Annually, extreme weather events and climate pressures are impacting university and college campuses across North America. From heat waves that strain buildings and utilities to storms that disrupt schedules and damage property. At the same time, students, faculty, community members as well as regulators expect higher education institutions to be leaders in sustainability.
Meeting these expectations needs more than just pledges. It requires systems that help campuses understand and act on what they own, how it is performing and how vulnerable it is. The system? Asset management.
Asset management is not strictly about keeping track of buildings and equipment. It’s the backbone for making data-driven decisions about energy use, risk reduction, maintenance, and long-term planning. With strong asset management, campuses can be more resilient to climate threats while also cutting emissions and operating sustainably.
Why Campus Sustainability Matters Now
Higher education institutions are not isolated from climate change and the risks that come from it. Their infrastructure, which includes classrooms, housing, labs and energy systems, all face pressures from the changing climate. Meanwhile, the people who live and work on campus care about sustainability.
Here are some key statistics that show how important sustainability has become:
- 78% of Canadian universities are currently measuring greenhouse gas emissions, with another 7% planning to begin soon. 74% have GHG emission reduction strategies, and 61% are aiming to become net-zero or carbon neutral. More than half expect to reach net-zero before 2050 (Education News Canada)
- For many prospective students in the U.S., a university’s environmental commitment matters: 67% say a school’s sustainability efforts would affect where they apply or attend (Energy Star)
These numbers prove that there is significant interest in sustainability and there is real progress but they also demonstrate why universities need strong systems to organize, track and act on sustainability data. Without good asset knowledge, sustainability efforts can be scattered or reactive rather than strategic.
How Does Asset Management Fit In?
Smart higher education asset management means having a clear inventory of buildings, energy systems, mechanical equipment, and infrastructure. It also means knowing the condition and risk profile of these assets, how they consume resources like energy and water, and how urgent upgrades or repairs might lower costs and emissions.
Here are three key functions asset management supports on campus:
- Tracking and analyzing infrastructure condition
Systems that record the age, performance, and maintenance history of campus assets help planners spot risks before they fail.
- Measuring energy use and lifecycle costs
Understanding how much energy buildings use and when major systems need replacement allows campuses to prioritize investments that reduce emissions and lower long-term costs.
- Planning upgrades based on data, not guesswork
Upgrading outdated equipment or inefficient buildings without data is expensive. Asset management data helps make the case for high-impact, sustainable retrofits.
This work lays the foundation for everything from safer campuses to stronger sustainability reporting and more resilient capital planning.
Turning Data into Action
Tracking all this information manually is nearly impossible on large campuses. Most universities manage thousands of assets spread across outdoor spaces, housing residences, labs and buildings. Trying to piece together spreadsheets, paper files, and siloed reports usually leads to gaps in knowledge and delays in decision-making. This is why asset management is essential.
With the right software in place:
- All campus assets can be viewed in one place, making it easier to understand long-term needs.
- Energy and maintenance data automatically feed into sustainability reports and climate-action metrics.
- Teams can run scenario planning and lifecycle cost analysis to compare repair, replacement, and efficiency options.
- Stakeholders can work from the same data and make coordinated and strategic decisions.
This can turn raw data into actionable tasks. It makes asset information easier to use, harder to overlook, and much more valuable when planning for long-term sustainability.
Using PSD Citywide software for universities allows for a single, organized place to store and update every asset record. Instead of hunting for information or relying on estimates or predictions, teams can see what they own, where it is, what condition it’s in, and how it’s performing quickly. These tools also help track energy use, carbon emissions, and maintenance patterns, all of which are all needed for sustainability reporting
Sustainability Starts With Asset Clarity
Universities across North America are taking real steps toward sustainability, including achieving emissions reductions and completing energy-saving projects and long term climate plans. However, for deeper and more lasting progress, campuses need a strong foundation of asset clarity.
When universities understand what they own and how those assets perform, their sustainability strategies become more coordinated, cost-effective, and future-focused. Without that clarity, even the best intentioned efforts risk being uncoordinated, more expensive than necessary, or too short-lived to make a real impact.
Future-proof your campus infrastructure with smarter asset management. See how PSD Citywide supports sustainability goals.
