Chico Recognized as First CSU Campus to Register 'Green Building' Project

California State University, Chico was recognized at a ceremony on Sept. 23 in Sacramento as the first CSU campus to officially register a new building project under national standards for environmentally conscious, sustainable buildings.

CSU, Chico’s Student Services Center, projected for construction next year, will be built following standards established by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a program begun in 1999 by the U.S. Green Building Council.

LEED has a common standard of measurement and complete framework for assessing “green” buildings in areas such as energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Buildings that register with LEED are rated on a wide variety of criteria, from site selection to ventilation effectiveness. Based on how well they score in all such areas, the buildings are rated as “LEED Certified,” “Silver,” “Gold” or “Platinum.”

A ceremonial signing of CSU, Chico’s LEED registration took place at a meeting of the California Integrated Waste Management Board in the Cal/EPA Building in Sacramento. CSU, Chico Interim President Scott McNall, Vice President for Business and Finance Dennis Graham and Associated Student President Michael Dailey represented the university.

Waste Management Board member Carl Washington, Sustainable Building Task Force member Christine Flowers and Arnold Sowell, undersecretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, spoke at the signing event.

While six UC campuses and two state community colleges have LEED buildings underway, CSU, Chico’s Student Services Center is the first CSU building to follow the LEED standards.

Disposal of construction waste, design of water-efficient landscaping and purchase of recyclable building materials are just three of the many focus areas for a LEED building.

Total costs for the Student Services Center—which were approved by state voters as part of Proposition 47 in the October 2002 election—are approximately $34 million. The project will go out to bid in spring 2004, with completion estimated for fall 2005. Offices of admissions, financial aid, advising and career planning and placement are some of the planned occupants. The four-story, roughly 120,000 square-foot building will be located at 2nd and Ivy streets.

Contact: Joe Wills, 530-898-4143