In an effort to both reduce spending and improve campus conservation efforts, Western’s Office of Sustainability created the 10x10 Campaign this fall aimed at cutting campus-wide utility use by 10 percent by the end of 2010.
The campaign, although meant to eventually spread to all of campus, will begin in four pilot buildings: Parks Hall, Arntzen Hall, the Chemistry building and the Biology building.
The program includes the College of Business and Economics, the College of Humanities and the College of Science and Technology.
Brian Burton, dean of the College of Business and Economics, was one of the first to offer his department to the program. The College of Business and Economics is located entirely in Parks Hall, which makes it a good department to start with testing.
Campus Sustainability Coordinator Seth Vidaña said the program aims to reach its goal through sustainability education, utility monitoring, improved building performance and monetary incentives.
Vidaña said, each department will appoint one departmental sustainability coordinator who will be in charge of sustainability education throughout the department and promote behavior changes among staff, faculty and students. The departmental sustainability coordinator will also act as a link between the department and the Office of Sustainability.
The departmental sustainability coordinator will also work with the coordinator and Facilities Management building mechanics to monitor utility use in the building.
New technology in certain buildings on campus now makes it possible to instantly view utility use data, which will be a large part of utility monitoring.
The program will also have monetary incentives for the departments. A percentage of utility savings will be returned and used for departmental needs.
However, Tim Wynn, director of Facilities Management, and Vidaña both said the percentage that will be returned, in addition to what the money can be used for, has not been fully worked out yet.
Three key factors motivated the initiation of the program: Western’s Strategic plan, the Presidents Climate Commitment and monetary incentives brought on by budget cuts.
According to Western’s Strategic Plan, a key component of the university is maintaining sustainable campus operations.
The Presidents Climate Commitment, signed by Western President Bruce Shepard, makes the university responsible for producing a program that works toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Recent budget cuts have forced the university to look for more ways to cut back on spending.
Vidaña said these factors make this year the perfect time to put the 10x10 Campaign into action.
“It really came out of the most recent budget cuts,” Vidaña said. “We identified an opportunity to conserve both university funds as well as reduce energy use and carbon footprint.”
Utilities on campus include electricity, natural gas, water and solid waste. Last fiscal year, Western’s utility bill added up to more than $6 million. The Office of Sustainability is hoping to cut down these costs.
Although the aim of the program is to reduce utility use by 10 percent, Wynn said this number would be reflected similarly in utility costs.
However, Wynn said the program has not come without some convincing. Wynn said he has until the new budget is drawn up in late winter or early spring to prove that it will be a “cost neutral” program.
The program will take university funds in order to hire a coordinator in charge of monitoring utility use, Wynn said. The coordinator will be in charge of analyzing the numbers and monitoring what is causing either an increase or decrease in utility use at certain times in each building.
Ron Bailey, manager of Operations Support for Facilities Managment, said monitoring specific utilities is now possible, and Facilities Management can now see where and when use has gone up or down. It will be the coordinator’s job to monitor what is causing the changes and figure out what is working.
Bailey said he believes it will be small behavior changes that will really add up to make the program work.
Only registered users can post comments.
Please login or register.
Be first to comment on this article
