Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.11
Liaison Elizabeth Drake
Submission Date April 19, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Swarthmore College
OP-4: Building Design and Construction

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.27 / 3.00 Ralph Thayer
Director of Maintenance
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total floor area of newly constructed or renovated building space (include projects completed within the previous five years) :
93,676 Square feet

Floor area of newly constructed or renovated building space certified Living under the Living Building Challenge:
0 Square feet

Floor area of newly constructed or renovated building space certified at each level under a rating system for design and construction used by an Established Green Building Council (GBC) :
Certified Floor Area
LEED BD+C Platinum or at the highest achievable level under another rating system 0 Square feet
LEED BD+C Gold or at the 2nd highest level under another 4- or 5-tier GBC rating system 0 Square feet
Certified at mid-level under a 3- or 5-tier GBC rating system for design and construction (e.g. BREEAM, CASBEE, DGNB, Green Star) 0 Square feet
LEED BD+C Silver or at a step above minimum level under another 4- or 5-tier GBC rating system 0 Square feet
LEED BD+C Certified or certified at minimum level under another GBC rating system 0 Square feet

Floor area of newly constructed or renovated building space certified under a non-GBC rating system for design and construction (e.g. Green Globes NC, Certified Passive House):
0 Square feet

Percentage of newly constructed or renovated building space certified under a green building rating system for design and construction:
0

A brief description of the green building rating system(s) used and/or a list of certified buildings and ratings:
---

Floor area of newly constructed or renovated building space that is NOT certified, but that was designed and constructed in accordance with published green building guidelines and policies:
23,770 Square feet

A copy of the green building guidelines or policies :
The green building guidelines or policies:

The Sustainability Framework was completed in 2015 and includes guidelines for new construction of buildings. Under the Framework, Danawell Residence Hall, completed 2015 adheres to these guideline. (Matchbox pre-dates the Sustainability Framework. It opened in 2014.)


Do the green building guidelines or policies cover the following?:
Yes or No
Impacts on the surrounding site (e.g. guidelines to reuse previously developed land, protect environmentally sensitive areas, and otherwise minimize site impacts) Yes
Energy consumption (e.g. policies requiring a minimum level of energy efficiency for buildings and their systems) Yes
Building-level energy metering No
Use of environmentally preferable materials (e.g. guidelines to minimize the life cycle impacts associated with building materials) Yes
Indoor environmental quality (i.e. guidelines to protect the health and comfort of building occupants) Yes
Water consumption (e.g. requiring minimum standards of efficiency for indoor and outdoor water use) Yes
Building-level water metering Yes

A brief description of the green building guidelines or policies and/or a list or sample of buildings covered:

The College created a set of sustainable building standards for new construction and major renovations of existing buildings. These standards are informed by an in-depth analysis of key opportunities for energy conservation and renewable energy and the most effective areas on campus to manage stormwater. To accomplish this analysis and develop the standards, the Sustainability Framework Committee worked with a consultant team led by the architecture firm Ballinger. The standards were drafted in Spring 2015 and first implemented Fall 2015. Some of these guidelines are based off of LEED while others are based off of practices that have already been implemented and have found to work at the College.


A brief description of how the institution ensures compliance with green building design and construction guidelines and policies:

We are in the process of developing more comprehensive guidelines/checklists, but the College follows the recommendations of the Sustainability Framework for most building projects.

Architects are advised at the inception of projects that design to LEED Silver certified standards is the minimum standard for construction.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Stu Hain (chain1@swarthmore.edu) and Jan Semler (jsemler1@swarthmore.edu)


The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.