S.C. School Makes the Green Grade

When Riverside High School in Greenville County, S.C., opens next year, it will be among the first schools to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification system for green buildings.

Only one other school in Denver is known to have applied for LEED certification. 

To achieve LEED certification, a school must earn at least 26 of a potential 59 points. Institutional Resources (InRe), the company that is financing and constructing Greenville County’s 70-facility school building program, is currently on track to receive 36 points, according to a press release from the Greenville County School District.

Some of the green building features used in the construction of Riverside High School include:

• Providing alternative transportation with the installation of bicycle racks, including a changing/shower area for use by cyclists;
• The use of a reflective Energy Star roof that reduces heat emission from the building;
• Installation of a constructed wetland and vegetated roof area accessible by faculty and students to provide an outdoor teaching area;
• Installation of light well monitors to maximize the use of the sun for inside lighting; and
• Use of solar panels to provide pre-heated water for the kitchen hot water system.

The Greenville County School District’s building program is cited by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) for making “considerable efforts to improve the health and environmental conditions in their existing schools.” ELI is an independent environmental, education and policy research center.

A summary review of the Greenville County School District's initiatives can be found at http://www.eli.org/research/schools.