Mexico City, May 3, 2023. Ciudad Panamericanahas obtained its second achievement as a sustainable campus by obtaining LEED(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for its first building, Phase I, with a total of 51 points at the Silver Level.
This feat was achieved by demonstrating the reduction of negative impacts on the environment, the reduction of atmospheric emissions in energy efficiency, excellent waste management and care of water resources, in addition to a good indoor environmental quality.
A LEED building
The LEED Certification is an internationally recognized certification system for sustainable buildings created by the U.S. Green Building Council (U.S. Green Building Council), which in Mexico is represented by SUMe (Sustentabilidad para México A.C.), an association of which SUMe has been a founding member since 2011. Universidad Panamericana has been a founding member since 2011.
To understand what was involved in the construction of Phase I of Ciudad Panamericana, Francisco Lopez Gaona , Construction Manager, explains: "This project involved a sustainable management of the site where it was built, without damaging the rest of the surrounding land, favoring open areas and excellent rainwater management, as well as the use and management of water, both potable and wastewater reuse.
It also points out that, in terms of energy, "it is a highly efficient and energy efficient building with on-site renewable energy generation to reduceCO2 emissions into the atmosphere during its operation". He also states that for its construction, the quality of the interior environment was privileged in all spaces, "to provide students, professors and collaborators with healthy spaces".
A sustainable university
Francisco assures that each of the strategies to achieve the aforementioned characteristics "were visualized from the design of the building, taken care of in the construction specification, followed up during construction and commissioning, and documented, so that certification could be obtained".
The willingness of Universidad Panamericana to have buildings with this type of certification goes hand in hand with its interest in providing an education in values that contribute positively to the construction of a better world.
In this sense, the architect assures that the university "(...) seeks that its buildings reduce negative impacts on the environment, respecting the values of Sustainable Development of the United Nations and to set an example that it is possible to have buildings that mitigate environmental impacts".
Steps to follow
Mexico is among the 10 countries with the most LEED certifications (excluding the US and Canada) with more than 600 certified projects. Ciudad Panamericana will continue to contribute in this sense, as it is now looking for the next building of this campus, destined for the Faculty of Health Sciences, to also be sustainable .
"Having achieved since last year that the UP City campus has already approved LEED credits, makes it easier for each building to be built on this campus to continue demonstrating compliance and achieving certification in all buildings to be constructed," concludes Architect López Gaona.
