Joe Kunkle, AIA, PE, LEED AP, principal account executive at SSOE Group, recently authored an article in University Business Magazine, turning the spotlight on ways universities are now preparing their students for an economically sustainable future, while also shifting their perceptions and values in a greener direction.
Kunkle, who describes campus sustainability as “a symbol of integrity inspiring students, faculty, and sports fans,” highlights specific projects, such as those recently performed by SSOE at Clarion University and the University of Toledo, that have exposed both students and non-students to LEED-certified facilities. Some sustainable features of these projects are high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and lighting, low-flush toilets, construction debris recycling, landscaping materials that require little or no irrigation, and underutilized racquetball courts turned campus steam power generation plant—just to name a few.
By choosing economically sustainable building designs, colleges are advocating environmental responsibility and ingraining in students a desire to practice good stewardship of local and global resources. Additionally, sustainable designs ultimately lead to cost savings through material repurpose and energy-efficient updates that quickly pay for themselves.
To read the full article, click here.
