Phipps Production Greenhouse earns LEED Platinum Certification in the Existing Buildings Category

Thanks to a multi-year effort by a distinguished project team led by evolveEA, Phipps Conservatory’s Production Greenhouse has earned LEED EBOM Platinum Certification illustrating the potential for existing buildings to reduce their environmental impact. The certification—USGBC’s highest rating—represents the culmination of intense efforts to fully integrate sustainable operations within the organization. The historic campus in Pittsburgh’s Schenley park contains some of the most technologically advanced green building systems, tools to monitor them, and comprehensive green operations and maintenance practices in the region. As part of this effort, the conservatory and Production greenhouse team led efforts to:

• Conduct a historical and peer group energy benchmarking study to better understand the relative efficiency and unique operating characteristics found across the country’s greenhouses.
• Install campus-wide energy and water monitoring equipment which allows for real-time monitoring of resource usage in each campus building.
• Commission and audit all of the buildings on campus to ensure they were operating efficiently and effectively. 
• Instill organizational goals toward achieving a zero waste, and environmentally sensitive campus and culture.