UM is committed to purchasing products that have earned the Energy Star label, and have met the Energy Star specifications for energy efficiency, wherever possible and practical. All vendors are encouraged to visit www.energystar.gov for complete product specifications and updated lists of qualifying products.
Taking the LEED
The University is committed to building greener. The new Biomedical Research Institute, a 182,000-square-foot facility currently under construction at the Miller School of Medicine, has been registered for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
LEED Certification and Certified Productsis the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. The LEED green building rating system—developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington D.C.-based, nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders—is designed to promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being.
UM’s Biomedical Research Institute is being built for energy efficiency and sustainability, featuring:
- Bike storage, lockers, and showers for those using alternative transportation;
- Water-saving irrigation system;
- Reflective “Energy Star” roofing;
- Low-flow plumbing fixtures;
- A/C energy recovery system to reduce energy consumption;
- Recycled and locally manufactured materials for interior finishes and construction;
- Carbon dioxide monitoring;
- Low-emitting materials for better indoor air quality;
- Natural lighting for 75 percent of the interiors;
- Flexible and reusable laboratory casework and office partitions to reduce future waste;
- Insulated Argon Glass façade to reduce heat
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EcoZone Partner
The University’s new Clinical Research Building is a model for a series of eco-initiatives the City of Miami hopes to accomplish in the near future. Under Miami Mayor Manny Diaz’s “Green Initiative,” a special Miami Green Commission is developing strategies to restore and expand the city’s tree canopy, promote green construction, retrofit existing city buildings with green features, and incorporate 1,000 hybrid vehicles into the city’s fleet.
The City of Miami also is launching an EcoZone program as part of a public/private partnership designed to forge solutions to the city’s most critical environmental challenges. The program, in which the University of Miami is partnering, will fund important technologies and solutions to improve the local environment in the areas of air, water, energy, and green space—at no additional cost to taxpayers.