March 28, 2024

CSM Building Gets LEED Designation

LEED Designation

Environmental sustainability is a high priority for College of Southern Maryland, and the college is demonstrating that commitment every day. CSM’s Regional Hughesville Campus Center for Trades and Energy Training has achieved a major LEED designation.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold designation is granted by the US Green Building Council. This marks the first time that a CSM building has earned the gold environmental design and sustainability award.

The college earned the LEED Gold title for CTET’s innovative building design, like its stormwater management techniques that include water-efficient landscaping and various water use reduction methods. The building, dedicated in spring 2017, also earned high scores for its optimizing energy performance; it uses low-emitting materials for adhesives, paints, sealants, coatings, flooring and composite wood products. Because of the solar panels installed on CTET’s roof, the college produces enough energy to provide lighting all through the facility. Offering convenient parking capacity for low-emitting vehicles also earned points for the campus.

“We are thrilled to earn the LEED Gold certification,” said CSM President Dr. Maureen Murphy in a press release. “It is an achievement that validates our commitment to being good environmental stewards from conception and design to construction and through to the day-to-day operations of the facility.”

“Energy conservation was an important goal for the design of the CTET Building,” said Vice President of Continuing Education and Workforce Development, Dr. Dan Mosser in the release. “Many conventional energy-saving techniques are incorporated into the building to achieve energy efficiency.” Dr. Mosser noted the use of thermal break aluminum windows with insulating glass, which reduces energy consumption; an air-lock vestibule in the building’s main entrance; an HVAC system that is divided into multiple zones for efficient year-round and after-hours use; and light switches zoned by the layout of each room. All of these efforts minimize energy consumption.

LEED is a globally recognized certification system that utilizes a point system to evaluate a building’s environmental impact. Buildings are able to earn four levels of certification — certified, silver, gold, and platinum — based on their total number of points. The college earned its first Silver LEED designation in 2013 for B Building at its Prince Frederick Campus, then LEED Silver for its Community Education Building on the La Plata Campus in 2015.

CTET is a 30,000-square-foot building, the first to be completed on the Regional Hughesville Campus. The facility holds labs, classrooms and administrative space and offers residents throughout the region easier access to specialized training in career fields with substantial growth potential. CTET houses trades training for CSM – HVAC, electrical, plumbing, welding, and carpentry – plus the Maryland Center for Environmental Training.

For more information about the Center for Trades and Energy Training, visit CSM’s website.

For more about the College of Southern Maryland, visit its Leader member page.

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