The Treasury Department announced today that their headquarters has attained LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gold is the second-highest rating.
The building was made more energy and water efficient, resulting in a 7 percent decrease in electricity use and a 53 percent decrease in steam use over 2008 levels.
“The fact that the home of much our nation’s financial history has achieved this distinction for environmental leadership adds new meaning to the term ‘green’ building,” said Assistant Secretary for Management Dan Tangherlini. “We’re proud of the improvements we’ve made around the Treasury Building – both big and small – to help reduce our environmental footprint and save taxpayer dollars.”
The Treasury Department also squeezed in 164 additional workstations for federal employees.
The Treasury Building, which is located at 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, is more than two city blocks long and serves as the headquarters of the Department. It was constructed over a period of 33 years between 1836 and 1869. The east and center wings – which comprise the oldest portion of the structure – were designed by Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument, and were built between 1836 to 1842.
The Treasury Building is the third-oldest federal building in Washington D.C., after the White House and the U.S. Capitol, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1972.
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LEED certifications are a complete waste of taxpayer dollars.
LEED certifications doesn’t mean the building is energy efficient or the most efficiently built or most environmentally friendly or even healthy for the occupants. LEED certifications are meaningless.