Georgia Tech’s Sustainability Timeline

Georgia Tech begins constructing its own electrical grid and steam system and converted its Holland Plant from coal to natural gas. This conversion helped significantly reduce emissions generated on campus.

President John Patrick (Pat) Crecine, who led Georgia Tech from 1987 to1994, oversees a reorganization of the university that gives greater attention to connections between the institute’s technical focus and societal implications of technological change. This reorganization lays the groundwork for later discussions about environmental stewardship, sustainability, and their connections to Georgia Tech’s mission.

The School of Electrical Engineering garners a Department of Energy contract to operate the University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaics Research and Education. Its goal is to help make photovoltaics a leading contender in the search for clean, renewable energy sources.

Early efforts to integrate susatinability into the engineering curriculum include the course “Introduction to Environmentally Consious Manufacturing” co-taught by faculty in Industrial Systems, Civil, Environmental, and Matererials Science Engineering.

Tech installs the campus’ first roof-top attached solar system applied to the Campus Recreation Center. The solar panels produce 340 kW of electricity to supplement the campus power grid and heat water for the Aquatic Center.

The first Earth Day celebration is hosted by Georgia Tech. Now, Georgia Tech’s Earth Day event is one of the largest Earth Day celebrations in the southeast, hosting over 3,000 participants every year.

Georgia Tech publishes a Campus Master Plan with a central guiding principle of sustainability. The 1998 Campus Master Plan (CMP) is the current plan and continues to be the guiding principle for campus development.

Georgia Tech endorses LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) for use as a guiding principle in the development of all Institute construction and renovation projects. Today, the campus occupies 2,747,849 gross square feet of sustainable third-party certified space.

The first LEED certified building, the College of Management, now the Scheller College of Business, earns LEED Silver.

The Strategic Energy Initiative, now called the Strategic Energy Institute, is founded on providing an institutional framework for long-term collaboration in energy research. Connecting resources and expertise across Georgia Tech and in the broader energy community, the Institute serves as a hub for promoting greater understanding and better solutions to our most complex energy and environmental challenges.

Created by former Dean Terry C. Blum of the Scheller College of Business, the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship brings programs and events to campus which teach and hold business students and professionals accountable for the negative environmental and social impacts of business. The Institute aims to prepare students to be leaders in the workplace and “produce graduates whoa re motivated and prepared to contribute to just, caring, and sustainable societies.”

The Office of Environmental Stewardship is established to integrate established and emerging operational sustainability initiatives across the Institute and into the campus community.

Georgia Tech becomes a Founding Circle Member of the Billion Dollar Green Challenge by commiting $1 million to a green fund for energy efficiency projects.

The Institute for Sustainable Technology and Development (ISTD) expands with a generous gift and is renamed the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS). BBISS conducts and facilitates research that integrates science, technology, social science, policy, planning, design, and business to improve environmental, social, and economic outcomes.

Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons opens as a centralizing campus element, transforming parking and impervious surfaces into a state-of-the-art building and Tech Green open space. The Clough Commons Sustainability includes a 1.4-million-gallon cistern, green roof, gray water system, and solar installations.

The Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions (CNES) Laboratory was completed and opened for occupancy in August of 2012. The facility was the first at Georgia Tech to be recognized at the platinum-level LEED certification for new construction. The 42,000 sq. ft. facility set a new standard for sustainable design for buildings by optimizing passive energy technologies, reducing electricity loads, and maximizing the use of renewable energy. CNES earned the Award of Merit for Distinction in High-Performance Buildings from the National Institute of Building Sciences for its lean construction approach incorporating daylighting and natural ventilation in the lab space.

The Strategic Energy Institute engages in educational outreach programs such as the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Energy 101. Energy 101 is the first MOOC to provide a big picture overview of the energy landscape. During the initial launch of the course offered through Coursera, more than 30,000 people internationally enrolled in the course. The course provides perspectives and context for today’s energy headlines with regards to technological trends, societal, economic, and environmental implications.

The Scheller College of Business launches the Center for Business Strategies for Sustainability, focused on conducting high impact research, educating tomorrow’s business leaders, and partnering with industry to accelerate the development and adoption of susatinable business practices.

The Game Day Recycling Challenge is awarded 1st place in Organics Reduction. The challenge takes advantage of the hundreds of people who attend each football game by asking tailgaters to place recyclables in blue bags distributed by volunteers. After placing plastic, glass, and aluminum glass/cans in the blue bag, Georgia Tech Facilities picks up the blue bags for recycling.

The formation of the Health and Wellbeing program gathered three departments (the Campus Recreational Center, Stamps Health Services, and Health Initiatives) under one umbrella to centralize health initiatives on campus. This initiative refelcts Georgia Tech’s prioritization of mental health and wellness, and as a result of the merge, stronger health initiatives have replaced small or redundant ones across multiple departments.

The Kendeda Fund awards Georgia Tech with a $30 million grant to build the Kendeda Living Building, the most environmentally advanced education and research building in the Southeast, certified to Living Building Challenge standards. The investment represents The Kendeda Fund’s largest single grant and ranks among the largest capital gifts ever recieved by Georgia Tech.

The EXCEL Program is a four year certificate program designed for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It enables them to attend Georgia Tech and develop career skills and skills to live indpendently.

Georgia Tech joins the Deparment of Energy Better Building Challenge program as a Data Center Accelerator Partner, committing to reduce data center energy output by 25 percent over five years.

Georgia Tech’s Green Cleaning program is independently certified under Green Seal Standard GS-42. Green Seal is a nationally recognized organization that provides stringent standards and certification to protect human health and the environment. Georgia Tech is one of only six higher education campuses in the nation to earn this certification.

Georgia Tech is the first higher education institute in the state to recieve the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School Award for committing to improve health, reduce energy and environmental impact, and assure productive susatinability education.

Georgia Tech is selected by the state of Georgia to pilot the execution of a Guaranteed Energy Savings Performance Contract by contracting through a qualified Energy Service Company (ESCO). The project is focused on energy and water savings associated with Georgia Tech’s two main district energy plants’ chilled water production and distribution. The project is guaranteed to pay for itself over a 7 year period with continued savings over the life of the installation. Specific savings include $13,176,201 guaranteed savings over the 7 year term, $1,674,895 savings in 1 year, and a positive cash flow of $254,797 in the first year.