Transcript High Performance Facilities

High Performance Facilities
“Are we embracing the challenge
of sustainability?”
E. Lander Medlin, EVP, APPA
November 3, 2005
PURPOSE
“To focus on high performance facilities in
the broader context of environmental
sustainability and the shift in thinking and
action needed in higher education, its
operations and practices.”
What we will cover:
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What is sustainability?
Why is sustainability even more important
today?
Highlight effective & innovative “greening”
practices, the associated cost savings, &
funding approaches.
Identify basic design elements of high
performance facilities; their cost/benefit.
Discuss importance of these operational
activities to the educational experience.
Definition of
SUSTAINABILITY:
“Meeting the needs of the
present generation without
compromising the ability
of future generations to
meet their own needs,”
“We must seek to mimic
the way nature operates!”
“Sustainability: It’s not
just a pretty word, it’s a
sobering challenge; maybe
the ultimate challenge!”
Understanding the Higher
Education Market/ Industry
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4,100 colleges & universities
15M students
3M faculty & staff
2% of U.S. Workforce
$300B enterprise
3% of gross domestic product
$20B Operations/Maintenance and
Energy/Utilities, alone
$14B Construction projects estimated
annually
Understanding Higher
Education Facilities
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240,000 existing buildings
Comprising 5B sf of floor space
Median age – 32 years
Current Replacement Value - $500B
Deferred Maintenance backlog - $26B
ALL types of facilities/spaces
“Like managing a small city or municipality!”
Buildings consume our
precious natural resources:
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1/6th
1/4th
1/3rd
2/3rd
freshwater withdrawals
world’s wood harvest
of all energy in U.S.
of all electricity generated in U.S.
Buildings are a major source of
air pollution and greenhouse gas
emissions:
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49% of sulfur dioxide emissions
35% of CO2 emissions
25% of nitrous oxide emissions
10% of particulate emissions
Construction alone generates 136M tons of
waste per year
Buildings: “A chief pollutant blamed for climate
change.”
Buildings have a significant
negative impact on the
environment based on:
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Systemic design failures
Poor engineering
Choice of materials & manner used
(most energy & materials originate in
the “natural” world)
Inefficient technologies & operations
Little relationship to life cycle
environmental impacts
WHY SHOULD WE CARE?
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Fits with
culture and
values of
campus (64%)
Good public
relations
(47%)
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Cost effective
(41%)
Student
recruitment
(17%)
What have we been doing?
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Upgrade lighting
efficiency (81%)
Reduce use of hard
paper copies (69%)
Use native plants
(51%)
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Start micro-scale
labs (43%)
Restore habitat
(36%)
Specify recycled with
high post-consumer
content (25%)
What are we doing today?
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Smarter Transportation Practices:
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Adequate and protected bike racks (59%)
Free or discounted bus passes for students
(23%) and/or staff
Carpooling programs (17%)
Incentives not to drive alone (13%)
Bicycle lanes (13%)
All reducing need for new parking/ roads
CURBING EMISSIONS &
COSTS
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CU eliminated 750 parking
spaces and 1,500 car trips per
day offering student bus passes
saving $8,000/space
Cornell commuters drive 10
million fewer miles annually;
reducing CO2 by 6.7 million
pounds
Madison, WI used UW-M to
assist in solving violation of
Clean Air Act
What are we doing today?
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Improving Energy Efficiency &
Conservation:
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SUNY-Buffalo
Tulane University
CUTTING CARBON?
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Over 300 energy conservation
projects at SUNY-Buffalo
Save $9 million annually
Reduce CO2 by over 63
million pounds annually
All with help of 200 Building
Conservation Coordinators
(BCCs)
Tulane’s Energy Star
Dorm Room
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Using Energy Star
rated appliances, this
model dorm room
saves $130/room
(times 1700 rooms!)
Student-created
leadership position,
Environmental
Coordinator
What are we doing today?
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Purchasing Renewable Energy:
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Colorado University, Boulder
Georgetown University
USING RENEWABLES?
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CU Students vote to
increase tuition by
$1/semester
Purchase output of a
wind turbine
Power 3 student
buildings
Reduce CO2 by
1,400 tons/year
Renewables
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Georgetown University, Intercultural
Center, uses large solar array to
produce 10% of building’s needs,
saving $45,000 annually and
reducing CO2 emissions
What are we doing today?
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Curbing Water Waste & Restoring
Habitat:
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Brown University
Mesa Community College
CURBING H20 WASTE?
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Students at Brown U audit residences
Replace 750 showerheads
Save the university $45,800 annually
Reduce water consumption by over
12.6 million gallons annually
RESTORING HABITAT?
Before and After at
Mesa Community College, AZ
OTHER HABITAT
EXAMPLES
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Nebraska Wesleyan
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restores native
prairie grasses
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St. Olaf College
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restores wetland
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Ohio State
University constructs
river wetland
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Mesa Community
College replaces turf
with native flora
Texas A&M students
study wetland cells
University of Florida
restores a wetland
What are we doing today?
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Recycling Efforts/ Curbing Waste:
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MIT
Various materials & percentages recycled:
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83%
78%
80%
87%
50%
47%
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48%
high grade paper
low grades
cardboard
aluminum
glass
plastic
food
construction waste
Recycling Efforts
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When the facilities staff
teamed up with
students, it achieves
results and students
learn
MIT increases use of
post-consumer
paper from 5-64%
percent of campus
As you can see, environmental
improvements also save our
institution’s money!
Elements of High
Performance Facilities
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Sustainable design IS about…
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Improving public health & reducing environmental
impacts
Maximizing energy efficiency & conserving natural
resources
Integrating technology & common sense into
building design
Incorporating sustainability issues throughout the
design process
Involving key stakeholders in all phases of the
process
Elements of High
Performance Facilities
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Sustainable design IS NOT about…
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Adding green elements to an existing
process
Focusing only on design elements
Relying solely on technological solutions
Focusing on environmental issues at the
expense of occupants, health & safety
Elements of High
Performance Facilities
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What can sustainable design do for you?
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Reduce capital costs
Lower operating & maintenance costs
Increase occupant productivity, lower
absenteeism, & improve employee job
satisfaction
Minimize exposure to toxic emissions
Elements of High
Performance Facilities
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Building design, appropriate technologies,
siting, land use, materials, equipment,
construction methods, and operations &
maintenance practices all contribute to a
building’s sustainability.
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Use LEED (USGBC established guidelines &
rating system for green buildings)
Use “Building Blocks” of High Performance
School Buildings (developed by the
Sustainable Buildings Industry Council)
“Building Blocks” of High
Performance Facilities
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Acoustic comfort
Commissioning
Daylighting
Durability
Energy analysis tools
Energy-efficient
building shell
Environmentally
preferable materials &
products
Environmentally
responsive site
planning
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High-performance HVAC
High-performance
electric lighting
Life Cycle cost analysis
Renewable energy
Safety & Security
Superior IAQ
Thermal comfort
Visual comfort
Water efficiency
Green construction addresses
challenges such as:
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Growing costs of transmission & distribution
congestion
Reduced energy demand (from slowing
dependence on natural gas markets)
Cut pollution
Meet emission reductions targets
Improved quality of education environment
Superior health & comfort & work
environment
Enhance productivity & competitiveness
Perception
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Green buildings are substantially more
costly than conventional design and not
worth the extra cost.
FACTS
Average premium for green buildings is slightly
less than 2% or $3-5/sqft
 Average annual cost of energy in buildings is
about $2/sqft
 Green buildings use 30% less energy
 More likely to generate 2% power on-site
 Therefore, 30% reduced consumption at
$0.08/kwh electric price is equivalent to
$0.30/sqft/yr (20 yr NPV = $5/sqft)
(NOT accounting for environmental & health costs
associated with air pollution & fossil fuel use)
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Case Studies
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Mueller Building at Penn State
“Green Building Costs & Financial
Benefits” report of 33 LEED buildings
(State of Massachusetts) by G. H. Kats
Harvard’s Revolving Loan Fund for
Sustainability Projects
Financial Benefits
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Energy & water savings
Reduced waste
Improved indoor environmental quality
Greater employee comfort &
productivity
Reduced employee health costs
Lower operations & maintenance costs
“It’s no longer “green” design –
it’s just “good” design!”
Why should we lead the way?
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Education role for current & future
leaders
Collective purchasing power
Collective environmental impacts
Setting an example/ social responsibility
Why should we lead the way?
Not a problem in education;
It is of education.
Must not only see ourselves in the community;
Must see ourselves of the community.
“We cannot solve the significant
problems we face today at the
same level of thinking in which
they were created.”
(Einstein)
Strategy
Requires an approach that is
interdependent & integrated, conscious &
visible; linking all organizations’ &
operations’ sustainability efforts to the
formal curriculum;communicating
everything we’re doing to everyone.
Conclusion
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New paradigm
New strategy/approach
Collective change; synergistic effect
“What we do individually will never come
close to the impact and influence we
can have collectively.”
Don’t Ever Give Up!