Educational
The following links provide access to educational resources that may be useful to colleges and universities interested in green building and other sustainable practices. The resources are organized in the following categories:
BOOKS
- 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability by Timpson, Dunbar, Kimmel et al
- Alternative Construction: Contemporary Natural Building Methods by Lynne Elizabeth (Editor)
- A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction by Alexander et al
- Building Ecology: First Principles For A Sustainable Built Environment by Peter Graham
- Ecological Design by Sim Van der Ryn and Stuart Cowan
- Fundamentals of Integrated Design for Sustainable Building by Marian Keeler and Bill Burke
- Green Building and LEED Core Concepts Guide by the US Green Building Council
- The Builder's Guide to Cold Climates: A Comprehensive Guide to the Best Cold-Climate Building Techniques by Joseph Lstiburek
- The Green Studio Handbook by Alison Krok and Walter Grondzik
- The Integrative Design Guide to Green Building: Redefining the Practice of Sustainability by 7group and Bill Reed
- Urban Design for an Urban Century: placemaking for people by Lance Jay Brown, David Dixon, and Oliver Gillham
PUBLISHED STUDIES
- Building Sector Must Change to Meet Global Energy Targets
A World Business Council for Sustainable Development study emphasizing the importance of changes in building techniques to help improve global energy efficiency targets. - Energy Efficient Buildings
This report on Energy Efficient Buildings by Research and Markets examines the concepts of energy efficiency in both commercial and residential building designs. - Going Beyond Code: A Guide to Creating Energy Efficient and Sustainable Buildings in the Southwest
A Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) guide describing fourteen beyond-code programs and policies that communities have adopted or are in the process of adopting in the Southwest. - Going Green: The Vital Role of Community Colleges in Building a Sustainable Future and a Green Workforce
This report examines the growing role of community colleges in a low-carbon, clean energy economy. It offers examples of innovative strategies and practices being used by community colleges to address climate change, environmental stewardship, and green workforce development. It also provides information on the fastest growing sectors and jobs in the clean energy/green economy that provide strategic opportunities for community colleges and their students. - Green at Fifteen?
This environmental literacy study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is the first comparative knowledge base on what students know about the environment and environment related problems. - Green Buildings and Productivity
In this study of 154 green buildings, containing some 2,000 tenants, across the United States, researchers at the University of San Diego and CB Richard Ellis find that people who work in green buildings are more productive and call in sick less often than employees who work in conventional buildings.
- Greening America’s Schools: Costs and Benefits
This Capital E Report by Gregory Kats examines the costs and benefits of using green technologies in the American educational system. This study was funded by the George Gund Foundation, the Kendall Foundation, and the US Green Building Council. - Pathways to a Low-Carbon Economy (Version 2 of the Global Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve)
A McKinsey & Company study providing data to enable corporate leaders, academics, and policy makers decide how best to achieve emission reductions.
- The State College Role in Advancing Environmental Sustainability: Policies, Programs and Practices
This higher education policy brief by the American Association of State Colleges & Universities (AASCU) describes the important role of state colleges in advancing environmental sustainability. - Thesaurus of Sustainability
This sustainability thesaurus was compiled by the University of Kentucky’s Center for Sustainable Cities seeks to clarify the language used to define sustainable tools and practices and provide an operational definition of sustainability.
ARTICLES
- Grant Seekers Go Green
This article address the problem of how to subsidize educational investments into green jobs training, including staff and equipment, during these tough economic times. - US Companies waste $2.8 billion annually to power idle PCs
An Alliance to Save Energy article detailing the cost of energy wasted on idle computers in offices.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Title | Information |
|---|---|
| ACUPCC Academic Guidance Document | The American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment document identifies some of the best educational sustainability practices across higher education and provides resources to assist the ACUPCC signatories. |
| DOE Tribal Energy Program: College Student Summer Internships | Resource on summer student internships for academic and professional development in the field of energy efficiency and sustainability, provided by the Tribal Energy Program of the US Department of Energy. |
| AASHE Educational Resources | The green building educational resources provided by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. |
| Campus Environmental Resource Center | The Campus ERC provides resources to staff, administrators or faculty who are looking to better understand environmental regulations, find relevant contacts, seek model practices, track news or build and manage better environmental programs. |
| The College Sustainability Report Card | The Report Card is designed to identify colleges and universities that are leading by example in their commitment to sustainability and to provide accessible information for schools to learn from their peers, enabling them to establish more effective sustainability policies. |
| Society for Building Science Educators - Teaching Resources | The Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE) is an association of university educators and practitioners in architecture and related disciplines who support excellence in the teaching of environmental science and building technologies. |
| AACC Education for Sustainable Development Collaboration | The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF) have formed a partnership to promote activities about education for sustainable development among AACC member institutions and affiliated councils. |
| Green Job Resources | Economic Modeling Specialists Inc (EMSI) has published a few practical guides to green jobs with a common thread stressing the need for data-driven strategies on the local and regional level. |
| Green College Directory | This directory created by Our Earth and Duke University provides information on undergraduate, masters and PhD degree programs and includes links to campus carbon inventories and recycling opportunities, environmentally focused student clubs and organizations, and environmental opportunities in the local community. |
| Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives: Breaking Through Barriers | Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) released this book as a practical guide for anyone working in a college or university setting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their campus. It explores the challenges, both real and perceived, to significant reductions, and provides successful examples, and resources necessary to address the challenges. |
ENERGY EFFICENCY
Title | Information |
|---|---|
| EERE - Energy Education and Workshop Development | This portal, by the US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program, connects to educational programs, competitions and internships. |
| ENERGY STAR for Higher Education | The ENERGY STAR resource portal provides information to higher education administrators and students about partnering with the program. |
| Alliance to Save Energy- Green Campus | Green Campus is a student-led initiative managed by the Alliance to Save Energy that educates the campus community on energy efficiency, achieves energy savings, and encourages the next generation of energy efficiency professionals. The site addresses energy efficiency issues relate to college and university campuses. |
| Going Beyond Code: A Guide to Creating Energy Efficient and Sustainable Buildings in the Southwest | A Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) guide describing fourteen beyond-code programs and policies that communities have adopted or are in the process of adopting in the Southwest. |
| NREL Education Programs | This links to internships, training and research programs provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. |
| National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Executive Energy Leadership Program | A six-month leadership program gives executives from Colorado-based businesses, government entities, universities, and economic development and non-profit organizations an in-depth look at solar and wind power, biofuels and transportation, and energy efficient building technologies. |
| MEEA Energy Efficiency Resource Center | This links to energy efficiency resources provided by the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. |
| PBS Independent Lens - Power Paths | This film follows an intertribal coalition as they fight to transform their local economies by replacing coal mines and smog-belching power plants with renewable energy technologies. |
| Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC) | The Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC) is an independent, national nonprofit organization that assists communities, colleges and universities, state and local governments, businesses, utilities, schools, and others in making the most of their local energy resources. |
| Fuels for Schools and Beyond | The Fuels for Schools and Beyond partners and staff provide a great resource for implementing community biomass energy projects through technical and financial assistance. |
GREEN BUILDING
Title | Information |
|---|---|
| EcoIQ Magazine - Green Design and Building portal | EcoIQ Magazine has created a website for everyone interested in making smart choices about how to build structures and infrastructure that are both economically and ecologically intelligent. |
| Green Building 101 Training Opportunities spreadsheet (with active links) | Second Nature's Campus Green Building 101 Technical Assistance Grants Program has compiled a list of courses that give a primer in green building. These courses are open and available to the general public. |
| Green-Buildings.com | Green-Buildings.com is a free online real estate community where you can get advice and share your knowledge about any topic related to commercial green buildings and LEED. It's also a source for the latest news, products, and courses for LEED and green building. |
| LEED Green Associate Program | For professionals who want to demonstrate green building expertise in non-technical fields of practice, Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Associate credential, which denotes basic knowledge of green design, construction, and operations. |
| National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) | The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) is a not-for-profit education foundation created to develop industry-driven standardized craft training programs with portable credentials and help address the critical workforce shortage facing the construction industry. The organization’s mission is to build a safe, productive, and sustainable workforce of craft professionals. |
| Net Zero Energy Institute | This institute at the Green Roundtable provides tools, resources and services to support the implementation of critical initiatives to achieve goals reducing carbon footprint. The Net Zero Energy Institute believes that the basic building design-phase process for a paradigm shift in order to take on the Net Zero challenge. |
| Sustainable Performance Institute | An institute of the Green RoundTable (GRT), the Sustainable Performance Institute provides resources, training and a certification program that measures and recognizes the capability of architecture, engineering and construction firms to deliver consistent, high quality services. |
| USGBC Educational Resources | This is a portal to educational resources provided by the US Green Building Council, including courses, certifications and best practices. |
| USGBC: Best Practices in Green Education - Community Colleges | This page on the U.S. Green Building Council’s website describes the curricula and programs from community colleges implementing green building education. |
| USGBC: Best Practices in Green Education – Colleges and Universities | This resource describes the curricula and programs at colleges and universities implementing green building educational programs. |
