Connie and Kevin Chou Hall is the first academic building to achieve US Green Building Council’s TRUE Zero Waste Platinum Certification. The project increased awareness at UC Berkeley about how zero waste can be successfully achieved and helped develop best practices, all with the a third party verification. The certification process included community and campus engagement and communication, operational coordination, metrics and reporting, and leadership support. It serves as the campus' beacon for zero waste buildings moving forward. Chou Hall—which is 80,000 square feet (including a cafe and events space) with an estimated 3,000 daily users—has an average diversion rate of 95 percent and a contamination rate below 10 percent. The facility contains no public landfill bins and that, along with many other strategies, has fostered a culture of active building user participation instead of resentment.