Abstract
Conducting a sustainability assessment of buildings at Cagayan State University (CSU) is important to guide the development of a construction policy that supports sustainable development and aligns future projects with the university’s goals. Despite CSU’s commitment to sustainability, the absence of systematic building assessment reveals a gap between its operations and educational mission. This study assessed the sustainability performance of CSU’s buildings and aimed to develop a green construction policy. A mixed-method approach was employed, covering CSU campuses in Andrews, Carig, Aparri, and Sanchez Mira. Data were collected through interviews, questionnaires, on-site inspections, and the Basic Sustainability Assessment Tool (BSAT). 81.82% of the assessed buildings were academic, and 18.18% were administrative; 45.45% were 11–20 years old, 36.36% were over 20 years old, and 18.18% were under 10 years old. Findings revealed a strong performance in social sustainability—human capital (94.82%) and social capital (90.55%)—highlighting strengths in employee welfare, governance, and community engagement. However, natural capital scored only 53.27%, indicating challenges in renewable energy, water management, and monitoring of GHG emissions. CSU achieved a high overall sustainability score of 72.92%. It performed excellently in SDGs 1–4 (99%) and strongly in SDGs 5 (81.18%), 8–11, and 16–17 (90.55%), but scored low in SDG 6 (40.73%) due to limited sustainable water treatment facilities. Environmental performance was moderate (2.58), with lower scores in water and energy metrics. Social and economic scores were high, at 3.27 and 3.33, respectively. No major differences were observed across building types or ages, suggesting uniform construction practices. Findings support the need for improved environmental strategies and a university-wide green policy.
