Iowa Environmental Research Center Goes Green

Grinnell College’s Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA) Education Center in Grinnell, Iowa, has earned a Gold rating in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

The building is the first in Iowa to receive a LEED Gold rating, according to a press release from the building’s designer, Holabird & Root LLC, Chicago.

Some of the green building features that earned the CERA Education Center its distinction include a geothermal heat pump system, building materials made from 60 percent recycled content and the use of low VOC paints, adhesives and sealants.