Integrating sustainability practices

On April 23^rd, Warren Jacobs, a Chancellor Office Executive presented at California State University, Chico on integrating sustainability practices into CSU facilities across the state. His focus related around his plans to create a LEED equivalent evaluation process for each of the CSU’s 23 campuses. This system was to include plans for further developing better policies on energy conservation, sustainability building practices, and physical plant management.

Currently the CSU system is the largest University system in the United States and enrolls over 450,000 students and 46,000 faculty members and staff. Since 1973, the system has reduced energy consumption by 48% per GSF in conjunction with the construction of new buildings on each of the 23 campuses. By 2010, the system has the goal of attaining an additional 15% energy consumption reduction and to be purchasing 20% renewable energy. In addition the system wants to increase on site energy generation by 40 megawatts by 2014. These goals are in the interest of creating a statewide program of environmental responsibility and sustainability.

The Universities current Mission Statement states “The California State University Program for Environmental Responsibility, is a program to promote responsible stewardship of CSU facilities that aims to provide the best learning and working environments possible for student, faculty, and staff of the CSU’s 23 environmentally diverse campuses while minimizing the impacts to the environment.” The CSU Sustainability Advising Committee works in conjunction with this mission statement in its oversight of the campuses planning, design, construction, energy consumption, operations, maintenance, education, and research in its pursuit to better encourage comprehensive and responsible decision making for each of its CSU facilities.

Using these goals as its foundation, Warren Jacobs and CSU system hopes to create an integrated design program that optimizes building performance and increase resource efficiency. His hope is to capitalize on new environmentally safe building materials, safer building practices, and energy efficiency in order to create new environmentally friendly buildings on each campus.

Currently, Chico State is building four LEED certified buildings. These include the new Student Service Building, The Wildcat Activity Center, The Student Housing & Dining Center, and The Natural History Museum. Warren Jacobs hopes to create a similar system for building construction on all CSU building. He wants to incorporate LEED and similar ranking systems to create a unique yet obtainable system of building designs that will further contribute to the CSU’s pursuit towards reducing its carbon footprint on the earth and further contributing towards environmentally friendly building practices.

At present, the CSU system is seen as a pioneer its pursuit to build facilities that integrate sustainability practices within their design. Many engineering firms such as North Star are following the CSU systems lead. These firms are offering integrated designs that are LEED certified and reduce a buildings carbon footprint on the earth. Hopefully in the future, other firms with offer these same services and will help to further serve CSU’s pursuit towards energy conservation, safer building practices, and eco-friendliest.

Optimistically, one day, all buildings in the CSU system will incorporate at least some aspects of the LEED equivalent evaluation process or a similar building practice. These new standards may revolutionize the construction industry and reduce the impact mankind has on the earth. Furthermore, with the help of Warren Jacobs, the CSU system will continue to be a leader in this field and help promote statewide environmentally sustainable building practices.