Ithaca College is well on its way to becoming a green machine. The Peggy Ryan Williams Center has become the second building on campus to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum certification — the highest possible national recognition of sustainability.
Sustainable features in the Peggy Ryan Williams Center include a vegetated roof area that reduces airborne pollutants and adds oxygen to the atmosphere, as well as sensors that control light fixtures and ventilation that is based on natural light levels and room occupancy. All of the features promote an effort to conserve electricity.
But the college isn’t stopping at the Peggy Ryan Williams Center and Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise. New construction and renovation projects, including the Athletic and Events Center, will hopefully be at least LEED Silver certified. The college will also look into ways residence halls can save energy and should do the same with its oldest, most wasteful buildings.
Earlier this year, the college received a B+ grade on the College Sustainability Report Card. Low grades in “Endowment Transparency” and “Investment Priorities” brought its rankings down. But as the campus continues to grow, the college is finding new ways to help the environment.
The college has made sustainability a top priority. And so far, it has been successful in “going green.”
