The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Headquarters and its Costa Rica office have earned LEED Green Building certification as a result of streamlining building processes to save energy and the use of environmentally-friendly construction materials.
August 2012: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Headquarters buildings in Washington, DC, US and its Country Office located in San Jose, Costa Rica have obtained Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification as environmentally sustainable structures.
IDB headquarters earned the maximum number of points in the energy efficiency category, certified under the Existing Buildings’ criteria. The Bank was able to earn the certification at the headquarters buildings primarily due to points for Optimized Energy Efficiency Performance (EAc1), Alternative Commuting Transportation (SSc4), a variety of Green Cleaning credits and On-site and Off-site Renewable Energy (EAc4).
The Country Office in Costa Rica also incorporated energy efficient equipment and environmentally friendly materials in its interior design. The LEED CI at the Costa Rica country office earned the majority of its points in the Sustainable Sites and Energy and Atmosphere credits.
Certification required a two-year process to assess all building operating systems and related management practices, evaluate building equipment performance, and implement LEED-compliant procedures to manage building operations. [IDB Press Release; IISD RS Sources]