Sustainable School Buildings

California Division of the State Architect resources to help schools increase facility energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions with each new construction and modernization.

The Ashkin Group is dedicated to creating healthier, more productive indoor environments with lower burdens on natural systems, while creating sustainable value for its clients.

School building case studies from BetterBricks.

The mission of CampusERC is to provide individuals and educational institutions with the knowledge and tools to maintain environmental regulatory compliance, improve management, and operate sustainably. A project of the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

A guide to saving older school buildings from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Provides information on daylighting for reducing electricity use and increasing energy efficiency.

EnergySense is an applied research center at the University of Illinois System. Their mission is to empower organizations with practical solutions for climate, energy, and sustainability.

K-12 school districts spend over $8 billion nationwide on energy costs each year. More than 30 percent of energy use goes to waste and ten percent can be saved by implementing low-cost measures. This page will help you learn how to assess your building's energy efficiency, find financing, save energy, and earn recognition.

By reusing existing buildings historic preservation is essentially a recycling program of 'historic' proportions. Existing buildings can often be inherently energy efficient through their use of natural ventilation attributes, durable materials, and spatial relationships. An immediate advantage of older buildings is that a building already exists; therefore energy is not necessary to demolish a building or create new building materials and the infrastructure may already be in place. Minor modifications can be made to adapt existing buildings to compatible new uses. Systems can be upgraded to meet modern building requirements and codes. Part of the Whole Building Design Guide.

Intended to help Illinois school administrators, school board members and other key decision makers learn the principles of health school design so they can engage in a meaningful dialogue with their design team about the plans for their new school. From 2006.

Part of the suite of products developed to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy in schools. It was developed specifically for architects and engineers who are responsible for designing or retrofitting schools, and for the project managers who work with the design teams.

Designed for K-12 school system business officials and facilities managers to meet the specific needs of school district staff for integrating energy efficiency into school building operation and maintenance. It not only provides technical information, but also organizational information on barriers, challenges, and the necessary steps required to develop this type of energy management program within the school district organizational structure. In addition, it contains case studies that are essential to providing experience-based observations and "real life" approaches to which school district staff can relate.

This guide provides designers with information and resources needed to
retrofit school buildings in a responsible and efficient way.

Includes guides, case studies, and other resources to help schools improve energy efficiency.

The U.S. Department of Energy has developed a comprehensive suite of tools for accessing, managing, analyzing and sharing building energy data. This website describes how they can be used to support building performance standards (BPS) policies.

The health of a school's environment can affect the attendance, concentration, performance and health of both students and educators. This website presents information on key topics about establishing and enhancing healthy school environments.

Heat islands occur when a developed area experiences higher temperature than nearby rural areas, or when areas experience hotter temperatures within a city. This U.S. EPA site provides information about heat islands, cooling strategies, implementation examples, and outreach materials to help reduce heat islands and their impacts on communities and neighborhoods.

Promote a healthy learning environment at your school to reduce absenteeism, improve test scores and enhance student and staff productivity.

IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit shows schools how to carry out a practical plan to improve indoor air problems at little- or no-cost using straightforward activities and in-house staff.

LEED is the world’s premier green building certification system and applies to all buildings at all phases of development (design, construction, operations and maintenance). LEED buildings and communities can be found in over 180 countries around the globe, with around 2.2 million square feet being certified daily. From the Center for Green Schools.