The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced its third annual “Best of Green Schools” list, which recognizes top educational institutions, individuals and initiatives across the country for environmental efforts.
“In reviewing the nominations for the Best of Green Schools 2013 list, what we experienced more than anything was profound gratitude for the thousands of champions who are catalyzing the green schools movement and demonstrating to the nation and the world that where our children learn matters,” said Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC. "This list represents exemplary leadership from schools, campuses, students, policy makers and more who are raising the bar when it comes to creating healthy, safe and resource-efficient schools.”
The Best of Green Schools list highlights schools, individuals and communities working toward the common goal of healthy, high-performing learning places for all. The list recognizes the hard work being done across the country to make schools better and honors the best examples in the green schools movement.
The recipients of the Best of Green Schools 2013 include:
K-12 School – Lady Bird Johnson Middle School (Irving, Texas): LEED Gold Lady Bird Johnson Middle School is the first net-zero energy school in the state of Texas. At 152,250 square feet, the campus is the largest net-zero educational facility in the country.
Higher Education Institution – Emory University (Atlanta, Ga.): Emory University has identified sustainability as one of its top priorities — to help restore the global ecosystem, foster healthy living and reduce the university’s impact on the local environment. Emory has among the highest number of square feet of LEED-certified space of any campus in America.
Ambassador – Lori Braunstein, Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC): As director for green schools at DVGBC, Braunstein has developed an effective and comprehensive strategy for engaging and supporting teachers, students, facilities managers and administrators around sustainability programs in schools. She also initiated the statewide Pennsylvania Green & Healthy Schools Partnership to bring together key stakeholders from the green building, environmental education and health and wellness fields around an agenda for green and healthy schools.
Policy Maker – Colorado state Sen. Andy Kerr: Kerr has been one of the strongest proponents of green schools in Colorado and throughout the country for many years. In the spring of 2013, he successfully passed SB 13-279, requiring all school districts in Colorado to build new schools or to reconstruct schools to the highest possible energy efficiency.
Moment for the Movement – California Proposition 39, the Clean Energy Jobs Act: Under the landmark Clean Energy and Jobs Act, $2.5 billion over the next five years will be directed toward energy efficiency projects and repairs to promote healthy, high-performing schools in California.
Business Leadership – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH): HMH is helping to transform learning environments by driving the conversation around sustainability education and the Common Core. HMH also serves as a partner of the Center for Green Schools’ Green Apple program, making a financial contribution in honor of school customers who switch from physical textbook samples to the (greener) virtual alternative.
Community Event – Green Apple Day of Service event at Duckett’s Lane Elementary School (Elkridge. Md.): Grimm +Parker Architects joined Dustin Construction and the students, principal and staff of Duckett’s Lane Elementary School on Sept. 29, 2013, to host and coordinate a student-led scavenger hunt for environmental features in and around the new school. Stations were set up to demonstrate how the building and site are teaching tools for their environmental literacy curriculum.
Collaboration – Celebrate Sustainability: This "green partnership" is among Virginia Tech, the town of Blacksburg, Va. and Sustainable Blacksburg, a local citizen's group in the town. Every year, the three organizations come together to program a week's worth of events that recognize and celebrate the sustainability achievements of the school and the town over the previous year.
Transformation – The Green Schools Academy (as led by Jenna Cramer, vice president of green schools for the Green Building Alliance): The Green Schools Academy program brings together private, public, parochial and charter schools to work toward a culture of sustainability and transformation in healthy schools for all children.
Student Leadership – Bluegrass Youth Sustainability Council (Fayette County, Ky.): The Bluegrass Youth Sustainability Council (BYSC) is a project-based organization composed of students from all Fayette County high schools. The BYSC meets monthly to discuss collaborative environmental outreach projects, partnership prospects and leadership and post-secondary opportunities in all areas of sustainability including energy management, outdoor classrooms, waste management, water quality and air quality.
Please visit centerforgreenschools.org/bestof2013 for more information on each of this year’s recipients.
Related Stories
Mass Timber | Jun 13, 2023
Mass timber construction featured in two-story mixed-use art gallery and wine bar in Silicon Valley
The Edes Building, a two-story art gallery and wine bar in the Silicon Valley community of Morgan Hill, will prominently feature mass timber. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam posts and beams were specified for aesthetics, biophilic properties, and a reduced carbon footprint compared to concrete and steel alternatives.
Mixed-Use | Jun 12, 2023
Goettsch Partners completes its largest China project to date: a mixed-used, five-tower complex
Chicago-based global architecture firm Goettsch Partners (GP) recently announced the completion of its largest project in China to date: the China Resources Qianhai Center, a mixed-use complex in the Qianhai district of Shenzhen. Developed by CR Land, the project includes five towers totaling almost 472,000 square meters (4.6 million sf).
University Buildings | Jun 9, 2023
Cornell’s new information science building will foster dynamic exchange of ideas and quiet, focused research
Construction recently began on Cornell University’s new 135,000-sf building for the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Cornell Bowers CIS). The structure will bring together the departments of Computer Science, Information Science, and Statistics and Data Science for the first time in one complex.
Museums | Jun 6, 2023
New wing of Natural History Museums of Los Angeles to be a destination and portal
NHM Commons, a new wing and community hub under construction at The Natural History Museums (NHM) of Los Angeles County, was designed to be both a destination and a portal into the building and to the surrounding grounds.
Codes and Standards | Jun 6, 2023
California’s new power grid modernization plan furthers ambitious climate goals
California’s new $7.3 billion grid modernization plan is a crucial step in furthering its ambitious climate goals. The board of governors for the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the state’s grid operator, recently approved a strategy to build thousands of miles of new high-voltage transmission lines.
Mixed-Use | Jun 6, 2023
Public-private partnerships crucial to central business district revitalization
Central Business Districts are under pressure to keep themselves relevant as they face competition from new, vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods emerging across the world’s largest cities.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 6, 2023
Minnesota expected to adopt building code that would cut energy use by 80%
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is expected to soon sign a bill that would change the state’s commercial building code so that new structures would use 80% less energy when compared to a 2004 baseline standard. The legislation aims for full implementation of the new code by 2036.
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 5, 2023
Modernizing mental health care in emergency departments: Improving patient outcomes
In today’s mental health crisis, there is a widespread shortage of beds to handle certain populations. Patients may languish in the ED for hours or days before they can be linked to an appropriate inpatient program.
Student Housing | Jun 5, 2023
The power of student engagement: How on-campus student housing can increase enrollment
Studies have confirmed that students are more likely to graduate when they live on campus, particularly when the on-campus experience encourages student learning and engagement, writes Design Collaborative's Nathan Woods, AIA.
Engineers | Jun 5, 2023
How to properly assess structural wind damage
Properly assessing wind damage can identify vulnerabilities in a building's design or construction, which could lead to future damage or loss, writes Matt Wagner, SE, Principal and Managing Director with Walter P Moore.
