Terminal 4 at JFK International Airport announced that it is the first air terminal in the U.S. to be awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings: Operations & MaintenanceGold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Terminal 4 has been recognized as one of the top performers in the world in energy management, water efficiency, air quality, waste management and green cleaning methods. Under the leadership of President and CEO Gert-Jan daGraaff, JFKIAT with their partners, Royal Waste Services, CodeGreen Solutions, SSP, ISS and ABM managed an amazing feat of executing sustainability and conservation in an existing building.

“Receiving LEED Gold certification is an incredible accomplishment for T4,” said Gert-Jan de Graaff, President and CEO of JFKIAT, the company which operates Terminal 4. “This certification is the culmination of hundreds of hours of hard work and recognizes our efforts to lead the way in environmental protection and energy savings, and our dedication to improving environmental quality for our employees, airlines, partners and more than 21 million annual passengers. We are thankful for our environmental consultant and partner, CodeGreen Solutions, for working alongside us through this process for more than a year.”

The process took 2 years of hard work implementing initiatives that save 5 million gallons of water a year, diverts 5 million pounds of recyclables from the trash, saves 50 tons of paper waste from bathroom towels, ensures high levels of air filtration throughout the terminal and uses green cleaning methods keeping the passengers and employees safe.

Gert-Jan de Graaff noted that all the vendors, partners and employees were receiving this accomplishment together and showing ‘T4 at it’s best’. ” The LEED gold Plaque, which commemorates the award will hang in this building for many years to come to inspire us and to remind us to keep on working on reducing our environmental footprint and to build out our 4GOOD corporate social responsibility program”

About USGBC

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) – established in 1993 – works to provide a sustainable future by providing efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC’s mission is “to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.” USGBC builds on this vision through the development and improvement of the LEED rating system, the LEED professional credentials, robust educational offerings, an international network of local community leaders and USGBC member organizations, the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the Center for Green Schools and other USGBC initiatives, as well as through advocacy and outreach that encourages and enables green buildings and communities.