Green Buildings

Aerial photo of Ontario Hall Residence

As part of our commitment to becoming a low-carbon campus, Western has embedded sustainable design into new construction and major renovation projects on campus.

The objective of Western's Sustainable Design Guidelines is to establish minimum performance criteria for buildings and sites, strengthen best practices of sustainable design, and encourage advanced building performance over time.

Energy usage on campus can be monitored through the Western Environmental System (WES) to promote efficiency and conservation in building operations.

Renewable Energy

The Amit Chakma Engineering Building (ACEB) features a 120kW solar photovoltaic (PV) array designed to offset the building's electricity needs.

The Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEI) has ground-source geothermal heating and cooling. Along with triple glazed windows and an efficient building envelope, the renewable geothermal energy has enabled this building to operate without steam or natural gas for heating, since its opening in 2024.

Open-loop geothermal is also being explored for other projects such as the New Engineering Building.

Deep Energy Retrofit Program (DERP)

The Deep Energy Retrofit Program (DERP) exists to improve the energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in existing buildings by updating equipment, systems and controls strategies. These projects improve the energy and emissions performance of buildings individually, and also on a campus-wide scale by connecting decentralized heating and cooling infrastructure with Western's energy loop. The energy loop transports heat between buildings, making it possible to redistribute heat from buildings with excess heat to buildings that require heat. On average DERP projects typically achieve a 60-80% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions per building.

DERP measures can include...

  • Properly decommissioning systems that are no longer in use
  • Right-sizing equipment for efficiency and reducing wear and tear
  • Converting from (natural gas) steam heating and humidification to electric heat pumps and evaporative humidifiers
  • Switching to variable flow/speed equipment instead of using bypasses and throttling techniques
  • Recovering waste heat from equipment and processes and using it for space or water heating
  • Updating equipment/building schedules so equipment only operates when needed
  • Updating control sequences to ensure that equipment operates in a consistent manner across campus
  • Adding monitoring and isolation valves to facilitate maintenance, leak detection and troubleshooting

Current and completed projects

  • Western Interdisciplinary Research Building - In construction
  • Biotron - In construction
  • Siebens-Drake Research Institute (SDRI) - Completed 2024 
  • Western Student Recreation Centre (WSRC) - Completed 2023
  • Spencer Engineering Building (SEB) - Completed 2019
  • Claudette MacKay Lassonde Pavillion (CMLP) - Completed 2019

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED®)

The use of external certification programs, such as LEED®, not only helps showcase our commitment to sustainable buildings, but also complies with internationally-recognized standards and performance measurements.

LEED®-certified buildings create a better indoor environment for occupants, and consume less energy and water than traditional buildings. These outcomes are aligned with Western's long-term sustainability goals and help create a greener campus.

Our campus currently has 13 LEED® certified buildings, and include features such as: bird-safe windows, native plant and no-irrigation landscaping, low-flow water fixtures, EV charging stations, green roofs, rooftop solar, local building materials, high-efficient LED and occupancy-sensor lighting, and high performance windows. 

Western currently has 13 LEED® buildings:Exterior of WIRB

  • Amit Chakma Engineering Building (ACEB) - LEED® Platinum (2019)
  • Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB) - LEED® Gold (2018)
  • Delaware Hall Residence -LEED® Silver (2018)
  • Music Building - LEED® Gold (2017)
  • Physics and Astronomy Building - LEED® Certified (2015)
  • Ivey Business School - LEED® Gold (2015)
  • The Collider - LEED® Silver (2015)
  • Western Centre for Public Health & Family Medicine - LEED® Silver (2015)
  • Ontario Hall Residence - LEED® Silver (2015)
  • WINDEEE - LEED® Silver (2014)
  • Stevenson Hall and Lawson Hall - LEED® Silver (2014)
  • McIntosh Gallery - LEED® Silver (2012)
  • Claudette MacKay Lassonde Pavillion - LEED® Gold (2010)