American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC) announced today
LightView, the most sustainable student housing community at
Northeastern University, will source renewable energy for the
310,000 square-foot space and has been awarded U.S. Green Building
Council’s (USGBC) highest level of green building certification:
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum. LEED
is the most widely used green building rating system in the world
and an international symbol of excellence.
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LightView – LEED Platinum student housing
community (Photo: Business Wire)
“Our team is honored to receive this prestigious LEED Platinum
certification to recognize our passion to find ways to incorporate
sustainability in ways that is compatible with affordability,” said
James Wilhelm, executive vice president, public-private
partnerships for American Campus Communities. “With smart,
sustainable construction and operations including sourcing green
energy, we are committed to doing our part in shaping a brighter
future for students, employees, campuses, communities, and the
planet.”
American Campus Communities signed an agreement with Direct
Energy Business to source 6,678,000 kWh of renewable energy.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greenhouse
Gas Equivalencies Calculator, the same amount of electricity
produced using conventional fuels such as coal, emits a national
average of 5,205 tons of carbon dioxide.
“We are glad to support American Campus Communities’ transition
from being sustainability-minded to sustainably-achieving with
renewable energy solutions,” said Wayne Simpson, Direct Energy
Business Account Executive. “We’re excited to have been chosen for
this project and look forward to seeing the many resulting benefits
from this agreement.”
LightView, located at 744 Columbus Avenue in Boston, was
thoughtfully designed and constructed to maximize residents’ health
and well-being while minimizing the use of water, energy and other
natural resources. The student community is on campus and steps
away from classrooms, shops, restaurants and public transportation,
helping students live a healthy lifestyle while minimizing their
environmental impact.
To create a healthy indoor environment, the company
strategically placed intact air-barriers that separate each
dwelling, ensuring better energy efficiency, air-quality, comfort
and sound-attenuation, adjacent apartments to low-VOC paints,
adhesives, flooring and carpets. Building materials were also
selected for environmental purposes to limit the impact associated
with greenhouse gas emissions including locally sourced materials
that were high in recycled content. Other green features
include:
- high-efficacy LED lighting throughout
- high-efficiency, low water laundry
- low-flow shower heads, lavatory faucets and toilets
- drought tolerant plantings
ACC leads the student housing industry in environmental
sustainability with 37 LEED-certified projects across the country.
Below is a list of several baseline features ACC implemented as
practical and measurable strategies in achieving LightView’s LEED
certification. Certification is proof that buildings are going
above and beyond to ensure the space is constructed and operated to
the highest level of sustainability.
Baseline features for LEED certification include:
Energy
- ENERGY STAR appliances
- Motion/occupancy sensors - in both offices and auxiliary
spaces
- LED lighting through the community and units
- Programmable and zoned thermostats in common areas
- Timers on hot tubs and fire pits to reduce gas consumption
- HVAC commissioning, testing, adjusting and balancing (maximizes
efficiency)
- Building Automation System (BAS)
Water
- Low-flow plumbing fixtures and aerators
- 1.28 gallons per flush efficiency toilets
- Native plant landscaping
- Advanced Irrigation controls
Waste
- Touchless hand dryers (replace paper products)
- Recycling programs
- Durable, long-lasting floors and countertops
Indoor Environmental Quality
- Low-VOC paint
- Ceiling fans in each bedroom
- Safer Choice cleaning products (meet U.S. EPA safer product
standards)
- Dilution control system (ensures proper mixing of cleaning
chemicals)
LEED certification ensures electricity cost savings, lower
carbon emissions and healthier environments where people live,
work, learn, play and worship. According to the USGBC, in the
United States alone, buildings account for almost 40 percent of
national CO2 emissions, but LEED-certified buildings have 34
percent lower CO2 emissions, consume 25 percent less energy and 11
percent less water, and have diverted more than 80 million tons of
waste from landfills. LEED was developed with a philosophy that
sees buildings as living, breathing organisms. Modern buildings are
a collection of systems working together in order to help the
building perform.
“LightView’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green
building leadership,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO,
USGBC. “LEED was created to make the world a better place and
revolutionize our buildings and communities by providing everyone
with access to healthy, green and high performing buildings.
LightView is a prime example of how the innovative work of project
teams can create local solutions that contribute to making a global
difference.”
Opened in 2019, LightView was the first developer-led,
equity-financed student housing project in the city of Boston. ACC
developed this 825-bed, 20-story community in partnership with
Northeastern University. It also marked a key milestone for the
“Housing A Changing City: Boston 2030” initiative, which aims to
improve the quality and quantity of student housing in Boston. As a
result, LightView helps free up housing needed for the local
community workforce.
“Buildings are responsible for an enormous amount of global
energy use, resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and
have a significant impact on our personal health and well-being,”
said Ramanujam. “Green buildings allow us to live and work more
sustainably in ways you can experience – in your health, the air
you breathe, the water you drink. They offer us a better quality of
life, while also lowering global carbon emissions, reducing
electricity and water bills, and creating new green jobs.”
About American Campus Communities
American Campus Communities, Inc. is the largest owner, manager
and developer of high-quality student housing communities in the
United States. The company is a fully integrated, self-managed and
self-administered equity real estate investment trust (REIT) with
expertise in the design, finance, development, construction
management and operational management of student housing
properties. As of September 30, 2020, American Campus Communities
owned 166 student housing properties containing approximately
111,900 beds. Including its owned and third-party managed
properties, ACC's total managed portfolio consisted of 204
properties with approximately 139,900 beds. Visit
www.americancampus.com.
About the U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is committed to a
prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and
energy-saving green buildings. USGBC works toward its mission of
market transformation through its LEED green building program,
robust educational offerings, an international network of local
community leaders, the annual Greenbuild International Conference
& Expo, the Center for Green Schools and advocacy in support of
public policy that encourages and enables green buildings and
communities. For more information, visit usgbc.org and connect on
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About Direct Energy
Direct Energy is one of North America’s largest retail providers
of electricity, natural gas, and home and business energy-related
services with nearly four million customers. Direct Energy gives
customers choice, simplicity, and innovation where energy, data,
and technology meet. A subsidiary of Centrica plc (LSE: CNA), an
international energy and services company, Direct Energy, its
subsidiaries and/or affiliates, operate in 50 U.S. states plus the
District of Columbia and 8 provinces in Canada. To learn more about
Direct Energy, please visit www.directenergy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical information, this press release
contains forward-looking statements under the applicable federal
securities law. These statements are based on management’s current
expectations and assumptions regarding markets in which American
Campus Communities, Inc. (the “Company”) operates, operational
strategies, anticipated events and trends, the economy, and other
future conditions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties,
which are difficult to predict. These risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in the forward looking-statements include
those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, about which there are still
many unknowns, including the duration of the pandemic and the
extent of its impact, and those discussed in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 under the heading
“Risk Factors” and under the heading “Business - Forward-looking
Statements” and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statements, including our preleasing activity or expected full year
2020 operating results, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
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Gina Cowart Gcowart@americancampus.com
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