Prestigious sustainability awards for LaGuardia’s Terminal B

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) and LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the developer and manager of LaGuardia Terminal B, have revealed that LaGuardia Airport’s new Terminal B has retained both its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) v4 Gold Certification and the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Platinum Envision Award.

The Port Authority says that the accolades, the former bestowed by the US Green Building Council, affirm that the commitments made during the initial design review were carried forward during the construction phase of the $4 billion redevelopment project.

LEED is the most widely used rating system worldwide for green building certification, recognising excellence in sustainable design and construction. Buildings satisfying the requirements may earn one of four LEED rating levels: Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum, based on the number of criteria achieved.

LaGuardia Terminal B, Location: Queens, New York, LaGuardia Gateway Partners.

LEED v4 certification is based on a rating system that includes:

• Energy and atmosphere: The baseline energy performance standard is at least 14% more stringent than previous LEED standards.

• Water efficiency: Projects must achieve a minimum 30% savings for outdoor water use and all indoor fixtures must be certified by the EPA under its the WaterSense program.

• Materials and resources: Projects are rewarded for demonstrating reduced embodied carbon (from material extraction and processing) and for selecting materials based on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that disclose environmental impacts.

• Indoor environmental quality:  Minimum standards for low-emitting materials now must be backed by laboratory emissions testing and additionally includes furniture, ceilings and insulation.

Terminal B achieved its design-phase LEED v4 Gold certification in 2021, including the arrivals and departures hall, the eastern concourse, the eastern pedestrian bridge and the central heating and refrigeration plant.

LaGuardia Terminal B, Location: Queens, New York, LaGuardia Gateway Partners.

The latest LEED v4 Gold certification, awarded on completion of all construction activities, also includes the western concourse and the western pedestrian bridge.

Meanwhile, Terminal B has retained the highest level of Envision award — Platinum — following its post-construction review.

Retaining Platinum through this final stage of verification using the Envision Sustainability Framework is a major achievement. Terminal B is the first project to complete a post-construction review since the launch of Envision v3 in 2019.

The Envision Award recognises sustainability in multiple areas, including human well-being, mobility, community development, collaboration, planning, economic development, materials, energy, water, conservation, ecology, emissions, and resilience.

LaGuardia Terminal B, Location: Queens, New York, LaGuardia Gateway Pertners

“We are proud that our new world-class Terminal B is also being recognised as a world-leader for sustainability,” said Port Authority chairman Kevin O’Toole.

“Achieving LEED v4 Gold certification and earning the Platinum Envision Award for sustainability at Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport underscores the commitment by the Port Authority and LaGuardia Gateway Partners to do our part to mitigate the effects of climate change.”

While PANYNJ’s executive director, Rick Cotton, said: “With construction of a new LaGuardia Airport substantially complete, it’s gratifying to learn that the new Terminal B is not just beautiful and efficient but that it has also been recognised as a world-leader in sustainability.

“Sustainable, energy-efficient buildings play an essential role in reaching the Port Authority’s agency-wide goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”