Green Building Design

• Mission Trail Baptist Hospital is the first San Antonio Hospital to become LEED® Gold certified. The LEED® building certification program is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of green buildings given by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). 
  
  
• Mission Trail Baptist Hospital is committed to providing recycling services for staff, patients, and visitors to this facility. Recycling is encouraged across the campus and receptacles are available for paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, and aluminum.
  
  
• Native plants help support local ecosystems and require less maintenance and water.  Mission Trail Baptist Hospital uses native vegetation to protect the environment while simultaneously reducing operating costs.
  
  
• In addition to using native landscaping, the site has been carefully designed to reduce water used for irrigation.  Rather than using new drinking water for irrigation, Mission Trail Baptist Hospital reuses filtered graywater.
  
  
• Mission Trail Baptist Hospital is located in a pedestrian-friendly area near bus lines. If you would rather drive a fuel efficient vehicle than walk or ride the bus, preferred parking spaces are provided for fuel efficient and low emitting vehicles.
  
  
• Care was taken to use materials from regional sources (within 500 miles) wherever possible in the construction of this building. Greater than 35% of the construction materials used at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital came from regional sources.
  
  
• The building features highly efficient lighting systems. The combination of efficient LED and fluorescent fixtures, together with smart design strategies, reduced the power consumption of lighting systems by 30% when compared to standard practice. 
  
  
• Public restrooms at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital are equipped with highly efficient fixtures to reduce potable water use.  Due to these fixtures, the hospital will save an estimated 945,000 gallons of water per year.  That’s the equivalent of over 10 million bottles of drinking water, saved every year!
  
  
• Mission Trail Baptist Hospital was built with energy efficiency in mind.  This building is designed to save 16% off annual energy costs, as compared to standard design and construction practices.
  
  
• Many interior finishes can contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).  These chemicals produce the familiar “new car smell,” which can decrease indoor air quality.  At Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, the adhesives, paints, and coatings installed in the building meet stringent requirements for low VOC content.
  
  
• As a facility dedicated to healing, Mission Trail Baptist Hospital took great care to protect patient health during the design and construction of this building.  CO2 monitors are installed in this waiting room to help ensure the indoor air quality in higher occupancy rooms.
  
  
• Care was taken to use materials containing recycled content in the construction of this facility.  Greater than 20% of the construction materials used at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital came from recycled sources.
  
  
• Mission Trail Baptist Hospital is committed to protecting the environment for future generations.  Green power, produced mainly from wind driven sources, was purchased to offset 70% of the hospital’s electrical use for two years.