The Green Schools Investment Guide for Healthy, Efficient and Inspiring Learning Spaces

The Green Schools Investment Guide for Healthy, Efficient and Inspiring Learning Spaces is a free downloadable resource for K-12 schools and communities that demonstrates how schools can implement healthy and resource-efficient building improvements. The guide is the first product of a joint initiative of Architecture for Humanity and the Center for Green Schools.

2013 McGraw Hill New and Retrofit Green Schools Report

Since McGraw-Hill Construction's Education Green Building SmartMarket Report was published in 2007, schools have been demonstrably on the vanguard of green building, and we are happy to report that our lastest research confirms that they continue to be leaders in green building.

Water Conservation

This toolkit offers K-8 teachers a lesson plan, including an interactive case study of Learning Gate Community School, to teach students the importance of conserving water and personal actions they can take in school and at home.

Fostering Learning in Healthy Indoor Environments

This guide will help K-12 administrators, teachers, parents, and students interested in pursuing LEED to understand the importance of healthy indoor air, how it manifests in schools, and actions that can be taken. It includes an interactive case study of Learning Gate Community School and an interactive web module.

Leading Your School to Sustainability

Learn how to develop and implement a major school-based sustainability project with this guide for K-12 school leaders and planners. Read the interactive case study of Learning Gate Community School, take a one-hour online course, and conduct a professional development in-person workshop using the tools in this guide.

Harnessing Green Buildings as Teaching Tools

This guide is intended for K-12 administrators and teaching staff, as well as building professionals working on K-12 projects – or for individuals who educate these audiences. Using Learning Gate Community School as a case example of how to harness a LEED-certified building as a teaching tool, the guide includes short- and long-format case studies and a professional development workshop, complete with a presentation.

Guide to Resources for Green Ribbon Schools Applications

This document outlines the essential tools you’ll need to successfully complete portions of your application for the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools voluntary recognition program. Download our print guide for more information.

USGBC Students Guide to Transforming Your Campus, Community and Career

USGBC Students Guide to Transforming Your Campus, Community and Career is written for the student who wants to change their school, their environment, their community and their future. It is a step-by-step guide to starting a powerful and functional student group, identifying the greatest needs on campus and creating a campaign to address them. This guide is intended for every major and every class year, for students already involved with USGBC and for those just forming a relationship with us. It is chock full of ways to engage sustainably conscious students, staff and faculty and drive them to success. We encourage you to print the toolkit for your own student group. Download our print guide to see how.

Local Leaders in Sustainability: Special Report from Sundance, A National Action Plan for Greening America's Schools

Outlines a national action plan that mayors and local leaders can use as a framework to develop and implement green schools initiatives. The report also provides a comprehensive review of the benefits of green schools; a summary of local, state and federal policy solutions; leadership profiles of green school advocates; and case studies from both large cities and small communities. Together, these resources serve as a roadmap on the journey to green schools.

Green Existing Schools Project Management Guide

Provides guidance, best practices, policy and planning templates to assist school officials in seeking LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M certification.

Green Existing Schools Implementation Workbook

Focuses on the O&M best practices and sustainable policies addressed by the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance rating system.

Greening Our Schools: A State Legislator's Guide to
Best Policy Practices

A toolkit and comprehensive guide for state lawmakers who are developing policy solutions that improve the health, productivity, efficiency, and fiscal responsibility of schools in their state.

Paid-From-Savings Guide to Green Existing Buildings

The Paid-From-Savings Guide to Green Existing Buildings is a guide to help building facilities managers and energy service companies (ESCOs) leverage utility cost savings to fund comprehensive green building retrofits. The resource provides detailed information on how to aggregate green improvement measures to optimize project economics and achieve LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance certification.

Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2013 Edition

USGBC has partnered with The Princeton Review to produce the third annual Guide to Green Colleges. See why 68 percent of high school students are looking for a green campus in their search for their best fit college.

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Hands-On LEED: Guiding College Student Engagement

As college and university leaders from across the United States work to green their campuses, students can and should play a critical role. Hands-On LEED: Guiding College Student Engagement explains how students can be involved in green campus projects and contribute to LEED certification efforts. The guide outlines three options for engaging students: coursework, internships and volunteer opportu nities. It details the benefits of involving students and outlines ways to initiate the process of developing an engagement program, such as planning considerations and LEED-related activities and tasks that students can perform. The guide also contains profiles of three campuses that are engaging students on green campus projects with great success.

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Learn LEED: How-to Guide for Planning and Conducting LEED Study Groups

Hosting a study group? Download USGBC's free guide.

Building Minds, Minding Buildings

Our union's roadmap to green and sustainable schools, by the American Federation of Teachers.

30% Advanced Energy Design Guide for K12 School Buildings

The Advanced Energy Design Guide series provides a sensible approach to easily achieve advanced levels of energy savings without having to resort to detailed calculations or analysis. The four-color guides offer contractors and designers the tools, including recommendations for practical products and off-the-shelf technology, needed for achieving a 30% energy savings compared to buildings that meet the minimum requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999. The energy savings target of 30% is the first step in the process toward achieving a net-zero energy building, which is defined as a building that, on an annual basis, draws from outside resources equal or less energy than it provides using on-site renewable energy sources.

50% Advanced Energy Design Guide for K12 School Buildings

The Advanced Energy Design Guide series provides a sensible approach to easily achieve advanced levels of energy savings without having to resort to detailed calculations or analysis. The four-color guides offer contractors and designers the tools, including recommendations for practical products and off-the-shelf technology, needed for achieving a 50% energy savings compared to buildings that meet the minimum requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004. The energy savings target of 50% is the first step in the process toward achieving a net-zero energy building, which is defined as a building that, on an annual basis, draws from outside resources equal or less energy than it provides using on-site renewable energy sources.

Building Energy- Efficient Schools in New Orleans

This case study presents the lessons learned from incorporating energy efficiency in the rebuilding and renovating of New Orleans K-12 schools after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The experiences of four new schools—Langston Hughes Elementary School, Andrew H. Wilson Elementary School (which was 50% new construction and 50% major renovation), L.B. Landry High School, and Lake Area High School—and one major renovation, Joseph A. Craig Elementary School—are described to help other school districts and design teams with their in-progress and future school building projects in hot-humid climates.

Roadmap to a Green Campus

Roadmap to a Green Campus is a strategy guide for using the LEED green building certification program as a framework for developing and evolving campus-wide sustainability plans. The Roadmap references more than 100 tools and resources to support campus greening efforts, profiles institutional success stories and was created with the support of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

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