Guest Column: Make USU’s green buildings visible
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In recent years, a wave of new construction has redefined the functionality and identity of Utah State’s campus. These changes in development, architecture and public spaces around campus provoke an inspiring feeling: the Utah State community is going somewhere.
We spend nearly 90% of our lives indoors, yet most of us rarely think about how those spaces are shaping our health and environmental impact. What may not be immediately apparent is the story of what our new buildings are quietly doing for the planet and for our own health. Buildings such as the Gardner Learning and Leadership Building, Ridge Point Hall and other recently constructed facilities model solutions for efficient water use, optimized energy efficiency and sustainable material selection, operating quietly in the background.
These features are working hard, but for most students, their impact remains invisible. As landscape architecture students, we are trained to think in systems about our built environment. More importantly, we believe those systems should be visible.
Utah State has made a real commitment to building smarter with sustainable infrastructure. On its sustainability pages, the university points to LEED-certified buildings as some of its “most energy efficient, water wise, and health conscious constructions,” and it states that all new construction is LEED Silver or higher.
LEED itself is not a vanity label. LEED is the world’s most widely recognized green building rating system, and it evaluates buildings across categories like energy, water, materials, waste and indoor environmental quality. Certification levels, Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum, are awarded based on verified points earned.
With 28 LEED-certified buildings across its campuses, these buildings implement design strategies like water conservation, local material sourcing and energy-efficient power to reduce environmental impact. That’s the good news. However, for many students, these efforts go largely unnoticed. Without clear communication, the systems and strategies that make these buildings so remarkable remain invisible, limiting their broader impact on campus culture. Utah State should be shouting these achievements from the rooftops, giving students something to take pride in. So what’s stopping them?
Students pass through these spaces daily without understanding what makes them different or why those differences matter. This lack of awareness matters because sustainability is something that should be culturally embraced to make a lasting and positive impact. When Utah State invests in buildings that embrace long-term environmental responsibility, students should be able to recognize those efforts, or that impact is lost. Even the public-facing numbers are inconsistent.
These spaces should give students a reason to feel proud of their university and confident in the direction it’s heading. A campus that visibly prioritizes sustainability can reinforce shared values and create a stronger sense of community.
A Utah State story from 2021 frames that campus as having 18 LEED-certified buildings, the Utah State fast facts page lists 22 in the body text and the sustainability initiative page cites 28 LEED-certified buildings, which suggests outdated or conflicting messaging somewhere in the pipeline. If we cannot keep the count straight on official pages, we should not be surprised that many students do not know, or do not care.
The U.S. Green Building Council openly acknowledges that “the tangible benefits may not be easily recognizable to tenants or visitors.” That describes our daily experience perfectly. You cannot “see” efficient HVAC controls or low-flow fixtures unless someone tells you what they are, but the performance is real.
According to the USU LEED Building Tour, Utah State’s Brigham City academic building earned LEED Gold and is estimated to save about 46% on energy costs and use about 46 percent less water than traditional fixtures. The Aggie Recreation Center earned LEED Gold with design choices that support daylight harvesting and energy reduction features like shading and lighting controls. Down in Moab, the campus building is designed as Utah State’s first net-zero building and is estimated to avoid 196 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.
Utah State has already done the hard part by building better; now is the time that the university needs to fund the higher-impact piece of the puzzle: making sustainability visible. Put clear signage at building entrances, build a simple LEED webpage with a map and real numbers, tell student-centered stories on social media, make a sustainability tour part of orientation, etc.
Small efforts make a big difference in sustainability. When students can see and understand the systems around them, sustainability becomes more than a feature of a building. It becomes part of the culture of the university, shaping how students think about Utah State now and long after graduation.
If we are going to be a sustainable, Aggie community built for the future, students deserve to know what we already have and to feel proud enough to embrace that culture.
Ryder McClaugherty is a senior landscape architecture student minoring in sustainable systems and environmental planning. He is an avid listener of hardcore, shoegaze and hyperpop music.
— ryder.mcclaugherty@usu.edu
McCall Peterson Salisbury is a senior landscape architecture student. When she’s not in the studio, she enjoys being outside, reading and golfing.
— a02307657@usu.edu
Kayli Shepherd is a senior landscape architecture student minoring in sustainable systems. She enjoys being outdoors, taking naps and reading historical fiction.
— a02379572@usu.edu