Are Airports Going Green: SF Terminal 2 Hoping for LEED Certification
Are airports the next building wave that will be going green?
On April 9th, the 640,000-square-foot renovated Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport, will re-open and it will be shooting for LEED-Gold certification.
The terminal’s principal tenants, Virgin America and American Airlines, also have registered for LEED certification. Virgin America is aiming for LEED-Platinum certification of its offices in the new terminal and the American Airlines Admirals Club is seeking LEED-Silver certification.
Some of the sustainable features in Terminal 2 (T2) will include:
Natural Light – via skylights
Cleaner Air – via a displacement ventilation system
Car-Free connection – provided by BART (Its rapid transit authority)
Hydration Stations – allows passengers to refill their reusable bottles
Zero Waste – by using separate recycling receptacles
Locally-Grown food concessions
Water Conservation – through water reclamation
Paperless Ticketing
Energy Efficiency SFO officials project energy use reductions of 2.9 gigawatts per year, as well as reductions in natural gas consumption of 116,000 therms a year – will result in 1,640 tons less CO2 emissions each year.
Sustainable Building Materials
Let’s hope that every airport terminal in the United States has to achieve LEED certification within the next decade. This would be a tremendous Green Jobs creation program, and we will all be better served.
Kudos to SFO… for leading the way in sustainability.
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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and recycled promotional products, has worked to help plant over 25 million trees through his live tree seedling gift program over the past dozen years. His company’s website, EcoMarketingSolutions.com, features over 25,000 eco-friendly promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find biodegradable, organic and recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame.
You can also reach him by email (robert (at) ecomarketingsolutions.com) or comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com or below at his Twitter link.
That’s a great project. Don’t forget that elevators can go green as well… check out our new article by Elevator World… buildings can earn LEED points easily and aesthetically. http://ow.ly/4vWZA
Good point.
There are dozens of areas that can become greener–and I imagine LEED certified buildings in ten years will be even more energy efficient with even less impact on the carbon footprint than today.