Huntington Place Re-Certified as Largest LEED Facility in Michigan

Huntington Place Re-Certified as Largest LEED Facility in Michigan

By Melody Barger, ICMA

Brownfields 2023 is excited to congratulate 2023 Conference Host Huntington Place on their re-certification as the largest LEED facility in Michigan!  

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system recognized as an authority in green building around the globe. Created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED rates buildings based on how they affect resource usage and emissions.  LEED – certified buildings have lower carbon emissions, consume less energy, use less water and prevent waste from entering landfills. To obtain LEED certification, projects meet various prerequisites and obtain credits that help the project to achieve best practices when it comes to carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health and even indoor environmental quality. LEED Certification has four levels – Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum, ranging from achieving a minimum of 40 points to be Certified on up to a minimum of 80 points to achieve Platinum status. This certification strategy achieves six LEED system goals, that describe the holistic nature of the LEED rating system: reducing contribution to global climate change, enhancing individual human health, protecting and restoring water resources, protecting and enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services, promoting sustainable and regenerative material cycles and enhancing community quality of life. Click here to learn more about LEED.

Huntington Place’s strategy for sustainability is taking a bunch of small steps that lead to great success. Their activities include replacing bottled water with water stations, utilizing compostable straws and serving ware, locally sourcing food instead of going with large contractors, minimizing the use of paper, and donating unserved food to local food banks. Their Green Facility Statement says, “The Huntington Place commitment to environmental stewardship in our community is demonstrated by our continuous efforts to investigate, validate, and implement new and innovative Green initiatives through the facility.” Because of these practices and others, Huntington Place was awarded LEED Gold status.  

EPA Region 5 looks forward to showcasing this wonderful facility at Brownfields 2023. The Conference Team feels that Huntington Place is a perfect location to host the National Brownfields Conference because the convention center holds to similar values of sustainability and responsible resource management as do professionals working in the brownfields industry. We invite you to take the opportunity to enjoy the results of highly sustainable green building as you join us on August 8-11, 2023!