The First Annual Energy Solutions Symposium brought to you by the Michigan School Business Officials, the Michigan Association of School Boards, and the Michigan Association of School Administrators showcased the most current thinking on school energy efficiency and provided practical solutions for saving resources and lowering energy costs in school districts.
The afternoon general session featured Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, a founding member of the Mayors’ Alliance for Green Schools. The Alliance is a coalition of mayors seeking to strategically harness the leadership and creativity of community leaders across the country to promote the benefits of green schools in their cities and towns.
Initiated by Mayor Manny Diaz of Miami and Mayor Greg Nickels of Seattle in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Alliance recognizes that in order to provide a high-quality education for children, the school environment must be supportive of excellence.
One cornerstone of the Alliance’s agenda involves developing joint public-private partnerships with local businesses to enable schools to implement green roofs, solar panels, recycling programs and other green features in their schools. The primary goal of the Alliance is to make green, healthy schools a national priority.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council, green schools use less energy and less water. They maximize natural daylight to create a more comfortable environment that is conducive to learning. They have better acoustics and more comfortable and efficient climate control. They aim for healthier indoor air. And their natural systems, such as green roofs or solar panels, provide hands-on learning opportunities, creating a generation of "sustainability natives" who know instinctively how to make smart decisions about sustainable living.
Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits by Gregory Kats, outlines the benefits of “going green”. Green schools:
- Cost about 2% more than conventional schools – or about $3 per square foot – to build but provide financial benefits that are 20 times as large.
- Save an average of $70 per square foot over comparable conventional schools.
- Use 30-50% less energy.
- Use 30% less water.