Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport is the first air terminal in the U.S. to be awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), JFKIAT announced Feb. 15.
The LEED rating system, developed by the USGBC, is the foremost program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. Terminal 4 received this certification with help of CodeGreen, which provided energy and sustainability consulting through the certification process.
“Receiving LEED Gold certification is an incredible accomplishment for T4,” said Gert-Jan de Graaff, President and CEO of JFKIAT, the company which operates Terminal 4. “This certification is the culmination of hundreds of hours of hard work and recognizes our efforts to lead the way in environmental protection and energy savings, and our dedication to improving environmental quality for our employees, airlines, partners and more than 21 million annual passengers. We are thankful for our environmental consultant and partner, CodeGreen Solutions, for working alongside us through this process for more than a year.”
The LEED Gold certification recognizes T4 as one of the top performers in the world in energy management, water efficiency, air quality, waste management and green cleaning. Through improvements in operations and maintenance, T4 now has a 30 percent increase in performance as compared to other airport terminals in energy management and uses 34 percent less water than comparable buildings. Additionally, in 2017 the Terminal recycled 45 percent of total waste through its waste management program initiatives, including composting restaurant food waste and collection procedures for cardboard, grease and building materials.
“It’s been great to see how dedicated the T4 team is to sustainability and efficient operations,” said Jonathon Matle of CodeGreen, who managed the LEED certification process. “When we first partnered with JFKIAT, we were impressed at the robust energy efficiency and sustainability program already in place; LEED certification is a way to recognize that hard work and build on it. We are extremely proud to be a part of this historic achievement.”
LEED certification was created by the U.S. Green Buildings Council in 2003. By scoring six different environmental criteria categories, it is considered one of the most holistic and influential evaluation standards of environmental buildings and green buildings and is highly coveted, particularly for an airport terminal. There are four levels of LEED certification: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Qualifications for Gold certification require 60 points out of a possible 110.
“JFK Terminal 4’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 the built environment by providing everyone with a healthy, green and high performing buildings. JFK Terminal 4 serves as a prime example of how the work of innovative building projects can use local solutions to make a global impact on the environment.”
Terminal 4 opened in 2001 as a first-of-its-kind joint venture between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and JFKIAT – then a U.S. subsidiary of Schiphol Group, operators of world-renowned Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Since then, the Terminal has grown exponentially from serving six million passengers per year to its current state of operation – which boasts an annual passenger volume of more than 21 million travelers. Terminal 4 actively gives back to the community by promoting its ‘4GOOD’ philanthropic and sustainability program which encourages social change, well-being, and environmental stewardship.
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