By PRINCETON, N.J. — Whether it’s saving energy, conserving water or recycling, ETS has reached another milestone in its long-standing commitment to becoming a greener, more efficient company in service to the local environment. The latest evidence was the installation of a certificate from the U.S. Green Building Council recognizing the company’s newest building, Landgraf Hall.
The certificate showcases the award ETS received that designates Landgraf Hall as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified building. It is displayed in the building’s lobby and etched in glass near the entryway. Opened in May 2014, Landgraf Hall is named after ETS’s fifth president, Kurt Landgraf. Some 300 employees work in the building which features an open-concept floor plan.
With energy-efficient lighting, special window glass that reflects sunlight and lowers cooling costs, water-conserving plumbing, water-efficient landscaping, and an energy-efficient heating and air conditioning system, the 105,000-square-foot building earned LEED’s Silver certification in the Green Building Design and Construction category.
“ETS was very serious about ensuring that Landgraf Hall was constructed in a way that would be not only cost-effective to build and to operate for the long term, but also respectful of the environment and attentive to the health of the people who work there,” says Yvette Donado, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at ETS.
Bruce Gilbertson, Vice President of Facilities & Real Estate at ETS, noted that Landgraf Hall’s energy systems perform optimally, well beyond conventional standards to reduce environmental and economic impacts associated with excessive energy use. “Earning LEED certification is another way for us to validate our framework for sustainable real estate practices,” he said.
Many building materials used for the project had recycled content and were manufactured or harvested regionally, such as the wood paneling in the lobby. During construction, more than 90 percent of construction waste was diverted from disposal in landfills. And more than 20 percent, based on cost, of materials were sourced from recycled building materials including steel, brick and drywall from within a 500-mile radius of Princeton.
Gilbertson also noted that the exterior windows allow the introduction of daylight and views into the regularly occupied areas of Landgraf Hall. And native plants and grasses were planted and thrive without the need for supplemental water, thus reducing the use of water.
About ETS
At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 60 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC ® tests, the GRE ® tests and The Praxis Series ® assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.
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