For over 130 years, Clemson University has been committed to sustainability—challenging students, faculty, and staff to think deeply about and engage in social, scientific, economic, and professional issues. And Clemson is growing. Keeping up with its increasing student population means that Clemson’s campus is always expanding—but they’re not just building run-of-the-mill campus facilities. Construction teams are using Green Globes assessment and certification to ensure they’re thinking about sustainability, resilience, and occupant health and wellness for occupants from start to finish, and they’re involving up-and-coming civil engineering students in the process.
Building a More Sustainable Campus
In 2004, Clemson’s facilities maintenance and operations team recognized the need to reduce environmental impact and deliver high-performing facilities and therefore adopted a sustainable building policy that required third-party green building certification. Clemson redoubled its efforts and added a sustainable energy policy in 2008. Since then, Clemson has achieved a green building certification of Two Green Globes or LEED Silver on 30+ new construction projects.
Clemson achieved a goal of 20% energy efficiency in 2020 and is well on the way to being carbon neutral by 2030.
“The Green Globes building certification has become an integrated part of large capital projects at Clemson,” said Tommi Jones, University Facilities Capital Projects. “Having a Green Globes Assessor evaluate our projects onsite has helped us understand how to document more complicated aspects like our campus-wide wastewater system.”
Green Globes has also been conducive to Clemson’s ambitious construction goals. The process has been economical in terms of both time and budget. After the Green Globes Assessor completes a final inspection and walkthrough, Clemson receives certification confirmation within four weeks.
Designing a More Sustainable World
Sustainability is a way of life at Clemson, and students in the Glenn Department of Civil Engineering are receiving a well-rounded, hands-on education that includes how to design and build deliberately and collaboratively for a more sustainable future.
It’s not just coursework, research symposiums, workshops and lectures. It’s learning how to design real projects with a sustainable mindset from the start and factoring in sustainable practices every step of the way. Clemson civil engineering students gain real-world experience as part of their programs. “Living Learning” puts students elbow to elbow with construction professionals.
As seniors, civil engineering students complete a Keystone course, which includes opportunities to attend construction meetings for buildings currently in construction on campus. This teaches students how to manage projects effectively to meet the needs and requirements of varying stakeholders. They also work with professionals from many disciplines and apply the theories, methods, and ideas learned in the classroom to real projects. Long before they’ve graduated, Clemson engineering students have a leg up in the industry, and many land jobs before they’ve received their diplomas.
The Keystone course also includes designing sustainable buildings and evaluating efficiency factors through the Green Globes certification process. Dr. Zoraya Rockow, a Clemson civil engineering graduate (1995, 2000, 2020), leads the Keystone course. She also holds a Green Globes Professional credential and guides her students through the Green Globes for New Construction online questionnaire during the design process.
“Our students work through the Green Globes online questionnaire exactly as they would if they were building a real project,” explained Rockow. “They log into the platform and assess their projects to figure out what sustainability factors are appropriate. They access GBI’s technical manual, and they can see, in real-time, what they can do to implement and improve sustainability. This experience truly jumpstarts their careers and advances building practices for the future.”
Full-Circle Sustainability at Clemson
While the built environment is key to a more sustainable future for all, so many more factors come into play. Clemson’s Sustainability Action Plan provides a thorough look into how the university plans to meet its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.
Clemson students have gladly taken up the mantle of sustainability, forming specific sustainability-focused organizations dedicated to upholding the principles and values of the next generation. From sustainable agriculture to Engineers Without Borders, the Student Government Sustainability Committee, and Solid Green, a club focused on minimizing waste on campus, Clemson students have covered a lot of ground. They understand that sustainability touches every aspect of life, from what we eat, the products we buy, how we move and the way we build.
“Clemson provides an education that is next-level,” Rockow said. “It was excellent when I earned my B.S. in civil engineering back in 1995, and today it’s truly exceptional. From coursework to student life, Clemson students are leaders who are dedicated to creating a better future for us all.”
