Going Green Is Catching In Virginia

Online, March 11, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Last year, at the University of Richmond (UR), the college football season opened in a brand new stadium. After playing at City Stadium, across town, for over 80 years, the Spiders have new home on campus in the E. Claiborne Robins Stadium. Costing $25 million to build ($20 million of which was raised by the athletic department), the 8,700-seat stadium was built to comply with the Silver Rating standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) in mind.

Robins Stadium has no irrigation system, using 30 percent less water than the alternative. Over 20 percent of all the building materials were selected from within 500 miles of the site, and energy consumption is down 14 percent.

The new stadium opened to a sold out crowd and huge success over the course of the 2010 season. With six home games planned for the 2011 season, the administration is thrilled with what they've accomplished thus far.

ParkNPool, which sells bleachers, park benches, and other related recreational equipment also just opened up a brand new million dollar facility in Lexington, just over an hour away from UR. Their 1,500 square foot facility utilizes natural lighting, a metal "cool roof" and they also relied on locally produced materials for construction.

On March 2nd, Ashley Katz, Communications Manager with the U.S. Green Building Counsel (USGBC) released a report detailing the top 10 states for LEED-certified commercial and institutional green buildings for 2010. The ratings were based on information from the U.S 2010 Census and it placed the District of Columbia at the top, with 25.15 square feet of LEED-certified space per person. Across the nation, more companies are going green, and industry giants like Frito Lay and Wells Fargo have even joined in, certified projects with LEED.

"We are excited to be a part of the green movement, and are always trying to think of new ways to give back to our community and the environment," Jim Fonner, Administration Manager, ParkNPool. "The fact that more companies are making the effort to go green is something to be proud of."

Though Virginia did not make it to the list, with organizations like ParkNPool and the University of Richmond setting the new standard, they are well on the way to moving up the ranks with over a thousand non-residential projects registered with LEED in February 2011.