The Darryl J. King Student Life Centre鱿鱼视频app LEED Silver designation is just the latest of King鱿鱼视频app many environmental achievements on campus.
Sylvester said that since 2009, when the university was holding consultations for the construction of the student centre, there had always been a strong push toward making a statement of the values that the King鱿鱼视频app community strives to uphold.
鈥淚 think students, faculty and staff all have a raised awareness of what it means in this day and age to be environmentally aware and responsible,鈥� said Sylvester. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a Catholic university and it goes right back to stewardship of creation.鈥�
The student centre received the LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification during King鱿鱼视频app Earth Week. The certification declares the student centre has met all proper standards and criteria as a sustainable, green building.
To achieve a LEED certification, a building project must fulfill specific prerequisites that consider environmentally conscious practices, such as sustainable building materials, waste management, building maintenance and more.
鈥淏asically, with LEEDs, they鈥檙e looking at what things you are looking to use as building materials, things like paint and adhesive... are they the most environmentally friendly products that you can use,鈥� said Chris MacNeil, director of the physical plant at King鱿鱼视频app.
MacNeil said his predecessor, Mike Tattersall, who won the 2014 Western Green Award, was instrumental in the student centre鱿鱼视频app building project. MacNeil plans to continue Tattersall鱿鱼视频app work by applying the same practices throughout the rest of the campus.
鈥淚n our existing buildings, it wouldn鈥檛 apply as a LEEDs building, but we can take some of the things we are applying in our LEEDS building and use those in other areas of the campus, like the green cleaning program,鈥� he said.
MacNeil said the university is also working on other campus-wide eco-projects, such as the new recycling project with TerraCycle to reduce waste by recycling old cigarette butts, batteries, pens and more. The university is also looking at a comprehensive composting program and also to expand the community garden on campus.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always exploring new ways we can keep our commitment and move our commitment forward,鈥� said Sylvester. 鈥淧art of it is educational and part of it is real action that we do on campus.鈥�
Sylvester said the King鱿鱼视频app community is very much looking forward to getting its hands on Pope Francis鈥� encyclical on the environment (released June 18). Sylvester hopes to work on hosting a conference at the university and take up a theological discussion about the document in the community.
鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app really nice that the Pope is showing such real leadership on this and we鈥檙e all anxious to take a look at what he has to say,鈥� said Sylvester.
鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app one of the most pressing concerns. We鈥檙e in challenging times right now.鈥�