The William W. Knight Law Center became the University of Oregon’s third Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certified building from the U.S. Green Building Council in June. Now the fifth-best environmental law program in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report, resides in a building committed to the ideals of its students.
The certification falls in line with the UO’s blueprint for energy efficiency, the Climate Action Plan — a document established in 2008 and updated every two years, that outlines the goal of a 17 percent reduction of emissions below 2005 levels by 2020 and estimates a 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below the expected 2050 levels.
Jim Horstrup, building manager at the Knight Law Center, said the building would have come in at a low silver rating initially before he and the others teamed up with campus operations to make slight improvements. The improvements included adjustments to the use of steam and chilled water in the winter and summer months, timed and motion sensor lights and encouraging the building’s occupants to travel to and from the building using car pools or bicycles.
On a scale of 100 points, the Knight Law Center broke “just barely into the gold certification,” Horstrup said, with a total of 61 points.
“As this campus grows, we begin to create a larger and larger carbon footprint,” Horstrup said. “I think it’s only responsible for the existing buildings to go through and look at their operations and try to determine where they can save without reducing the end product to the students.”
Horstrup said collaboration between his team and campus operations was crucial to getting the improvements and emissions analysis done on the building. Associate Vice President of Campus Operations George Hecht said his office drew inspiration from a U.S. Forest Service analysis that found the operations and maintenance cost of a building, over the span of 30 years, greatly exceeds the initial construction costs.
“If you want to cut costs and make an environmental impact, it’s important to have a well-constructed and environmentally sound building, but it’s even more important to operate and maintain it in line with these LEED principles,” Hecht said.
UO Director of Sustainability Steve Mital believes this is another good step toward a climate-neutral campus and the meeting of goals laid out in the Climate Action Plan. Mital said he envisions a UO campus where all buildings are LEED certified, and LEED’s existing building operations and maintenance standards provide a plan for that dream to become a reality.
“We’re releasing fewer by-products like greenhouse gases. On the other hand, our products — students and research — are greener and greener all the time,” Mital wrote in an email. “Both will be consequential in the future.”
UO’s LEED certified buildings:
Lillis Business Complex – Silver
William W. Knight Law Center – Gold
Matthew Knight Arena – Gold
White Stag Building (Portland) – Gold
Lewis Integrated Science Building – Platinum
Ford Family Alumni Center – Platinum