From Silver to Gold: How Operational Sustainability Strategies Led to Achieving LEED Gold Certification for the Onondaga Community College SRC Arena and Events Center Sean Vormwald, Director of Sustainability and Environmental Health and Safety, Onondaga Community College ABSTRACT This presentation will provide a case study of the LEED certification process for the LEED Gold certified SRC Arena and Events Center at Onondaga Community College. The SRC Arena and Events Center hosts hundreds of events and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year, allowing many people in the Central New York Region to experience a green building. The presentation will provide a detailed overview of the project, highlighting the credits pursued to achieve LEED certification. It will also discuss in detail strategies for earning additional points based on sustainability-related operational decisions made by the College, which led to exceeding the original project goal of LEED Silver. The presentation will also discuss several challenges encountered during the project, and insights into the process of achieving LEED Gold certification from the College’s perspective. The presentation will demonstrate how LEED projects relate to an organization’s overall sustainability initiative. BIOGRAPHY Sean Vormwald is the director of sustainability and environmental health and safety at Onondaga Community College where he works with campus stakeholders to implement sustainability-related programs throughout the College. His role includes integrating sustainability into campus operations, encouraging sustainability-related curriculum development, and coordinating educational outreach programs. Prior to his position at Onondaga, Sean provided sustainability consulting services for municipal, non-profit, and business clients through his company, Sustainable Transitions Inc. He has also worked for several non-profit organizations where he managed environmentally-focused public outreach campaigns. Sean is currently a PhD student at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry studying environmental communication. He earned a master's degree in communications and a bachelor's degree in environmental studies at Ithaca College.