About LEED

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council and is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.  It was created to reduce the environmental impacts of the built environment and promote a whole-building approach to sustainable building design.

LEED recognizes performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.  A series of credits are awarded within the five areas and certification is obtained at Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum. Heartland's building earned 54 credits; 52 are required for Platinum certification.

About our Headquarters

Designed by Koch Hazard Architects, Heartland's building was designed to be 46% more efficient than a similar building using standard construction.  Features such as extra thick insulation, high efficiency windows and motion sensors contribute to the savings.  At least 70% of the building's energy is from renewable resources including roof-mounted solar panels and wind energy from the Wessington Springs Wind Energy Center.  The heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is a closed loop, geothermal system with each room separately zoned for individual comfort.

The facility also uses one third less water than a similar building.  Native plantings in the landscape design require no permanent irrigation system.  Other unique elements include ceiling panels made from re-used wood bleacher seats, exposed aggregate concrete walls, recycled content and daylight harvesting.

For a more detailed look at our headquarters building, view our brochure (4.5 MB - PDF).