Best Green School Innovators For 2011 Ranked by the U.S. Green Buildings Council

The U.S. Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools has released its first ever Best of Green Schools 2011 list, recognizing school administrators and government leaders in 10 categories for their efforts to create sustainable learning environments.

The cafeteria in Lake Mills Middle School. Photo from miron-constructionnews.com.

Recipient schools and regions from across America – from the elementary to the university level – were recognized for a variety of sustainable, cost-cutting measures, including energy conservation, record numbers of LEED certified buildings, and collaborative platforms and policies to green U.S. school infrastructures.

Lake Mills Middle School (Lake Mills, Wis.) was recognized for the “School” category for being the first public school in the nation to achieve a LEED Platinum certification.

The middle school features a geothermal heating and cooling system, which contributes to the school saving $85,000 annually in energy costs, said the Green Building Council.

The school’s use of a geothermal system benefits the city as well. By using a geothermal system, the school has shifted its energy usage from gas to electric, and because the city owns its own electric company, the energy dollars stay within the city.

Moving up to the category of “Higher Ed Innovator,” the University of Texas at Dallas received recognition for its new LEED Platinum student services building.

University of Texas at Dallas’s LEED Platinum student services building. Photo courtesy of caelusgreenroom.com.

The building has been designed with the dual function of improving energy efficiency, and enhancing community interaction by serving as a one-stop-shop destination for all student service activities, and housing 14 departments under one roof.

This student services building also benefits from a 63 percent savings in energy, compared to other “average buildings on campus,” according to the Green Building Council.

The building also has a bright airy feel to it, with about 76 percent of all occupied spaces having natural daylight, and 93 percent having views to the outside.

Heading up from the individual school level, the city of Sacramento, Calif. was recognized for the “Region” category.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson worked to bring together mayors and superintendents from across Northern California to create a $100 million revolving loan fund for green school retrofits.

Last year, Sacramento was also selected as one of the first cities to participate in the Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools Fellow program.

Director of the Center for Green Schools Rachel Gutter announces fellowship in Sacramento, Calif.

The fellow program places fully-funded, full-time sustainability officers in school districts across the country. These officers work with a school district’s leadership to provide direction, training, and resources toward greening the district’s school buildings.

In Sacramento, the fellows are working with administrative officials to create new green policies and practices in an effort to transform the culture and environment of the district.

The Green Building Council said, as part of its announcement of the honorees, that nationwide “green schools save on average $100,000 per year on operating costs – enough to hire two new teachers, buy 200 new computers, or purchase 5,000 textbooks.

“On average, green schools use 33 percent less energy, and 32 percent less water than conventionally constructed school, and if all new U.S. school construction and renovation went green today, the total energy savings alone would be $20 billion over the next 10 years.”

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