Cornell University
Cornell's Administration supports environmental policies and together with the design and standards, Cornell promotes high-quality, high-performance campus buildings.
- Cornell and the Environment: Signed in 1997 by University President and the student-elected Trustee, " The Cornell community pledges to promote sustainable futures through improvements to its campus environment. "
- Design and construction standards: Comprehensive, yet dynamic "code of quality for all campus-wide design, construction, and maintenance procedures. The level of quality deemed by any one standard is determined on the basis of reliability, serviceability, safety, and cost (including design, construction, inventory, operating, and maintenance costs). The information contained in these standards is not specific to any one project, but common to all Facilities projects." The document lists standards, not specifications, for this reason: "the use and inclusion of these standards in bid documents does not relieve the consultant or architect of the responsibility and legal liability for any bid documents created from these standards." Energy Guidelines: "Because of the uncertainty of energy prices, and the lifetime of typical components, life cycle costing for energy purposes should be done over a 20- year period , not 60 years." [even though Cornell plans for buildings to last 60-75+ years.]
- Environmental Health Guidelines: Cornell University is very concerned about the health and safety of workers employed to perform construction, the campus population, and protecting the surrounding environment. When specifying certain products for a project consider the long and short range implications.
- Environmental Compliance Office (ECO): ECO's 17 staff members, including engineers and scientists, are dedicated to minimizing Cornell's impact on the air, water, land and ecological resources.
- ECO's Stewardship Programs: Green Buildings : Building projects that have used the LEED rating system as guidance during the design process include the North Campus Residential Initiative, the West Campus Residential Initiative, the proposed Millstein Hall architectural building, the new ECO Office, and the Life Sciences Building proposed for central campus.
- Planning Design and Construction Department: "We in the office of Planning, Design, and Construction (PDC) are committed to promoting a safe, healthy, and environmentally sound campus by providing the highest quality planning, design and maintenance services."
