Buildings

Introduction

Buildings are generally the largest user of energy and the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions on campuses. Buildings also use significant amounts of potable water. Institutions can design, build, and maintain buildings in ways that provide a safe and healthy indoor environment for inhabitants while simultaneously mitigating the building’s impact on the outdoor environment.

Featured Resources

932 resources

Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions at the University of Calgary

  • University of Calgary (AB)

At University of Calgary, our buildings are very large contributors to our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the goal of being a leading Canadian post-secondary institution in the area of ...


Using classroom schedule data to reduce energy consumption

  • Rochester Institute of Technology (NY)

Most Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC) are designed to provide a ventilation based on the assumption that the rooms are fully occupied, when real occupancy is most often ...


Stanford University's R&DE Creatively Responds to the California Drought

  • Stanford University (CA)

Sustainability is a core value to Stanford University's Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE). R&DE is responsible for about 1/3 of Stanford's campus, housing over 13,000 residents ...


Portland State University - All Gender Restroom Policy

  • Portland State University (OR)

In late 2015 Portland State University (PSU) administration officially adopted an all gender restroom policy (also sometimes referred to as gender-neutral, unisex, or universal) for the PSU campus. The all ...


KMRB Energy Reduction Project

  • University of Rochester (NY)

The University of Rochester’s Medical Center operates 24-hours a day, seven days a week in a 5.4 million square foot complex. Facilities Operations is responsible for providing conditioned ...


NC State University Achieves 95 Percent Diversion With Building Deconstruction

  • North Carolina State University (NC)

Harrelson Hall, the first round classroom building constructed on a university campus, was deconstructed in 2016 and NC State University exceeded its waste diversion goal, diverting 95 percent of non-hazardous ...


Sustainability@BU / It's what you do.

  • Boston University (MA)

The video from Boston University highlights the impact that each student at BU has on the environment. This includes individual footprints on things like carbon, water, waste, and electricity. After ...

  • Posted May 15, 2017
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Comparison of Occupant Behavior in a Traditional, Green Featured, and LEED Certified Building Case

  • Virginia Tech (VA)

In developed nations, 20-40% of greenhouse gas emissions and more than one-third of energy consumption are attributable to buildings. Among various available strategies, the building sector has the greatest potential ...


PowerZee – Sustainable Change through User Engagement

  • Nanyang Technological University
  • ENGIE (TX)

PowerZee (formerly PowerZ) is a smartphone application (‘app’) developed by NTU, along with industry partner ENGIE, for energy conservation and sustainability through user engagement. The application fosters knowledge and nudges ...


Temple Tiny House

  • Temple University (PA)

The Temple University Tiny House project is a student designed and student constructed sustainable building located at Temple Community Garden on main campus. Completed in spring 2017, the 175 square ...


LEED® Platinum - University of Miami Frost School of Music Studios

  • University of Miami (FL)

The Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music is one of the largest and best music schools located in a private university in the U.S., and one of the ...


San Jose State University Chiller Plant Improvements

  • San Jose State University (CA)

The Chilled Water Plant underwent a major retrofit which was completed in 2012, which included the replacement of two electric chillers and the re-piping of the plant to allow the ...


State University of New York at Cortland Habitat for Humanity Sustainable Living Workshop

  • State University of New York at Cortland (NY)

The SUNY Cortland Habitat for Humanity Club hosted a sustainable living workshop where participants learned about and made items they can use in the own homes to promote a more ...


Sustainable Un-building

  • DePauw University (IN)

Students, faculty, staff, and Greencastle community members were invited to participate in the event “Unbuilding: Sustainable Deconstruction and ‘Give-Away’ at DePauw’s Campus Farm House.” During Winter Term, students began ...

  • Posted April 28, 2017
  • Photographs
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Green Roof Dedication

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)

Penn State President Eric Barron spoke at the dedication of the HUB Green Roof, 2014 class gift, on April 21.

  • Posted April 27, 2017
  • Photographs
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SJSU Student Health and Wellness Center

  • San Jose State University (CA)

The Student Health and Counseling facility was constructed to enhance access for students living on campus while balancing convenient care for the growing residential population through both location and features ...

  • Posted April 26, 2017
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Energy Efficiency Assessment at Texas State University

  • Texas State University, San Marcos (TX)
  1. How to calculate CO2 emissions from purchased electricity?
  2. What are the most important financial factors in energy efficiency assessment?
  3. How different energy efficiency plans can affect financial outcomes in a ...
  • Posted April 25, 2017
  • Conference Presentations
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The Deceptive Metric

  • Kirksey Architecture (TX)
  • This presentation will outline limitations that abound metrics like Energy Use Intensity and Noise Levels.
  • Audience will understand how building codes can be leveraged to inform Sustainability Master Plans.
  • This ...
  • Posted April 25, 2017
  • Conference Presentations
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The Green Labs Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin

  • University of Texas at Austin (TX)

Best practices for implementing a Green Labs program into a university.

  • Posted April 25, 2017
  • Conference Presentations
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RMIT University Climate Risk Assessment

  • RMIT University

This report details the process and findings from the first climate risk assessment carried out for RMIT University, with a primary focus on the Melbourne City campus. The analysis considered ...

  • Posted April 24, 2017
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INhouse : a design|build project focused on collaboration, student engagement, and situational design

  • California Polytechnic State University (CA)

INhouse was a net-zero residence designed by a collaborative Cal Poly San Luis Obispo team in response to the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015.

The Solar Decathlon ...

  • Posted April 24, 2017
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Leveraging Sub-Meter Data as Feedback to Engage Community Members and Save Energy on Shoestring Staffing and Funding

  • Macalester College (MN)
  • AASHE (PA)

Macalester College has leveraged no-cost and open-source solutions to provide feedback to community members while, simultaneously, informing facilities about energy-saving opportunities to further advance its sub-metering initiatives. Whether you find ...

  • Posted April 20, 2017
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Restroom Water Reduction Potential at an Urban University

  • University of Illinois Chicago (IL)

A water audit was conducted at a variety of University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) campus buildings to help evaluate the potential to conserve water and save the university money ...

  • Posted April 20, 2017
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From Reactive to Proactive: Findings From Analyzing 400 School Buildings

  • AASHE (PA)
  • CopperTree Analytics (WA)

Facility teams are extremely busy, and have a growing workload that is tackled with resources that are spread increasingly thin. Automating even a small portion of their jobs can free ...

  • Posted March 21, 2017
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LEED Certification of Campus Buildings: A Cost-Benefit Approach

  • Seton Hall University (NJ)

No comprehensive study has been done within the higher education sector to see if Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification makes sense economically. This study helps fill the ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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The business case for high performance green buildings: Sustainability and its financial impact

  • Johnson Controls, Inc (WI)

This paper endeavours to present building owners, managers, architects and design/builders with a compelling business case for considering a green building for their new construction projects. A green building ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings

  • U.S. General Services Administration

Do “green” buildings deliver the performance they promise? To answer this question, the General Services Administration (GSA) selected 22 representative green buildings from its national portfolio, including 12 buildings whose ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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The Business Case for Green Building: A Review of the Costs and Benefits for Developers, Investors and Occupants

This report examines whether or not it is possible to attach a financial value to the cost and benefits of green buildings. Today, green buildings can be delivered at a ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Environmental perceptions and health before and after relocation to a green building

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • State University of New York Upstate Medical University (NY)
  • Syracuse University (NY)

Green buildings are designed to have low environmental impacts and improved occupant health and well-being. Improvements to the built environment including ventilation, lighting, and materials have resulted in improved indoor ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Do Green Buildings Outperform Conventional Buildings? Indoor Environment and Energy Performance in North American Offices

A comprehensive post-occupancy investigation of the performance of ìgreenî and ìconventionalî office buildings has been completed. The study included occupant surveys and physical building and energy use data collected from ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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The impact of working in a green certified building on cognitive function and health

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • State University of New York Upstate Medical University (NY)

Thirty years of public health research have demonstrated that improved indoor environmental quality is associated with better health outcomes. Recent research has demonstrated an impact of the indoor environment on ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Green Buildings and Health

  • Harvard University (MA)

Green building design is becoming broadly adopted, with one green building standard reporting over 3.5 billion square feet certified to date. By definition, green buildings focus on minimizing impacts ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Effects of Green Buildings on Employee Health and Productivity

  • Michigan State University (MI)

We investigated the effects of improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on perceived health and productivity in occupants who moved from conventional to green (according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers: A Controlled Exposure Study of Green and Conventional Office Environments

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • State University of New York Upstate Medical University (NY)
  • Syracuse University (NY)

Background: The indoor built environment plays a critical role in our overall well-being because of both the amount of time we spend indoors (~90%) and the ability of buildings to ...

  • Posted March 20, 2017
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Renewable Energy 100: The Course to a Carbon-Free Campus

  • Allegheny College (PA)
  • University at Albany (NY)
  • Georgetown University (DC)
  • Butte College (CA)
  • Ball State University (IN)
  • University of Louisville (KY)
  • University of Delaware (DE)

America’s institutions of higher education can play a crucial role in the fight to prevent the worst impacts of global warming. Colleges and universities across the country should aggressively ...

  • Posted March 14, 2017
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University of Chicago New Construction Procurement Case Study: Securing Your Investment in Sustainability

  • University of Chicago (IL)
  • Second Nature (MA)
  • AASHE (PA)
  • Seventhwave (WI)

Join AASHE and Second Nature for an in-depth look under the hood of the University of Chicago’s innovative procurement approach to establish a measurable energy performance requirement in their ...

  • Posted March 7, 2017
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The State of Sustainability in Higher Education 2016: The Life Cycle of Higher Education Facilities

  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • Gordian (SC)

Over the past two decades, colleges and universities have embraced numerous programs to minimize their environmental impact.

What were the “wins” for sustainability in higher education in 2016?

The annual ...

  • Posted Feb. 13, 2017
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The Use of LEED® Building Standards In the College and University Marketplace

  • Leonardo Academy (WI)

Leonardo Academy released a survey report about the use of the LEED® green building rating system among colleges and universities in the United States.

The data gathered from survey responses ...

  • Posted Feb. 13, 2017
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Barriers to adoption of campus green building policies

  • Virginia Tech (VA)

Purpose - The focus of this paper is on environmental protection, specifically within the context of green building at institutions of higher education (IHEs). One major reason why many IHEs are ...


Engaging sustainability good practice within the curriculum design and property portfolio in the Australian higher education sector

  • Deakin University

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which universities’ strategic plans affect the level of incorporation of sustainability within the curriculum design and property portfolio ...

  • Posted Jan. 18, 2017
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Greener Cleaning Playbook: A guide to help sports venue operators develop a greener cleaning program

  • Green Sports Alliance (OR)

This Playbook is designed to help sports facilities reduce the health and environmental threats associated with cleaning sports venues. Beyond protecting health, the cleaning industry uses significant quantities of chemicals ...


Zero Waste: Data, Infrastructure, and Engagement Return Recycling Case Study

  • New York University (NY)
  • Return Recycling (NY)

Return Recycling is a student-led organization devoted to building a concrete understanding for waste data, infrastructure, and engagement. Over the past year we've prototyped new (self-designed) recycling bins, developed ...

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
  • Conference Presentations
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LEED Green Associate Training V4

  • Leonardo Academy (WI)

LEED Green Associate Training covers information needed for preparation for the GBCI LEED Green Associate exam. Presented by Leonardo Academy staff: Michael Arny, President of Leonardo Academy who was the ...

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Energy Engineering for Non-Engineers

  • GreenerU (MA)

Much of the change we need to make in order to address climate change and sustainability challenges relates to engineering, but that doesn't mean everyone needs an engineering degree ...

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Environmental Dashboard: Fostering K12-College Collaborations that Discover and Realize Education and Conservation Opportunities

  • Oberlin College (OH)

Many schools have adopted resource-use visualization 'dashboards' that provide real-time feedback on energy and water use in campus buildings. While dashboard technology and programming (such as resource-use reduction competitions) have ...

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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This Changes Everything: a Sustainability Revolution in New Building Procurement

  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory (CO)
  • Seventhwave (WI)
  • dbHMS (IL)

Join the University of Chicago as we revolutionize how higher ed buildings are contracted, built and operated. This residence hall panel discussion shows how performance-based procurement drives institutional change by ...

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
  • Conference Presentations
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Net Zero Water: not a dry Topic

  • Williams College (MA)
  • Bruner/Cott Architects (MA)
  • Integrated Eco Strategy
  • Berkshire Design Group (MA)

Construction often negatively impacts the natural balance of water cycles. Even regions with historically abundant quantities of potable water are depleting aquifers, while record rainfall provides destructive amounts of storm ...

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Open Sesame: Low-Cost Sub-Meter Data Visualization

  • Macalester College (MN)

Learn how Macalester, as the next step of the College's sub-metering initiative, has leveraged no-cost and open-source solutions through HTML and XML, Google Apps, and Tableau to display utilities ...

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Engaging Laboratories in Sustainability

  • Harvard University (MA)
  • Stanford University (CA)
  • My Green Lab (CA)

Laboratories contribute significantly to a university's environmental footprint. At research institutions they can account for more than half of the campus energy consumption, consume hundreds of thousands of gallons ...

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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The Research - Climate Nexus: The Difficult Questions Facing Progressive Institutions Today.

  • Case Western Reserve University (OH)
  • Cornell University (NY)
  • Princeton University (NJ)
  • Buro Happold (NY)

As universities are tackling climate commitments focused on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, they are facing difficult decisions on capital investments in existing and new building stock and infrastructure to ...

  • Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.

All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.

OP 3: Building Design & Construction

OP 4: Building Design & Construction

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

Buildings Partners