Case Study: Gonzaga University achieves 15%+ electricity reduction and $20,000 savings with Atrius (BuildingOS)

Gonzaga builds culture of sustainability while shooting for net-zero emissions

Gonzaga University, which pledged to be climate neutral by 2050, needed better facilities data and a way to get students involved in long-term energy-saving behavior. The university was managing data from 87 buildings across five different systems, struggled to make that data accessible to both facilities staff and students, and wanted to engage students not typically interested in sustainability.

Gonzaga tied its energy-reduction campaign to campus basketball culture, using memes, posters, Storyboards and a competition to drive participation, while facilities used BuildingOS to aggregate data, find anomalies, and automate monthly comparison reports. The effort produced rapid results — a 15%+ electricity reduction across 77 buildings and over $20,000 saved in three weeks — and helped build a broader culture of sustainability on campus.

Gonzaga University

Jim Simon

Director of Sustainability