Whole Foods Sarasota, Fla., Store’s Nabs LEED Silver
Whole Foods Market has received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) for its Sarasota, Fla., store, which opened Dec. 8, 2004, and was designed based on the LEED Green Building Rating System.
“One of our company core values states, ‘We care about our communities and our environment,’” said Juan Nunez, Florida regional president. “I think the environmentally conscious, LEED-certified store is a perfect example of Whole Foods Market putting that core value into action in Sarasota.”
The USGBC’s LEED certification follows a rigorous registration process. Of nearly 2,000 applications received since the inception of the LEED program in 2000, just 300 buildings worldwide have been awarded certification. Whole Foods Sarasota is the sixth building in Florida to receive LEED certification.
The USGBC established the LEED rating system to provide guidelines and ideas for improved, more environmentally conscious construction and development. It’s a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.
“In short, this LEED certified supermarket responds to a global need -- the necessity for our planet’s buildings to be built in tandem with the environment,” said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC, president, CEO and founding chair. “The Sarasota Whole Foods Market is to be congratulated for the certification in that it will enhance our environment and serve as a model for other supermarkets.”
Several of the key LEED elements of the Sarasota Whole Foods building include a water treatment system designed to capture two-thirds of the roof water, which is filtered back into the building and used for all cleaning purposes; recycled materials throughout; nontoxic, environmentally friendly public artwork; monitoring systems to provide continuous energy performance data for annual analysis; a building R-value (insulation level) surpassing the minimum standard; a high-tech, highly reflective, energy-saving roof white roof system; skylights throughout to provide maximum daylight, high-performance mechanical and electrical systems, and nontoxic, low-odor paint
For more information about the LEED Green Building Rating System, visit www.usgbc.org/LEED.
“One of our company core values states, ‘We care about our communities and our environment,’” said Juan Nunez, Florida regional president. “I think the environmentally conscious, LEED-certified store is a perfect example of Whole Foods Market putting that core value into action in Sarasota.”
The USGBC’s LEED certification follows a rigorous registration process. Of nearly 2,000 applications received since the inception of the LEED program in 2000, just 300 buildings worldwide have been awarded certification. Whole Foods Sarasota is the sixth building in Florida to receive LEED certification.
The USGBC established the LEED rating system to provide guidelines and ideas for improved, more environmentally conscious construction and development. It’s a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.
“In short, this LEED certified supermarket responds to a global need -- the necessity for our planet’s buildings to be built in tandem with the environment,” said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC, president, CEO and founding chair. “The Sarasota Whole Foods Market is to be congratulated for the certification in that it will enhance our environment and serve as a model for other supermarkets.”
Several of the key LEED elements of the Sarasota Whole Foods building include a water treatment system designed to capture two-thirds of the roof water, which is filtered back into the building and used for all cleaning purposes; recycled materials throughout; nontoxic, environmentally friendly public artwork; monitoring systems to provide continuous energy performance data for annual analysis; a building R-value (insulation level) surpassing the minimum standard; a high-tech, highly reflective, energy-saving roof white roof system; skylights throughout to provide maximum daylight, high-performance mechanical and electrical systems, and nontoxic, low-odor paint
For more information about the LEED Green Building Rating System, visit www.usgbc.org/LEED.