The indoor environmental quality of a building has attracted everyone’s attention since a worldwide pandemic was declared and forced people indoors. After several months, people were able to return to their usual activities, but with strict safety measures added due to the circumstances. This paper focuses on the impact of safety measures on students’ thermal comfort, a case study performed in a continental climate zone, during the winter. The methodology used involved the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. Descriptive statistics and frequencies alongside correlations and cross-tabular methods were used to analyze the collected data. The results indicated that the predicted mean vote (PMV) underestimated students’ thermal perception. A difference of 1.5 °C was found between the operative neutral temperature of the PMV and students’ thermal sensation votes while wearing masks. Likewise, a lower neutral operative temperature was found for students wearing masks than for those without masks. Students wearing masks preferred a slightly cooler environment and a significant difference was found (p = 0.001) between students’ thermal comfort votes. All of these findings indicate that there is a potential for energy savings without affecting students’ thermal comfort.

We face a significant challenge in balancing the creation of comfortable built environments with the pressing need to minimize energy consumption and environmental impacts. Meeting this challenge demands a proactive approach. This research explores the interplay between indoor environmental quality (IEQ), energy use, and environmental impacts in an educational building throughout an academic year. The methodology integrates experimental campaigns for the assessment of IEQ parameters, the analysis of data on energy consumption, and the environmental impact calculations and simulations. The IEQ monitoring results for the academic year reveal a mean indoor air temperature of 26.49 °C, a CO₂ concentration of 805.83 ppm, an illuminance of 335.83 lx, and a sound level of 51.03 dB. To assess the building’s compliance with the energy efficiency regulations, the energy use intensity was calculated to be 90.19 kWh/m²/year, The environmental impact assessment revealed a global warming potential of 120,199.82 kg CO₂e/year, with natural gas consumption contributing 61.72%. The analysis of the results uncovered challenges in IEQ and opportunities for improvement. A 1 °C reduction in the indoor temperature during the heating months may result in environmental benefits, including a potential decrease of 1.17 kg CO₂e/m². This study recommends integrated, intelligent control systems and a holistic strategy to optimize the energy use while maintaining the proper IEQ in educational settings.

COVID-19 has changed the world since 2020, and the field of water specifically, boosting scientific productivity (in terms of published articles). This paper focuses on the influence of COVID-19 on scientific productivity with respect to four water variables: (i) wastewater, (ii) renewable water resources, (iii) freshwater withdrawal, and (iv) access to improved and safe drinking water. The field’s literature was firstly reviewed, and then the maps were built, emphasizing the strong connections between COVID-19 and water-related variables. A total of 94 countries with publications that assess COVID-19 vs. water were considered and evaluated for how they clustered. The final step of the research shows that, on average, scientific productivity on the water topic was mostly conducted in countries with lower COVID-19 infection rates but higher development levels as represented by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the human development index (HDI). According to the statistical analysis, the water-related variables are highly significant, with positive coefficients. This validates that countries with higher water-related values conducted more research on the relationship with COVID-19. Wastewater and freshwater withdrawal had the highest impact on the scientific productivity with respect to COVID-19. Access to safe drinking water becomes insignificant in the presence of the development parameters.

Embracing a greener future requires understanding our carbon footprint. This study analyses the greenhouse gas emissions of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (TUCN) across all three emission scopes (1, 2, and 3) over a two-year period (2022–2023), employing the GHG Protocol methodology and One Click LCA software. In 2022, TUCN reported total greenhouse gas emissions of 7445.1 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e), with a significant emphasis on Scope 3 emissions (28.3% of the total). This figure decreased slightly to 7229.1 tCO₂e in 2023. On a per-person basis, emissions decreased from 0.378 tCO₂e per person in 2022 to 0.362 tCO₂e per person in 2023. The emissions per square meter also decreased from 31.2 kgCO₂e/m² in 2022 to 30.3 kgCO₂e/m² in 2023. Stationary fuel use (primarily natural gas) remained the largest contributor to emissions, accounting for approximately 62.7% and 66.9% in 2022 and 2023, respectively. TUCN aims for an 80% emissions reduction by 2030, fostering positive environmental impacts through education, energy efficiency, community engagement, and partnerships. This study provides a foundation for achieving carbon neutrality, benchmarking Romanian institutions, and contributing to national climate mitigation. The research’s findings are valuable for those seeking to integrate sustainable practices within higher education and broader urban contexts.

The assessment of thermal comfort for patients admitted in hospitals is a mandatory prerequisite meant to ensure the improved wellbeing and support of healing. Our study focused on postpartum women, a particular category of patients, given that they are healthy individuals admitted in hospitals for a physiologic process. We investigated the indoor thermal comfort of 61 early term postpartum breastfeeding patients during the summer. Our purpose was to establish whether the predicted mean vote can accurately predict the actual mean vote, and to evaluate individual and obstetric related factors that have potential impact on the actual mean vote in these patients. Results obtained from objective measurements of the indoor thermal environment complete the picture of a slightly warm environment. Data analysis showed a significant difference (p < 0.001) between the predicted and actual mean votes. There were no significant differences in the subjective evaluation in relation to the route of delivery (p = 0.462). We documented a significant difference in the thermal sensation assessment of patients between age groups and body mass index categories (p = 0.002 respectively p = 0.05). Our study shows that factors like age and body mass index should be taken into consideration when adjusting thermal comfort parameters in this category of patients.