The GLB renovation project began with a goal of achieving LEED Silver certification. The process is defined by certain actions and decisions that can accrue points, with 50 points needed for Silver and 60 points for Gold level certification. At this point the Silver certification seems a strong likelihood. The next highest level is Gold certification.
As an example of the type of actions required by the LEED process, there must be a minimum level of water savings, with a reduction of 20% required. Reductions beyond that level can accrue additional points. Within the scope of the project (not the entire building, just the 2nd and 4th floor areas being renovated), water usage is primarily affected by the bathrooms. In these areas, bathroom fixtures were replaced with dual flush toilets, waterless urinals and low flow faucets. The impact of those changes is projected to achieve a 40% reduction in water usage (over what would have been used on those two floors). This will help with our LEED certification.
The validation of all of the LEED criteria can take months after the project is completed, so it will be some time before we know exactly what level is achieved. We will plan for a more extensive report about the efforts for the greening of the library in this project.