largest PV array in Ohio at the time, with a total rated production of 159 kW. By using the solar energy produced by the PV array and (geothermal) ground source heat pumps, the building produces most, if not more, than the energy it uses. Oberlin College hopes to continue our legacy in ecological design into the future. Facilities Planning and Construction (FP&C) uses the principles of LEED Silver as a starting point, but then takes the principles of good, holistic design to push beyond LEED points, because after all, a building that people don’t like to be in is not a sustainable building regardless. The office employs skilled architects that can manage projects in order to create a holistic environment that is healthy and pleasing to building occupants. FP&C aims to ensure that all building users enjoy their experience in the building; this includes things that cannot be easily codified like creating a balanced atmosphere with pleasing colors, comfortable chairs, etc. Thus, because every project is different, each project is approached differently and customized for that project.

http://new.oberlin.edu/office/environmental-sustainability/progress/buildings.dot