The consolidated rent-a-car center (CONRAC) at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas has received LEED Silver certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
The US$150m CONRAC facility is a five-level, 1,600,000ft2 complex that houses all the rental car operations at the airport, including vehicle pick-up, drop-off, storage, cleaning and fueling. Before the building was complete, each rental car company operating at the airport drove vehicles more than a mile each way to separate service centers to clean and refuel. As a single facility, the CONRAC has reduced traffic on the airport roadways and is estimated to have lowered vehicle carbon dioxide emissions by more than 400 tons annually. The facility also collects storm water to irrigate the landscape and recharge the airport’s aquifer.
LEED measures the green credentials of a new facility against six categories: the sustainability of the site; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; indoor environmental quality; and the innovation and design process.
