Sustainable Materials and Technologies in the Built Environment: Duke Athletics as a Case Study

In 2011, Duke University began a major fundraising campaign, with a significant portion of the money being allocated to several construction projects across campus, of which are either currently under construction or within the planning phases. Because of the university’s strong commitment to sustainability, as outlined in Duke’s Climate Action Plan, there’s been significant interest in reducing the environmental impact of these projects. Unfortunately, the Facilities Management Department does not have the necessary resources to successfully analyze the materials and technologies going into these buildings, despite having the desire to do so. Using the Chris and Ana Kennedy Tower – a press box to be shared between Koskinen Stadium and a new track & field facility – as a case study, this project compiles sustainability best practices for use by the Facilities Management Department in the development of this project and those that will follow in regards to the most prevalent materials and technologies. This was achieved through a literature review and life cycle assessment to best understand the environmental impacts associated with each. As a result, individual recommendations were made for each of these, along with overall recommendations that call for great upstream transparency from suppliers and the opportunity for further studies to be done expand the framework that has been established by this study.