Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Facility Management Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly has announced that the Government Office Accommodation Project  (GOAP) has been awarded a Silver Rating by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the US Green Building Council.

“This is a major achievement and we in Government (past and present MLAs and Ministers) are proud to receive the silver certification. It is important that government leads by example and it is our responsibility to design our headquarters as a high performance, energy-efficient building that requires less water, and energy as well as reduces the operational cost substantially from prior levels,” she explained.

“There are very few LEED-certified buildings in the Caribbean and the government and the McAlpine Design Build Team should be congratulated for providing the Cayman Islands with a truly sustainable facility,” the Deputy Premier added.

Noting that the award is the first of its kind for a building within the Cayman Islands, GOAP project manager Jim Scott explained some of its design qualities.

“The building compares very well to an office in the U.S. and has applied best practice design principles. It has concentrated on minimising energy and water intake and waste output, while maximising recycling and environmental quality. It uses about 45 per cent less energy than typical existing and old US offices, and about 20 per cent less energy than typical new US offices,” Mr. Scott said.

“All of this translates to the GOAP building having the lowest electricity bill per square foot of any commercial office space in the Cayman Islands,” he added.

LEED is a standard for measuring a building’s sustainability. Certification can only be awarded after a facility undergoes a rigorous and detailed evaluation by an independent third party. The LEED process began when the building was being constructed in 2008; it was included in the contract that McAlpine had to achieve a LEED Certified Award from the US Green Building Council. The building was registered as a Green Building during the construction phase and now has achieved the Silver Rating. Gold rating or higher requires that all construction materials etc be purchased within 500 miles of the project and this one of the reasons why GOAP received a silver rating.

Alan Jones, Chief Officer in the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture, said the Cayman Islands government is keen to reduce its carbon footprint. “By recognizing innovative construction methods, sustainable use of resources and a design that prioritizes the needs of the wider environment and society, we have demonstrated that we are environmentally aware as we contribute to the development of an eco-friendly Cayman Islands,” he stated.

Other environmental initiatives include an aluminum can recycling programme, established by Facility Management and the Department of Environmental Health, and only green housekeeping products are used at the building.