Our long-term sustainability consulting client 720 Access, at 720 King Street West was recently granted recertification by the CaGBC. The big news is this time they achieved LEEDv4.1 Platinum Recertification, improving on the original score of Gold under LEED 2009. Besides the level-up in scoring, LEED v4.1 represents a substantial evolution in the rating system itself, making the achievement even more meaningful. Learn what that means here.
720 Access was originally certified in 2014. Under the LEED 2009 system, projects required recertification every five years and were required to collect years of ongoing documentation. LEED v4.1 changes the recertification timeframe to every three years and is based on building performance data and survey results rather than gathering documentation related to many categories.
720 Access scored well in all categories:
- Occupant transportation – being centrally located with easy access to public transit, cycling and car-share options. In addition, the building’s main tenant offers a shuttle from Union Station to encourage the use of public transportation.
- The human experience – occupant satisfaction with the building including cleanliness, air quality, acoustics and lighting.
- Indoor air quality – with measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the total volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
- Water and energy scores – which are measured by consumption, based on utility bills.
- Waste diversion – which is tracked on an ongoing basis by the building’s waste management company.
All of these great results reflect the building owners’ ongoing commitment to sustainability. For over 10 years including the initial LEED certification in 2014, we have consulted on and managed additional building upgrades such as a large LED lighting conversion, a 5-year heat pump replacement program and a cooling tower replacement with a new VFD tower. The building’s initiatives in 2020 include enhancing the already robust metering system, refurbishing a second cooling tower with VFD’s and installing VFD circulating pumps for the heat pump loop.