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Pro-environmental Behavior in LEED Buildings at Davidson College

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED Green Building rating system aren’t just designed to efficiently use energy and water, but have the potential to influence the occupant behavior. This project used the new, LEED Certified, Wall Academic Center as the location of a study to determine if interacting with the Wall Center and place attachment toward the Wall Center encouraged more pro-environmental behaviors in the occupants. A cross-sectional survey, distributed by email to students and faculty, covered question about demographics, place attachment, pro-environmental behaviors, LEED knowledge, and degree of environmental concern. The project was limited by possible respondent bias, a limited time scale and restricted population. While the results were inconclusive, this project shows that the LEED Certification has potential to improve educational components that could reverse norm behaviors within and outside the setting of LEED certified buildings.