Eastern Washington University Recognized as a 2026 Zero+ Champion of Sustainability for Turning Sustainability into a Living Laboratory

McKinstry, in partnership with Lumen Field, launched the Zero+ Champions of Sustainability Awards to recognize organizations making measurable progress in sustainability.

Eastern Washington University (EWU) has been recognized as a 2026 Zero+ Champion of Sustainability for connecting high-performance building design, campus decarbonization and hands-on sustainability education.

Serving roughly 10,000 students, EWU has made sustainability part of both its campus operations and educational experience. From its role in the Catalyst building, a 159,000-square-foot mass-timber and zero-energy landmark in Spokane, to ongoing decarbonization work at its Cheney campus, the university is demonstrating how campus infrastructure can become a platform for innovation and learning.

A Landmark in Mass Timber and Zero-Energy Design

EWU is the anchor tenant of Catalyst, a five-story building in Spokane’s University District that opened in 2020 and houses roughly 1,000 students. The building is one of North America’s largest zero-energy and zero-carbon buildings and showcases how low-carbon materials and all-electric systems can work together at a large scale.

Catalyst was constructed with roughly 4,000 cubic meters of cross-laminated timber. The structure stores the equivalent of about 3,713 metric tons of carbon dioxide while avoiding roughly 1,437 metric tons of emissions associated with the use of steel and concrete.

A rooftop solar array generates about 300,000 kWh of electricity annually, while the building draws clean, shared power from an all-electric central plant in the neighboring Scott Morris Center for Energy Innovation.

For EWU, Catalyst represents more than a high-performance building. It provides a real-world example of how materials, energy systems and building design can contribute to lower-carbon development.

Bringing Decarbonization to the Cheney Campus

EWU is applying that same long-term thinking to its main campus in Cheney. Recent work includes campuswide energy benchmarking, an energy management plan, operations and maintenance plans and Clean Buildings Performance Standard energy audits of academic buildings.

Building on decarbonization planning that began in 2023, the university is also advancing on-site solar and evaluating options including campus geothermal “neighborhood nodes,” thermal storage and an energy-sharing district approach in partnership with the City of Cheney and Avista.

Rather than relying on a single project or technology, EWU is building a roadmap for improving energy performance across its campus. The work provides a foundation for identifying opportunities, understanding infrastructure needs and planning future investments.

Making Sustainability Part of the Student Experience

EWU’s approach extends beyond the buildings themselves. The university treats sustainability projects as opportunities for students to gain experience with the technologies, systems and challenges shaping the transition to a lower-carbon future.

Programs such as Aspire, a near-peer mentorship program, connect students with opportunities to share knowledge and build leadership skills. The university’s Innovation Summer Camp brings EWU students together with local middle school students to explore concepts such as sustainable ecosystems.

Research and experiential-learning grants provide additional opportunities for students to work on sustainability-related projects and gain career-connected experience.

Together, these efforts turn the university into a living laboratory for career-connected learning where students can see sustainability principles applied in real facilities and explore how those principles translate into future careers.

Zero+ Champion of Sustainability

Eastern Washington University is connecting a landmark example of zero-energy and mass-timber design with a broader effort to improve energy performance across its Cheney campus.

EWU’s ongoing campus planning shows how innovating ideas can extend to larger infrastructure systems, while its student programs ensure the work is connected to the next generation of sustainability professionals.

McKinstry and Lumen Field recognize Eastern Washington University as a 2026 Zero+ Champion of Sustainability for integrating sustainability into its buildings, campus planning and student experience.