Western Washington University

10/26/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/26/2026 18:17

WWU honored as a 'Zero+ Champion of Sustainability'

WWU honored as a 'Zero+ Champion of Sustainability'

McKinstry and Lumen Field honors Western along with K-12 districts and community colleges

October 26, 2026

Greg Hough, assistant director of Asset Management, accepted the award at Lumen Field on Western's behalf.

Western Washington University was among the recipients of the Zero+ Champions of Sustainability award presented at Lumen Field Oct. 11.

McKinstry and Lumen Field partnered to honor Central Valley School District, Federal Way Public Schools, Western Washington University and Seattle Colleges as Zero+ Champions of Sustainability. The awards mark the second round of 2026 Zero+ Champions recognition and were presented during the Seattle versus San Francisco football game.

The Zero+ Champions of Sustainability Awards honors organizations for advancing sustainability, reducing carbon emissions and strengthening community resiliency.

"These four organizations run very different operations, but they each made a steadfast commitment to treat carbon reduction as core to the mission, not a side project," said Dale Silha, McKinstry senior vice president. "A district retrofitting a dozen schools, another one owning its own solar, a university planning to phase out its steam plant and a college system turning campus infrastructure into a classroom. That's what regional leadership looks like when it moves from pledge to project."

McKinstry lauded Western for setting an ambitious goal: becoming the first carbon-neutral university campus in Washington by 2035. That vision comes to life in Kaiser Borsari Hall, the state's first publicly funded academic building to earn dual Zero Energy and Zero Carbon certification from the International Living Future Institute. The all-electric engineering and computer science facility has a mass-timber structure that sequesters 466 tons of CO2e, solar panels to generate electricity onsite, efficient heating and cooling systems, and passive design strategies to improve energy performance.

WWU is now beginning a multi-phase project to retire the gas-fired central steam plant that heats much of campus and replace it with a low carbon, hot water system powered by heat pumps, rooftop solar, and a planned future connection to a Port of Bellingham district energy network. A facility condition assessment across the whole existing system forms the backbone of that phased, campus-wide decarbonization roadmap.

Other recipients of the award were Central Valley School District, Federal Way Public Schools, and Seattle Colleges.

"Our partnership with McKinstry shows what's possible when we work together toward a common goal," said Christy Briggs, sustainability manager at Lumen Field. "Celebrating these champions at Lumen Field is a reminder that sustainability is a team effort that reaches far beyond the stadium and into our communities."

McKinstry and Lumen Field will recognize a final round of Zero+ Champions of Sustainability on November 8.

Western Washington University published this content on October 26, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 27, 2026 at 00:17 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]