USGBC Awards LEED Resilient Design to GAF Headquarters

By Anca Gagiuc, Associate Editor

GAF Headquarters

Parsippany, N.J.—GAF, an operating subsidiary of Standard Industries, announced that its global headquarters in Parsippany, N.J., is the first building in the world to be awarded a LEED Resilient Design Pilot credit from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The roofing manufacturer was awarded the recognition due to the accommodations made in the building’s design, allowing it to stay operational during an emergency event.

“I was thrilled to see GAF step up to the plate and pursue one of the pilot credits on resilient design,” noted in prepared remarks Alex Wilson, president of the Resilient Design Institute & co-chair of the committee that developed the pilot credits. “GAF has shown leadership in resilience as well as sustainability, and the company’s decision to pursue these rigorous credits demonstrates a strong corporate commitment to those goals. For GAF employees in their new headquarters, the benefits of addressing resilience could be huge if the region experiences another Hurricane Sandy.”

For this designation, also known as the IPpc98 credit, building owners must assess and successfully plan for natural disasters such as flooding, tornados, high winds and earthquakes. The GAF headquarters has several features that led to USGBC’s recognition, including flood preparation and backup capabilities that allow it to continue operations and customer service during calamities and long-term outages. Furthermore, the roof is rated above local code requirements and is topped with EverGuard Extreme® TPO and EnergyGuard™ PolyIso.

“LEED certifying our new world headquarters was very important. Driving energy efficiency and construction waste management, so core to LEED, are very much aligned with our values,” added Martin Grohman, director of sustainability for GAF. “We thank the USGBC for a rewarding, instructive process through our certification. Several elements of the new Resilient Design credit, such as the Red Cross Ready Rating process, helped us improve our disaster readiness plan.”

Image courtesy of GAF ProBlog