Environmental Sustainability

Lakehead University, is the first university to become environmentally sustainable, and the first university in North America to be “green” from top to bottom. While many buildings in Ontario have aimed to be environmentally qualified, Lakehead has made it their goal for the entire campus to be sustainable and built to environmental standards that will make the campus the greenest in the country. The university has strived to make every aspect of the building environmentally safe, from the roof the parking lot, as well as the interior of the building. As a student I have experienced how Lakehead Orillia has been environmentally conscious, and whether or not they have been true to their word of being safe for the environment. Lakehead has made a dramatic name in society being the first all “green” building and has attracted many people because of the environmental standards they have set. However, being a university this is a difficult promise to keep, especially with the expansion they are expecting. Through my time I have spent at the new campus, I have observed the sustainability of the school, and how conscious they really are at maintaining the school “green”. Lakehead currently stands as a poster child for environmentally sustainable building, and represents the first in Canada, as well as the first in Canada to meet LEED platinum status. This is a huge accomplishment for Lakehead achieving this goal to be an all green building. However this did not come cheap, a shocking $43 million dollars can be contributed to the environmentally sustainable status of the school. So how conscious is the university? While being built the university ensured that the area was a sustainable site as well as keeping the water efficient, energy efficient, carful material selection and indoor environmental quality. All of these were set standards made prior to the construction of the building, and were followed throughout the assembly. The first aspect of the