| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.59 |
| Liaison | Lily Strehlow |
| Submission Date | Feb. 2, 2024 |
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
PRE-2: Points of Distinction
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Name of the institution’s featured sustainability program, initiative, or accomplishment:
A brief description of the institution’s featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
Thanks to the financial support of the Division of Finance & Administration and the Student Office of Sustainability, UWEC offers training & exam waivers for the introductory LEED Green Associate credential in partnership with the company Leading Green, who will provide live webinars, recorded webinars, study materials, and practice exams designed to teach UWEC faculty, staff, and students the content they need to know to pass the entry level LEED Green Associate credential exam. The Student Office of Sustainability has funded all student exams, and the Division of Finance and Administration is sponsoring all faculty exam costs, ensuring that all participants can become certified for free.
This not-for-credit online training takes approximately 4.5 hours to complete, plus study time, which will vary. Individuals who sign up for the training will be required to attend a virtual training session. The LEED Green Associate Exam is a 1-2 hour proctored exam created by the US Green Building Council.
Credentialing is an excellent resume-builder for current students and a professional development opportunity for faculty and staff who wish to build core competencies in sustainable building design. This skillset is widely sought after in business, government, non-profits, and higher education.
Faculty and Staff who become credentialed will bring their new sustainability knowledge into projects across campus. Students also have the opportunity to enroll in Building Sustainability at the Academy (ENV 395), which investigates the County Materials Complex project — UWEC’s first attempt to attain LEED certification on a new construction project.
Which of the following impact areas does the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Buildings
Website URL where more information about the accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the featured program, initiative, or accomplishment:
Name of a second highlighted sustainability program/initiative/accomplishment:
A brief description of the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
Opening in 2024, the Sonnentag Event Center & Fieldhouse at the County Materials Complex will be the largest indoor event venue in northwestern Wisconsin. Built and operated as a public-private partnership, the Sonnentag Center was first envisioned in 2014, and is expected to attain LEED Gold certification.
The complex will include:
-The Sonnentag Event Center, a 104,900-square-foot major event facility with a total capacity of 5,000 (seating for 3,944, standing room for an additional 1,056)
-The John & Carolyn Sonnentag Fieldhouse, an 81,300-square-foot space featuring a 100-yard artificially turfed field.
-The UW-Eau Claire Center for Health and Wellbeing, a 14,200-square-foot facility with a view of the Chippewa River.
-Offices for Blugold Athletics
-A new Mayo Clinic Health System Diagnostic Imaging and Sports Medicine Center.
Surface parking to serve the entire complex, including electric vehicle charging stations
Here are some of the many ways an exceptional commitment to sustainability was designed into the facilities:
190 vertical geothermal wells under the parking area. The wells are 500 feet deep, and the entire well field comprises 36 miles of pipe that will provide heating and cooling for the facilities – instead of using fossil fuels.
Indoor water use is reduced 30% and outdoor water use 50% compared to a calculated usage baseline specific to the Eau Claire area. The outdoor water use baseline is calculated using an EPA or LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) calculator. Out of the 8.6 acres of landscape area on the County Materials Complex site, about 3 acres will be irrigated (1.8 acres of irrigated lawn and 1.2 acres of irrigated planting beds), while approximately 5.6 acres is non-irrigated landscape (including 4.3 acres of native seed mix, 0.7 acre of storm water plantings, 0.4 acre of rock mulch, and 0.1 acre of non-irrigated lawn).
Heavy use of native plantings. The landscape architecture plans call for over 2,500 native plants to be planted on the site, as well as large expanses of a shortgrass prairie seed mix.
Removal of 80% of suspended solids from storm water runoff.
Green vehicle parking, which gives cleaner vehicles preferred locations in the parking lot.
10 electric vehicle charging stations.
Bike and pedestrian friendly site. Bike paths go through and around the site, connecting to Eau Claire’s major bike path network. The site design also minimizes drive lanes adjacent to the building and creates landscape and hardscape features that prioritize pedestrians and walkers over vehicles. Most parking is kept away from the building.
Goals of net-zero energy and net-zero carbon. This means the complex is designed to use 100% renewable, non-carbon-emitting energy sources. All electricity is to come from an off-site PV solar farm Xcel Energy is planning in cooperation with the university, and primary heating/cooling will be supplied by a sizable geothermal system being built on-site.
The complex is an electric building with no fossil fuel consumption with the exception of the Mayo Clinic facility, which will use natural gas.
LED lighting throughout the facility.
Building automation systems provide a high level of electrical and mechanical systems control. Sensors that monitor occupancy, daylight, and carbon dioxide tell the systems when they can turn off lights and/or reduce heating/cooling.
The building envelope is made efficient by high-performance insulation, energy-efficient wall systems that reduce thermal transfer, and windows and doors with improved thermal characteristics.
Monitoring will continue after construction to understand the environmental impact of the advanced systems and to improve the systems’ performance.
LEED certification is being pursued.
A WELL Health Safety Rating is being pursued based on operations, maintenance, and emergency policies that improve occupants’ health and well-being.
Which impact areas does the second program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Energy
Website URL where more information about the second program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the second program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the second program/initiative/accomplishment:
Name of a third highlighted program/initiative/accomplishment:
A brief description of the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
Which impact areas does the third program/initiative/accomplishment most closely relate to?:
Website URL where more information about the third program/initiative/accomplishment may be found:
STARS credit in which the third program/initiative/accomplishment is reported (if applicable):
A photograph or document associated with the third program/initiative/accomplishment:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
At UW-Eau Claire our campus is a living lab for learning sustainability. When you become a Blugold you have the opportunity to explore sustainable construction, graduate with valued credentials, and create new campus sustainability projects through the green fund - without any out of pocket fees.
These opportunities are a result of our dedication to transitioning our buildings, operations, and academics to a more sustainable model. Our goals include:
-Reaching campus carbon neutrality by 2050
-Preparing students for civic leadership by: Integrating sustainability into experiential learning opportunities & Creating new undergraduate research and internships
-Incorporating sustainability into academic curriculum on all campuses
-Supporting our region through new partnerships & projects
For example,
Environmental studies students examine sustainability features of County Materials Complex: “They’re learning fundamental principles of sustainability but they’re applying it to not just a specific case — like a case study analysis — but it’s part of their campus that they are helping to pay for,” Dr. James Boulter, professor of chemistry in UW-Eau Claire’s public health and environmental studies department, says of the students in his class.
UW-Eau Claire students got a glimpse recently of the 21-acre site and installation of one of the primary sustainability features of the complex — a ground source heating and cooling system. The geothermal technology uses energy from the earth to heat and cool the 172,000-square-foot complex, scheduled to open in May 2024.
Work crews are drilling 190 wells that are 500 feet deep, a total of 95,000 feet or about 18 miles of piping for the geothermal system. About 115 wells have been drilled so far.
This project will have a sustainability dashboard in the lobby to connect the building and its sustainability features to the public.
The sustainability dashboard in this new facility will allow students, faculty/staff, and members of the community to engage with its sustainability features and will encourage our campus to keep moving forward in its sustainability efforts. This will allow community members to become involved with our new sustainability features and help them realize the potential of these new buildings.
At UW-Eau Claire our campus is a living lab for learning sustainability. When you become a Blugold you have the opportunity to explore sustainable construction, graduate with valued credentials, and create new campus sustainability projects through the green fund - without any out of pocket fees.
These opportunities are a result of our dedication to transitioning our buildings, operations, and academics to a more sustainable model. Our goals include:
-Reaching campus carbon neutrality by 2050
-Preparing students for civic leadership by: Integrating sustainability into experiential learning opportunities & Creating new undergraduate research and internships
-Incorporating sustainability into academic curriculum on all campuses
-Supporting our region through new partnerships & projects
For example,
Environmental studies students examine sustainability features of County Materials Complex: “They’re learning fundamental principles of sustainability but they’re applying it to not just a specific case — like a case study analysis — but it’s part of their campus that they are helping to pay for,” Dr. James Boulter, professor of chemistry in UW-Eau Claire’s public health and environmental studies department, says of the students in his class.
UW-Eau Claire students got a glimpse recently of the 21-acre site and installation of one of the primary sustainability features of the complex — a ground source heating and cooling system. The geothermal technology uses energy from the earth to heat and cool the 172,000-square-foot complex, scheduled to open in May 2024.
Work crews are drilling 190 wells that are 500 feet deep, a total of 95,000 feet or about 18 miles of piping for the geothermal system. About 115 wells have been drilled so far.
This project will have a sustainability dashboard in the lobby to connect the building and its sustainability features to the public.
The sustainability dashboard in this new facility will allow students, faculty/staff, and members of the community to engage with its sustainability features and will encourage our campus to keep moving forward in its sustainability efforts. This will allow community members to become involved with our new sustainability features and help them realize the potential of these new buildings.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.