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Following California's Lead
California encourages schools using public funds for new construction to follow state government's lead in taking cost-effective measures to retrofit, build and operate buildings that are both energy and resource efficient.
In addition to reducing energy and resource consumption, "high-performance" schools also create safer and healthier learning environments.
Sustainable Guidelines & Resources
The Division of the State Architect (DSA), in consultation with the Office of Public School Construction, the California Energy Commission, and other appropriate organizations, adopted technical resources and guidelines that enable schools built with state funds to be resource and energy efficient.
The California Schools Workgroup recommended the Collaborative for High Performance Schools' (CHPS) Best Practices Manual to assist schools with technical resources and guidelines for building sustainable schools.
Grid Neutral Schools Program
In addition to recommending CHPS standards for school construction, DSA has established the goal of having all schools in California become grid neutral.
The term "grid neutral" is defined as a "site that produces as much electricity as it uses in a year."
Watch the Grid Neutral video..
Schools Going Green
Many school districts across California are utilizing the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) design guidelines to build sustainable, high performance schools.
CHPS maintains a database of California's green schools.
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