The decision-making process towards implementing energy efficiency in a university-built park in southern Brazil

Abstract

Sustainability has been increasingly incorporated as an essential life perspective into educational institutions as well as local communities. Universities play an important role into the society by debating theoretical contributions and implementing concrete actions. The present research was developed to evaluate a university’s energy efficiency by using the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain as a reference for University of Passo Fundo, Brazil. The reference values and index ratings obtained for energy performance, in the Universities’ building stock, were evaluated based on positive and negative features. The study identifies and assesses the evolution of incident factors towards energy consumption and its impacts on the hidropower generation, the main energy resource in Brazilian. Hence, the university can promote a reflection about its practices to develop feasible tools that contribute to sustainable measures. As a result, guidelines and strategies were proposed, not only on targeted evaluated buildings but also on the entire building stock. The research indicates the importance to follow well-defined guidelines in the decision-making process by institutions of higher education, in order to consider integrated sustainable practices. The methodology and findings contribute to improve and promote Education for Sustainability, which should encourage other similar universities to put sustainable projects into practice and encourage the whole society to face the inevitable change of paradigms for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).