A group of specialists at the university recently began studying how best to use heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to limit the spread of COVID-19 virus. They are focused on three areas: HVAC enhancements, such as the use of filters and increased ventilation; mitigating airborne transmission based on new research and technologies; and serving as a resource to the campus community about airborne transmission and HVAC mitigation.

Gallogly Hall features energy-efficient HVAC systems, recycled and locally available materials, roof and hardscape materials that mitigate the heat island effect, and a storm water and condensate recovery system for reuse in the building purified water system. The landfill diversion rate of the on-site construction waste was 80 percent.

The MIT.nano building, a research facility for nanoscience and nanotechnology, features extensive indoor environmental controls and monitoring systems, open space, use of low-emitting materials, and design efforts to increase natural light throughout the building.

A recent renovation of the university's Schine Student Center included installation of a 50-kilowatt, roof-mounted photovoltaic system.

Miami’s board of trustees announced in late September the renaming of the Campus Avenue Building to Nellie Craig Hall. The granddaughter of a Civil War veteran, Nellie Craig graduated from Miami University in 1905. She earned her two-year teaching certificate and was the first Black educator to student teach in the Oxford Public School system to a mixed-race classroom.

Four buildings–Sumers Welcome Center, Weil Hall, Schnuck Pavilion and Jubel Hall–were certified as part of the East End Transformation, of which highlights include buildings that are designed to be 30 percent more efficient than standard buildings; heat recovery chillers that harvest waste heat for heating needs; a living green wall in Weil Hall; furniture that is compliant with the Healthier Hospitals Initiative; and a green roof over the underground garage. A fifth building–January Hall–originally built in 1922, features improvements to its building envelope and an energy-efficient mechanical system. More than 60 percent of the historic furniture and wall paneling in the hall's East Asian Library was preserved and reused, substantially minimizing the embodied carbon of the project.

The university's Biomedical Research Center features a vegetated roof, a rainwater collection system, a double-skin facade on the south-facing side to reduce heat and glare, energy recovery wheels in laboratory exhaust and water-efficient fixtures.

The community college's Center for Learning and Student Success building was recently renovated to include energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, automatic lighting systems, high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, reflective material to reduce heat island effect, low-emission finishes and construction materials, and raised planter beds for fruits and herbs to be grown in accordance with the college's integrated pest management plan.

The university's new Health Professions building includes green roofs, photovoltaic solar panels, an underground stormwater retention system, low-flow water fixtures, energy-efficient LED lighting, a design that enhances daylight to reduce energy consumption, and ground-source heating and cooling.

The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) recently announced the winners of the 2020 Leadership and Green Building Excellence Awards. The awards recognize individuals and organizations that demonstrate outstanding industry leadership and have made significant contributions to CaGBC’s mission to advance green building in Canada. The University of Calgary won the Green Building Excellence Zero Carbon Award. The Humber College Building Nx won in the Green Building Excellence Existing Building category. The Inspired Educator award went to Mohawk College. Colin Pinchin, a fourth-year student at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, won the Students Leading Sustainability: Andy Kesteloo Memorial Project Award.

(Spain) Loyola University campus in Seville, Spain, features facades and windows that were designed to minimize sizable energy losses, photovoltaic panels and a water recovery system. More than 20 percent of the building materials were reused materials, and more than 30 percent of the materials were locally extracted.

The university's College of Engineering building, Washkewicz Hall, features low-flow toilets and faucets, energy-efficient mechanical systems, light-colored roof material to reflect heat and maintain a cooler temperature within the building, and paints, flooring and wall materials containing no- or low-volatile organic compounds.

The university’s newest residential community building, Huaxyacac Hall, includes advanced energy and water metering to optimize energy efficiency and support water management, low-flow toilets, showers and faucets to promote water conservation, and trickle vents in resident rooms to improve indoor air quality and reduce energy consumption. Additional sustainable elements include an expansive outdoor space with water-efficient landscaping, covered bicycle storage and water bottle refill stations.

Environment America's newly released report, "America’s Top Colleges for Renewable Energy 2020: Who Is Leading the Transition to 100% Renewable Energy on Campus?", catalogs the efforts of 127 colleges and universities that reported data through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership. The report lists the top 10 colleges and universities obtaining 100 percent or more of their electricity from renewable sources, with Georgetown University leading all schools, generating and purchasing more than 1.3 times as much electricity from renewable sources as it consumes. It also lists the top five schools for renewable heating, cooling, hot water and other non-electric energy produced per student, with Colby College listed first.

The Schoonover Center for Communication now harbors a partially vegetated roof, which will serve as a home to research projects, replete with equipment to track temperature, ultraviolet radiation, air quality, biodiversity, water runoff and water quality. The initiative was funded through a series of grants that engaged faculty from numerous departments interested in research data from the project.

Kentucky Proud Park, the home of University of Kentucky baseball, achieved LEED certification for reducing potable water use by 30 percent, diverting 76 percent of on-site generated construction waste from landfills, implementing energy saving measures and using recycled materials in building materials.

The university's Biodesign Institute C, a new, multi-functional research facility designed specifically to promote and enable the creation of cutting-edge research clusters, won Lab Manager’s Excellence in Sustainability prize, given as part of the Lab Design Excellence Awards. The Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building at the Metropolitan State University of Denver received honorable mention for sustainability.

The university's academic and office building, Academic West, includes room occupancy sensors, large windows and glass interior walls that allow natural light to permeate the building, a green roof that helps the building stay cool and serves as a laboratory for student and faculty research, rain gardens, and a smart metering system that logs data on energy, temperature, water flow and HVAC settings every five minutes.

The recent Harding Hall renovation included reusing 75 percent of the existing materials in the building, the use of low-emitting materials and enhanced HVAC air filtration.

The college's Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center features renewable energy that meets 70 percent of the building's electricity needs, a reflective roof, ample daylighting, and bird-safe window glazing.

The university's new Hall of Health Sciences includes rooftop solar panels, water-efficient fixtures and landscaping, pollution-reducing lighting, and access to public transportation.

Staff from the WashU Office of Sustainability worked closely with the City of St. Louis since the fall of 2019 to develop a strategy for ambitious and achievable building energy performance standards, which were adopted in April and signed into law in May. The Building Energy Performance Standards set energy-efficiency targets for all new and existing buildings in St. Louis, while working towards a goal of reducing emissions 100 percent below 2005 levels by 2050, and improving indoor and outdoor air quality by reducing dependency on fossil fuels.

The university's Father O’Connell Hall features low-flow plumbing fixtures, daylighting, motion sensors and a green roof. All of the electricity use is offset with renewable energy credits.

Allegheny set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2020 as part of a climate action plan adopted by the college’s board of trustees in 2010. Three key efforts contributed to the college’s achievement of this goal: reducing emissions through implementing efficiency measures; decarbonizing energy sources by shifting from fossil fuel to renewable energy; and offsetting emissions through projects that offset or remove carbon.

The college's Campus Ministries house includes a vegetated roof, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, LED lights and occupancy sensors. In addition, the building was built atop a site that was already in use rather than on a parcel of undeveloped land.

Four buildings on the university's East Campus feature computerized thermostats, low VOC building materials and ultra-low-flow faucets, toilets, and urinals. Ninety-seven percent of the on-site construction waste was diverted from the landfill and 21 percent of materials used were from sources within a 500-mile radius.

The university recently received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2020 Energy Star Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence Award for energy efficiency and energy conservation solutions.

The Student Success Center features curtain-wall glazing, and exterior louvers and overhangs for shading to reduce energy consumption. Ninety percent of stormwater runoff is captured and treated. In addition, the building utilizes natural daylight, with 75 percent of regularly occupied interior spaces receiving natural daylight.

The building services department now uses one floor-stripping chemical rather than eight; two floor finishing products down from 13; and one standard floor cleaner. The new products are free of odor, allowing staff to work during regular hours.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will give the university $1.65 million in incentives for energy studies and project work to develop a smaller carbon footprint, accelerating the university toward net-zero carbon for the Ithaca campus by 2035. Over the next 3 ½ years, the Facilities and Campus Services Division will install heat recovery systems in order to reclaim warm air that is normally exhausted outdoors and will upgrade mechanical systems and controls in 25 buildings that manage heating, cooling, water and air conditioning throughout each building.

(Australia) The university's Exchange hub earned the certification from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). The Exchange is a large-scale development that brings together research with industry. Green Star is a sustainability rating that assesses the planning, design and construction of large-scale development projects across five categories including governance, liveability, economic prosperity, environment and innovation.

In December, Cornell finalized a 1-megawatt power-purchase agreement to construct rooftop solar arrays on all five buildings of the North Campus Residential Expansion project. The solar power from this project will reduce the university’s carbon footprint by providing about 35 percent of the power needed for the new buildings.

The university's Red Jacket Dining Complex includes LED lighting, and heating, cooling, and plumbing systems that are more energy-efficient. Shutters from the original Red Jacket were used to decorate the ceiling, and other furnishings are made from reclaimed wood. During construction, 31 percent of all materials used were recycled, and more than 65 percent of all waste generated during construction was recycled.

The university's science facility, Ogden Hall, received the Gold certification from the International WELL Building Institute. WELL is a performance-based rating system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of our buildings that impact human health and wellness, through air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, and mind and community.

The university's newly certified Alexander House features renewable energy, high-efficiency HVAC systems, water-efficient plumbing fixtures and low-VOC furnishings. The building has bike storage for students and parking places for electric vehicles.

Clapp Hall, the building that houses the department of biological sciences, features energy-efficient lighting, water-saving plumbing fixtures, a demand-control ventilation system and a lab exhaust energy-recovery system. More than 95 percent of construction waste was diverted from landfills, 90 percent of existing building elements were reused, and 36 percent of building materials were regionally manufactured. Clapp Hall also has bike storage and changing rooms for commuters.

The new Great Basin Hall features low-flow plumbing fixtures, energy-efficient windows, and heating and cooling systems, and a heat-reflective roof.

Cornell’s Mui Ho Fine Arts Library building now has energy-efficient windows, and an insulated roof with a reflective lining that improves the building's thermal performance.

The university's Divinity School recently accepted a $15 million contribution in support of the Living Village, a 155-unit community that will consist of buildings that are constructed to meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge. All building energy will come from the sun and all water from on-site precipitation. Waste will be processed on-site.

Maloney Hall, the recently renovated home to the Busch School of Business, now includes rainwater recovery system, low-flow bathroom fixtures, and energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems. Landscaping features such as native plants and trees were carefully chosen to not rely on permanent irrigation systems.

While the LEED certification is still under review, the sustainability practices included the reuse of materials, approximately 80 percent of which were diverted from the landfill, a highly reflective rooftop photovoltaic solar power system, and low-flow fixtures coupled with high-efficiency irrigation systems.

The university's Davenport Field and Stadium recently completed a renovation that resulted in the LEED Silver certification from major improvements to the energy systems.

Ellis Hall, a 115-year-old building, was recently renovated and now features LED lighting, low-flow toilets and sinks, new insulation, new windows, and an energy-efficient heating and cooling system. Exterior landscaping includes drought-tolerant trees and shrubs.

The 106,000-square-foot, four-story facility features solar orientation, mechanical systems with ventilation controlled by occupancy and carbon dioxide sensors, and energy-efficient LED lighting with automatic lighting controls that use daylight photo and occupancy sensors.

To reduce the number of bird strikes on one of the university's buildings at its Galloway campus, a vinyl mural was recently installed featuring the message, "Art should be striking. Not birds," along with an explanation of how the art saves birds by eliminating reflections.

Two new residence halls, Jane Pinchin Hall and Burke Hall, recently acquired LEED Gold status.

The McGill University Health Center was recently awarded LEED Gold for Existing Buildings after receiving LEED Gold for New Construction in 2016 by the Canada Green Building Council. The center utilizes energy-efficient lighting and water technology, and its site contains 79 charging stations for electric vehicles, a bicycle path linked to the city of Montreal’s network and more than 400 parking spaces for cyclists as well as showers for cyclists.

(Australia) The university's Sustainable Buildings Research Center recently achieved full marks in all seven performance areas under the Living Building Challenge and is now designated as Living Certified. The research center features 468 solar panels to support net zero energy, an onsite rainwater system to enable net zero water performance, and use of environmentally safe and reused building materials.

The building that houses the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering features a rooftop solar-panel installation, a stormwater storage and release system, and several passive heating and cooling features, including a terra cotta exterior and sun shades.

Thanks to Ball State students in a LEED Lab class, the David Letterman Communication and Media Building is now certified LEED for Building Operations and Maintenance (LEED O+M). The building was certified as LEED Silver in 2007.