Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, commonly referred to as LEED, was instituted in 1998 by the U.S. Green Building Council and is now a governing body that sets standards for environmentally conscious design. In order to produce a facility that is LEED certified, specific guidelines within the LEED rating system must be followed. The rating system assigns point values to initiatives within the design that fall into the following six categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation in Design. The point values add up to various levels of LEED certification. A LEED Certified building follows the ratings guidelines and has between 26 and 32 points. LEED Silver certification has between 33-38 points, Gold is between 39-51 points, and the highest level, LEED Platinum, is for facilities with 52 to 69 points. By following the LEED process, the U.S. Green Building council provides a metric by which buildings can be defined as “green.”

Movements toward green building practice, particularly with LEED certification, are rapidly growing, and have been in recent years. With four levels of LEED certification (LEED Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum), LEED practice has become more adoptable and is now touted by governmental agencies. Some agencies have LEED mandates that are dictated to organizations that wish to do business with them. Because forensic facilities are closely related to governmental agencies, LEED has become a part of forensic facilities at all levels. Why have these agencies chosen to embrace LEED? With the increasing cost of fossil fuels and costs associated with owning, operating, and maintaining buildings, forensic facilities designed by LEED standards are appealing because of the long-term cost benefits. Although some see LEED as a trend, those that have witnessed the benefits firsthand view LEED as an evolving standard.

The Scottsdale Forensic Facility was one of the earliest forensic facilities to adopt LEED strategies. Located in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, and adjacent to Phoenix, the Scottsdale Forensic Facility will house a full-service crime laboratory as well as a large evidence warehouse. Scheduled for completion in 2009, the facility will be over 53,000 gsf with projected construction costs at $10.5 million. In this article, the green strategies used at the Scottsdale Forensic Facility are explored to spark consideration on how to implement LEED standards in your facility.

SCOTTSDALE’S GREEN MANDATE
The city of Scottsdale has a long-standing reputation for embracing green culture. In 1998, Scottsdale established the first green building program in the state of Arizona, geared specifically towards residential construction. Since then, the city has continued their strong commitment to green. In 2005, they were the first city in the U.S. to adopt a Gold building policy for new and renovated city buildings. Adding to their green reputation, in 2009 the city will have a LEED forensic facility. Green has become a standard in Scottsdale.