Universities as Sustainable Actors: A Case Study of the Environmental Plan of the University of São Paulo (USP) with Emphasis in the Actions of the Sustainable Building Working Group (WG)

The Universities have been acting in an impactful way in the implementation of sustainable actions within university campuses and as living labs for the universities, communities and cities. This paper presents a case study based on the Environmental Plan of the University of São Paulo (USP) with emphasis in the actions of the Sustainable Building Working Group (WG), as well as an overview of Sustainability Plans developed by universities in big centers worldwide. It is important to highlight how the universities are introducing sustainable issues inside campuses through the development of environmental plans by contemplating social, economic and environmental fields of sustainability. Some projects implementations and results demonstrate how environmental plans are important to promote better understanding on the importance of the environmental preservation and the construction and refurbishment of buildings through sustainable actions based on the environmental comfort of their users. Finally, through the case study of University of São Paulo (USP), this paper aims to serve as a base guide to anyone interested to know how environmental plans are being structured and implemented in universities.