WWU named Zero+ Champion for carbon neutrality plans

Western Washington University received the Zero+ Champions of Sustainability award during a football game at Lumen Field on October 11.

The university was one of four organizations honored in the second round of 2026 recipients. McKinstry and Lumen Field presented the awards to Central Valley School District, Federal Way Public Schools, and Seattle Colleges alongside WWU. The ceremony took place during the Seattle versus San Francisco football game.

The award recognizes organizations that advance sustainability, lower carbon emissions, and build community resiliency. Dale Silha, a senior vice president at McKinstry, stated that each recipient treats carbon reduction as a core mission rather than a side project. Silha noted that the group includes a district retrofitting schools, an entity owning solar power, a university phasing out steam, and a college system using infrastructure for education.

McKinstry highlighted WWU's target to become the first carbon-neutral university campus in Washington by 2035. That plan is currently visible in Kaiser Borsari Hall. The engineering and computer science building is the state's first publicly funded academic structure to earn dual Zero Energy and Zero Carbon certification from the International Living Future Institute. The facility is all-electric and features a mass-timber structure that sequesters 466 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. It also includes onsite solar panels, efficient heating and cooling systems, and passive design strategies.

The university has started a multi-phase project to replace its gas-fired central steam plant with a low-carbon hot water system. The new system will use heat pumps, rooftop solar, and a future connection to a Port of Bellingham district energy network. A facility condition assessment of the existing infrastructure serves as the foundation for this campus-wide decarbonization roadmap.

Christy Briggs, sustainability manager at Lumen Field, said the partnership demonstrates what is possible when stakeholders work toward a common goal. Briggs added that celebrating these organizations at the stadium reminds the public that sustainability is a team effort extending into local communities.

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