SAN RAMON, Calif.—As a direct result of increased employee satisfaction, participation, and a shared commitment to operate more sustainably, CooperVision’s contact lens manufacturing facility in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico has been elevated to the prestigious LEED Gold certification. The 540,000-square-foot site—which first earned LEED Silver certification in 2020 for its environmentally conscious design and operation—produces the company’s MyDay and Biofinity brands. It is the second CooperVision manufacturing facility to achieve LEED Gold certification, joining the company’s Costa Rica plant, which earned this recognition in 2022.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system is a globally recognized symbol of excellence in green building. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it certifies that buildings, homes, or communities have been designed, constructed, maintained and operated to improve both environmental and human health performance.

LEED projects earn points by adhering to prerequisites and credits across nine measurements for building excellence, from integrative design to human health to material use. The CooperVision site excels in several LEED evaluation categories, including energy and water conservation, transportation and waste reduction. Improvements within human experience and indoor environmental quality performance is what brought the site from LEED Silver to LEED Gold certification.

“Operating more sustainably for the benefit of our employees, customers, business, and the planet is a core value of CooperVision,” said Javier E. Pellicer Rodriguez, vice president, Americas Manufacturing Operations, CooperVision. “Our Puerto Rico site’s advancement to LEED Gold certification is a major testament to the dedication of our team, whose participation made this certification possible.”

Other LEED-certified CooperVision sites include the company’s manufacturing facilities in Alajuela, Costa Rica and Scottsville, N.Y., as well as its distribution centers in West Henrietta, N.Y. and Spain. A secondary packaging and distribution facility in the U.K. also holds a BREEAM “Excellent” rating.