I am pleased to announce that the Unitarian Universalist Association has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification for our new headquarters building located at 24 Farnsworth Street in Boston's Innovation District.

LEED certification, awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, is recognized across the country as the premier mark of achievement in green building. Platinum is the highest of the four possible LEED certifications.

Our Unitarian Universalist values called us to create a green workspace when we moved to a new building. The platinum level certification could only happen because environmental sustainability played a central role in hundreds of design decisions we made over many months.

Some of the sustainable practices that were implemented in the design and operation of our new headquarters building include:

• Renovating an existing building resulting in a significant reduction in the need for virgin materials, embodied energy, and environmental pollution.
• Over 35% of the materials and furnishings installed contain recycled content.
• Over 20% of the materials and furnishings installed were manufactured within 500 miles of Boston.
• The use of energy-efficient light fixtures and a carefully designed lighting plan to reduce ongoing energy consumption for lighting by nearly 40%.
• Over 90% of construction waste was diverted from the landfill by incorporating material recycling strategies.

This award is evidence of our ongoing commitment not only to advocate for environmental justice and sustainability, but to set an example in our home office. We hope our efforts will be a model that other organizations and architects will follow.

Rev. Peter Morales is President of the Unitarian Universalist Association.