#5 University of Copenhagen: Green Lighthouse building

Denmark

Constructed in 2009, Green Lighthouse is Denmark's first public carbon-neutral building, located at the University of Denmark.

Green Lighthouse is an energy-efficient structure designed to the Active House principle, meaning it produces its own energy from a combination of solar energy, heat pumps and district heating. This in turn, results in a zero carbon emissions building and a reduced carbon footprint.

Using an abundance of natural ventilation, the building receives copious amounts of fresh air, and a high influx of daylight - using the sun as its primary source of its energy, it is central to the building's design - and this all leads to a healthy indoor climate.

The University of Copenhagen also has goals to reach high sustainability standards. Their new strategy 'Green campus 2020: A Strategy for Resource Efficiency and Sustainability' has already taken them a long way to achieving new environmental goals, including specific targets for energy and carbon dioxide reductions.

Images: University of Copenhagen and Adam Mørk