Creighton Partners with Cordia on New Clean-Energy Solution
Creighton University has been working with Cordia, one of its energy partners in Omaha, to provide a new, seamless clean-energy solution for its downtown campus.
Through Cordia’s new CordiaClean product – designed to help customers meet their carbon reduction goals without compromising performance, reliability or resiliency – chilled water is being delivered across Creighton’s nearly 130-acre Omaha campus using electricity sourced 100% from renewable energy.
Chilled water produced by Cordia is used to cool 28 of the 48 buildings that make up Creighton’s Omaha campus. While Cordia provides heating and cooling to more than 90 buildings in downtown Omaha, including First National Bank of Omaha, CHI Health Center and the Joslyn Art Museum, Creighton is the first to use the CordiaClean product.
“At Creighton, we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint on our campuses, here in Omaha and in Phoenix and the Dominican Republic,” said Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD. “We are excited to partner with Cordia on this new product to significantly advance our efforts in this area.
“As a Jesuit, Catholic institution, our mission impels us to care for our common home and to be an authentic source of hope for our current and future students through innovation and reason applied to action. This collaboration accomplishes both.”
“Cordia is proud to partner with Creighton University on CordiaClean, a solution that reflects our shared commitment to a cleaner, more sustainable future for Omaha,” said Bryan Kleist, director of plant and sustainability engineering at Cordia. “By transitioning our plants to 100% renewable electricity, we are able to deliver decarbonized chilled water at the scale and reliability our customers depend on — and Creighton is a tremendous example of what that partnership can look like."
Cordia’s three Omaha plants transitioned to 100% renewable electricity in partnership with Omaha Public Power District’s renewable energy credit program in 2024.
“The work we’ve done to bring CordiaClean to life is the result of years of investment in our infrastructure and a deep focus on sustainability,” Kleist said. “For a customer like Creighton, which serves thousands of students, faculty and staff across a large urban campus, being able to provide chilled water powered by renewable energy — without any disruption to performance or reliability — is exactly the outcome we set out to achieve."
Creighton is Cordia’s largest Omaha customer. Steam and chilled water are generated at Cordia’s downtown plants and delivered to campus through underground lines. Though some redundancy and system maintenance needs still have greenhouse gas emissions, the new CordiaClean product reduces Creighton’s carbon footprint associated with chilled water by 85%.
“Chilled water accounts for 21% of our operational carbon footprint,” said Andrew Baruth, PhD, director of the Office of Sustainability Programs at Creighton. “This shift to the CordiaClean product drastically reduces our Scope 2 emissions and aligns with our values as a Jesuit, Catholic university committed to environmental stewardship.”
Cordia engaged Environmental Resources Management (ERM), the world’s largest sustainability focused advisory firm, to provide independent verification of greenhouse gas emissions from CordiaClean chilled water for Creighton’s campus reporting.
In 2022, Creighton launched its Sustainable Creighton Initiative, as a comprehensive plan to guide the University’s sustainability efforts through 2028. The report includes goals around greenhouse gas emission reduction, waste diversion, education and cocurricular engagement.
“While much remains to be done, we have made considerable strides in these areas,” Baruth said. “Our relationship with Cordia and the deployment of the CordiaClean product is another piece of that important puzzle.”
About Cordia
Cordia is a leading provider of safe, reliable and sustainable energy solutions. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Cordia serves over 700 customers with heating, cooling and electricity throughout the U.S. Cordia is committed to driving change toward a more resilient, sustainable energy future and empowering people and communities to reach their full potential. Learn more at www.cordiaenergy.com.
