San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) August 21, 2012

Environmental Building Strategies (EBS), a leader in high performance building engineering, certification, sustainability education and commercial real estate consulting services, announced today that it received LEED Platinum certification for San Francisco Surgical Arts (SFSA), a new Oral and Maxillofacial surgical facility that offers routine oral surgical services, as well as advanced facial reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. EBS provided SFSA with sustainable commissioning/engineering services, as well as strategic consulting on energy, waste & water efficiency, sustainable building materials and construction practices. With EBS guidance, SFSA became the first privately-held medical/surgical facility to achieve the U.S. Green Building Councils highest level of green building certification under the LEED Commercial Interiors (CI) v2009 rating system.

Our goal was to create a green practice to serve as an example for the healthcare community, showcasing the endless possibilities with todays technology and sustainable building materials. Weve invested heavily in cutting-edge technology to improve our patient outcomes, while reducing the impact on our environment and local community, said Nima Massoomi, DMD, MEd, MD, co-founder of San Francisco Surgical Arts. Our new facility dispels the typical feel of a surgical office, making our patients and staff feel as if theyre visiting a spa.

Historically, medical facilities are characterized by stacks of paper medical records, constant hand washing, and energy intensive equipment. To directly combat these stereotypes and lower environmental impact, EBS provided the research and documentation that advised SFSA to use electronic medical records to eliminate paper waste, low flow sinks and toilets to reduce water usage, and energy efficient equipment to slash utility bills. As a testament to SFSAs investment, its existing Cupertino office (SVSA)which that did not pursue LEED certificationis half the size of the new office, but spends three times more on energy bills.

By working with EBS to implement environmental features from the design phase, San Francisco Surgical Arts expects a strong return on investment from energy, water and waste savings, said Matt Macko, founder and principal of Environmental Building Strategies. SFSA is truly a leader in transforming the medical industrys operations and values, and it was an honor to work with the doctors and the talented design team to continue advocating better buildings in the community we live and share in.

In addition to EBS sustainability engineering and LEED consulting, the Platinum achievement was made possible by the expert medical design of The Kohan Group, as well as the creative material use and sustainable medical building tactics of All Phase Builders. Notable features of the project include:

Energy/Waste/Water efficiency: