Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a voluntary certification program that can be applied to any building type and any building lifecycle phase. It promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in key areas.  Once a parking lot at the center of campus, and now a green hub of student life, the Student Activity Center achieved the LEED Gold rating on April 29, 2012.

Some building highlights include:

• Green roofs reduce and slow the amount of storm water leaving the site, mitigating flooding in Waller Creek.
• More than 75% of construction waste was recycled and diverted from landfills.
• Many of the building materials are from within 500 miles of Austin and contain recycled content.
• CO₂ monitors in all assembly spaces ensure the proper amount of fresh, outside air during occupancy.
• Rain water collected from the roofs is used for water-efficient landscaping.