Standards & Compliance Briefing: RoHS Testing, Tim Hortons’ First LEED

Canadian restaurant chain Tim Hortons has opened its first LEED-certified restaurant, in Hamilton, Ontario. Builders reused the site’s old parking surface as granular fill, and diverted 99 percent of construction waste from landfill. The company hopes to have 30 LEED-certified buildings by the end of 2016, and says the location will serve as a test-bed for building technologies.

Marketing and communications design firm Bowman Design Group says it is the first US company to receive Sustainable Company certification from FAMAB, the German exhibition and events industry association. The company met or exceeded goals for nine criteria including greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, transportation, suppliers and material purchasing.

Bedding and bath accessory company Coyuchi has announced the certification of all its organic cotton product lines to the Global Organic Textile Standard. GOTS covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading and distribution of all textiles made from at least 70 percent certified organic natural fibers.

Multinational textile group TenCate has announced that all four of its companies have been level 3-certified under the Corporate Social Responsibility Performance Ladder system, Specialty Fabrics Review reports. The Dutch standards is based on guidelines including ISO 26000, ISO 9001, AA1000 and the Global Reporting Initiative.

Intertek has opened its first North American Center of Excellence for RoHS directive testing in Columbus, Ohio. Intertek will use the facility for CE marking requirements including BOM review, XRF testing and Wet Chemical analysis.

Singapore Management University has achieved certification to the ISO 50001 Energy Management System standard, Eco-Business.com reports. The university says it has already cut energy consumption while increasing floor space, and expects that by institutionalizing its energy conservation process, it will achieve further cuts.

The Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Global Environmental Science at Caltech has earned LEED Platinum certification. One of its most innovative features is its solar telescope, which has been retrofitted with mirrors to pull sunlight deep into the building’s underground lab, EarthTechling reports.

The Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building IV project at Arizona State University has achieved LEED Gold, according to one of the structural design consultants, CH2M Hill. The building includes large roof overhangs to shade a seven-story curtain wall on the north, and an integrated shade screen to protect west-facing glass.

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) building in Raleigh has achieved LEED Platinum status. The building complex features solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations, and 90 percent of construction waste was diverted from landfills.

The headquarters for HVAC manufacturer Harshaw Trane, at the Blankenbaker Station business park in Louisville, Ky., has achieved LEED Silver. It is the company’s second LEED certification, Business First reports.