Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.04
Liaison Tina Woolston
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Tufts University
OP-4: Building Design and Construction

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.45 / 3.00 Gretchen Von Grossmann
Director of Capital Programs
Operations
"---" 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) :
1,380,694 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 174,940 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 95,000 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:
19.55

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

574 Boston Avenue Redevelopment (95,000 sq ft) - LEED-NC v2009 (Last certified Nov 2016)- LEED Silver
HP Science and Engineering Complex (174,940 sq ft) - LEED-NC v2009 (Last certified Apr 2018)- LEED Gold


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:
46,200 Square feet

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

There were two building renovations that were built to meet LEED Silver standards, but did not apply for LEED certification.


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) No
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) No
Indoor environmental quality (i.e. guidelines to protect the health and comfort of building occupants) No
Water consumption (e.g. requiring minimum standards of efficiency for indoor and outdoor water use) No
Building-level water metering No

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

The new Gross Anatomy lab at the Tufts Medical School was finished on August 1st, 2018. https://now.tufts.edu/articles/new-anatomy-lab-opens

The Foster Hospital for Small Animals at the Cummings School (Grafton campus) had an $8.6 million renovation that was completed in June 2017. http://www.wbjournal.com/article/20150429/NEWS01/150429928

Both of these buildings were built to achieve LEED Silver standards, but did not apply for LEED certification.


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

Tufts builds all buildings to the stretch energy code:
"In 2009, Massachusetts became the first state to adopt an above-code appendix to the "base" building energy code-the "Stretch Code" (780 CMR Appendix 115.AA). The Stretch Code, which emphasizes energy performance, as opposed to prescriptive requirements, is designed to result in cost-effective construction that is more energy efficient than that built to the "base" energy code." https://www.mass.gov/service-details/building-energy-codes
"On January 1, 2017, both the Base Energy Code as well as the Stretch Energy Code were updated. The difference between the two will be much smaller than in the past. In fact, the new Stretch Code will be incorporated into the new Base Code; no more extensive and separate language to describe it. Basically, new residential construction in a Stretch Code town will need to follow the Performance Path of the Base code and achieve a HERS rating of 55 rather than following the Prescriptive Path of the Base Code. The updated Stretch Code will also apply to new commercial buildings over 100,000 square feet." https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2017/11/21/stretch-energy-code-overview.pdf

Also, Tufts has certain efficient products that it installs in all new and renovated buildings, such as LED lighting, dual flush toilets, and low-flow showerheads.

Despite renovating Tufts buildings to meet high standards in green building, Tufts does not have an official green building guideline or policy.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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