The Collaborative for High Performance Schools in California believes designing high performance schools can significantly reduce operating costs: “School districts can save 30 percent to 40 percent on annual utility costs for new schools, and 20 percent to 30 percent on renovated schools by applying high performance design and sustainability concepts.”

The movement toward green building and sustainability has found a comfortable home in the construction of educational buildings. Today, more and more school districts seek LEED certification, and look to their architects, engineers and constructors for ways to optimize the performance of the school environment.