Webinar – 21st Century Schools: Cleaner and Greener Part III

How to decarbonize P-12 schools over time to support a healthy, energy efficient, indoor environment? School district staff, stakeholders, and design professionals will engage in a 3-part educational series and hands-on virtual work session to lay the foundation to kickstart their own roadmaps to full decarbonization by mid-century. This virtual offering, sponsored by NYSERDA, in tandem with the Getting to Zero Forum will dive deep into the steps for getting to zero, how to lay out a plan, and provide the template materials available to support districts on this path to full decarbonization. Through this series we will demonstrate that despite aging buildings and constrained operating budgets, getting to zero over time is possible. Part 3 focuses on Setting Up Documentation to Guide Carbon Neutral Construction.

With the support of NYSERDA, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP), enVerid, USGBC Center for Green Schools, and other local and regional partners, school districts and school design professionals will be able to work collaboratively and get the support they need to create the plan to get to zero carbon over time. School districts, school stakeholders, AEC professionals, and anyone interested in getting schools to the zero carbon goal are invited to attend. This series intends to spark action in New York State aligning with NYSERDA’s P-12 Schools Initiative and beyond.

Students are demanding a more sustainable future and better learning environments. School buildings are suffering from aging and unhealthy infrastructure. Districts are severely underfunded. All of this is causing districts to address health, energy, and carbon in schools in a more holistic way.

Getting to zero carbon in K-12 schools can seem an insurmountable goal, but a “Zero Over Time” approach that leverages naturally occurring events over the building’s lifecycle can cost effectively reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. This involves capitalizing on events like new construction, modernizations, system retrofits, and equipment replacement as they happen. School districts have proven that ambitious energy and carbon goals are achievable within existing budget and staffing limitations. Building on a successful cohort model where dozens of districts joined NBI to prepare for rapidly advancing legislation and policy – this series will lay the groundwork for district success to 2050 and beyond.