Green Campus by the Numbers
January 2010 – The Green Campus Program reports major savings for Fall 2009. How much? This much:
- Approx. 1.6 million kWh of energy
- 1 million+ pounds reduced CO2 emissions
- $200,000 savings
- 300,000 gallons of water
- 4,000 therms of gas
Today, the program employs approximately 70 student interns in colleges and universities around the country who reach an extended network of thousands of students, staff and faculty. A few of the new campuses added this fall included three community colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District: West Los Angeles Community College, East Los Angeles Community College and Los Angeles Southwest Community College.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
When asked which of the program's many projects was the most successful, Green Campus Project Manager Renee Lafrenz found it difficult to pick just one.
She did note that the interns from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo – winners of the Best Practices in Student Energy Efficiency Award at the recent UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference in California – had done a fantastic job encouraging students in nine residence halls to save a whopping 176,355 kWh (= $20,638) between October 11 – November 20, 2009.
Green Campus provided residents with “Green Tips” encouraging energy-saving behaviors, such as washing only full loads of laundry and switching light bulbs to CLFs.
Every week gas, electric, and water savings data were updated and posted on sandwich board displays, the Green Campus website, and sent via email directly to residents. Community advisors also went door-to-door to inform residents to inform them of their building’s current standing in the competition to reduce usage (compared to a baseline).
Stanford University
Not to be overlooked, Stanford University Green Campus saved their school 425,143 kWh in 2009 – the equivalent of $68,020, or 254,749 pounds of CO2 averted.
Their projects included a laundry energy efficiency initiative; laboratory fume hood energy savings campaign; exterior LED lighting pilot; and a pilot of providing residents with smart energy strips. Based on the success of their smart energy strip pilot, Stanford plans to provide all incoming freshman in fall 2010 with these devices.
Stadium Lighting Retrofit at Humboldt
In November 2009, contractors at Humboldt State University “broke ground” on a major lighting retrofit of their school's iconic depression-era stadium.
The project was conceived in 2007 by then-advisor Richard Engel as a way to decrease the electrical consumption and light pollution of the bowl. In spring of 2009, the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund (HEIF) awarded $75,000 to Green Campus to fund the ambitious project. The team plans to finish by the close of January 2010.
Says Lafrenz, “The work we do with Green Campus saves both energy and money in a time when colleges and universities need it most. We’re also training students on energy efficiency in order to meet the need for knowledgeable individuals to fill the emerging green job sector.”
