North American dairy cooperative headquarters receives LEED silver certification

Agropur Dairy Cooperative, a North American dairy cooperative in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, has announced that its head office has obtained the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification.

During construction, a 5-crane system was used in order to limit the environmental impact by preserving 220,000 square feet of vegetation, 95 percent of construction and demolition debris was diverted away from landfill and 20 percent of the materials used contained recycled content.

"Starting at the design stage, we focused on making this an environmentally friendly building," says Michael Simoneau, vice president, administrative services of Agropur. "We opted for a structure that is integrated into nature and has abundant fenestration to admit natural light, white cladding to reflect heat instead of absorbing it, and we used many local suppliers in order to limit our environmental footprint."

"In addition to saving energy, using less water and producing less waste, this sustainable building creates a healthier and more innovative work environment for our employees," says Robert Coallier, CEO of Agropur. "We are proud of having obtained LEED certification, the international gold standard for green buildings, and particularly of having achieved silver-level certification."

Agropur's head office was awarded the distinction on the strength of a host of green features, including:

• charging stations for electric vehicles;
• stormwater management plan that uses flow and quality control strategies to protect receiving waterways from excessive waterbank erosion;
• 80.09 percent of weighted roof area sheathed in highly reflective coating;
• water consumption 25.19 percent below benchmarks;
• costs 20 percent below benchmarks;
• all mandatory recyclable materials collected and stored; and
• 97.25 percent of regularly occupied spaces with outdoor views.

Designed by Montreal, Quebec-based architectural firm Architex Group, the complex holds 800 employees.