The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded Columbia's Manhattanville plan LEED Platinum status—the highest designation that can be awarded under the program.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the standard benchmark used in architecture and structural engineering to identify excellence in sustainable design practices. The Platinum certification comes in LEED's Neighborhood Development category, a designation that recognizes environmentally friendly design of entire neighborhoods, rather than specific buildings.
From an urban planning perspective, this is a fairly significant milestone, not only for the University: The Manhattanville campus is the first LEED-ND Platinum certification in New York City and for a university campus nationally.
