Many academic institutions face the challenge of addressing their primary mission – providing students with the best possible experience – while also grappling with operational issues which includes using campus space wisely, maintaining community relations and tending to aging infrastructure. These same issues challenged Eastern Michigan University, whose 53M sqft campus serving around 22,000 students was in need of an infrastructure upgrade to modernize utility systems and create more efficient and sustainable energy systems.

This groundbreaking public-private partnership will generate significant cost savings for EMU and streamline operations, while implementing innovative sustainable and reliabile utility systems campus-wide, including reducing the university’s overall carbon footprint.

In addition to the operational and financial benefits, the long-term partnership with EMU offers academic collaboration and campus sustainability initiatives for continued student engagement. The sustainability platform produced through this partnership will provide opportunities for student curriculum enhancement, direct positive impact to university ratings, rankings, and accreditations, and enrichment of the health and well-being of its students, faculty, staff, and surrounding campus community.