Seven Parking Garages Become First in U.S. to Achieve Green Garage Certification
New ‘Green Garages’ include corporate, university, airport, and hotel facilities in Los Angeles; Metro Washington, D.C.; Denver, Houston; Cambridge, Mass.; and Ithaca, N.Y.
(LAS VEGAS – July 1, 2015) — The Green Parking Council (GPC) today announced the first seven parking facilities in the U.S. to achieve Green Garage Certification, a comprehensive sustainability standard for existing and new parking facilities launched in 2015 and evaluating 48 elements of garage operation, programs, structure, and technology.
The Green Garage Certification program will be delivered and promoted globally by the Green Business Certification, Inc., the certification body for the U.S. Green Building Council’s global LEED® green building rating system, in a strategic partnership with the GPC and the International Parking Institute.
The first seven parking facilities to achieve Green Garage Certification are:
Certified Green Garages Category Owner/Developer Location
Bank of America Plaza Office Brookfield Los Angeles
BG Group Place Office BG Holdco LLC Houston
Canopy Airport Parking Airport Och Ziff Capital Management Group
Parking Acquisition Ventures (PAVe) Denver
Charles Square Garage Hotel Charles Square Hotel Cambridge, Mass.
Cornell Forest Home University Cornell University Ithaca, N.Y.
Silver Spring Metro Plaza Office Brookfield Metro Washington, D.C. (Silver Spring, Md.)
Westpark Corporate Center Office Northwestern Mutual Life Metro Washington, D.C. (Tysons, Va.)
“Cars are getting smarter, people are getting smarter, and parking garages are getting smarter,” explains Paul Wessel, executive director of the GPC, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute. “The greening of parking facilities transforms them into enablers of sustainable mobility. Certified Green Garages offer significant benefits for drivers, tenants, building owners, property managers, and society overall.”
As just one example of the impact a green garage can have, independent studies show that energy efficiency, which has multiple key benchmarks in the Green Garage Certification Standard, reaps tangible economic benefits for building owners. The Green Garage Standard creates opportunities to lower energy usage through lighting, ventilation, controls, and commissioning measures, which reduce operational costs in the range of 25% as compared to the national average.
Green Garage Certification assesses parking facility management practices that maximize performance while minimizing waste; programs that encourage biking, car sharing, carpooling and alternative fuel vehicles; as well as efficient and sustainable technology and structure design. Sustainable garages utilize energy-efficient lighting and ventilation systems, guidance systems that help drivers find parking faster, idle-reduction technologies, electric vehicle fueling stations, car sharing, bicycle parking, and storm water management practices.
“The owners and operators of these seven sites demonstrate a commitment to sustainability that transcends the walls of their organizations and contributes to industry-wide transformation,” adds GPC Chairman John Schmid. “This is a milestone for the parking industry and profession. These agents of change are leveraging innovative business practices, accelerating the adoption of smart technologies, and embracing open-source collaboration. “
Green Garage Certification is a program of the non-profit Green Parking Council. For copies of Green Garage Certification at a Glance, the Elements of Green Garage Certification, the free Green Garage Certification Program Guide, and to purchase the Green Garage Certification Standard, go to www.greenparkingcouncil.org/certification.
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For hi res photos of certified facilities, case studies, and/or interviews:
Media Contact:
Helen Sullivan
703 606 7622
sullivan@parking.org