What is LEED Certification?

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project is environmentally responsible. LEED certified buildings are designed to use resources more efficiently when compared to conventional buildings and they provide a healthier work environment, which contributes to higher productivity and improved employee health and comfort.

There are 4 levels of LEED certification including Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Buildings are evaluated in several key areas including site selection, water efficiency, energy use, materials used, indoor environmental quality and innovation of design. There are currently less than 200 LEED Platinum buildings in the United States, and most of these are government or housing structures.

Posty Cards is one of only a handful of manufacturing facilities worldwide to obtain LEED Platinum certification and by far the smallest. Our new facility features a large private solar photovoltaic installation, solar heated water, high efficiency variable refrigerant volume HVAC, natural lighting with active artificial lighting controls, rain water reclamation for irrigation and flushing toilets, low flow and waterless plumbing fixtures, bioretention and underground basins for managing storm water runoff, and native plant landscaping. In addition to generating over 20% of our annual power use via our on-site solar PV installation, the facility is Green-e certified with 100% of its electricity use offset by renewable wind power and we maintain an extensive recycling program for manufacturing waste and consumables. You can find more information about LEED Certification at the U.S. Green Building website: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1988