Sustainability at DePauw: what's in store
"Energy War" between campus dorms, installation of waterless urinals highlight upcoming efforts
By: Rachel Moore
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: News
DePauw has only hit the tip of the iceberg as far as sustainability on campus goes. Even more eco-friendly measures are on the horizon, and they will increase both in number and scale.
All light bulbs in campus buildings have been replaced with energy-efficient bulbs, an initiative that has enabled the University to save money on energy bills.
“We take the money we save from energy progress and put it into an account,” said Ted Fares, director of the Physical Plant. “The account will get used for projects that are not capable of paying for themselves.”
The Energy Management Fund will finance energy-efficient window and roofing alternatives for University buildings. Under normal circumstances, Fares said these windows take between 20 and 25 years to pay for themselves. Roof replacement is costly, but current poorly insulated roofs allow substantial amounts of energy to escape.
“[DePauw] can start to do these bigger projects that we have not been able to do before because of low payback, and now we can start to do it through the help of these funds,” Fares said.
LEED certification at DePauw
In January, the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics’ LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) certification established a precedent for sustainability in campus buildings.
“Prindle sets a standard [for DePauw] of LEED-certified buildings,” said Anthony Baratta, Environmental Club co-president.
The Bartlett Reflection Center in the nature park is expected to earn LEED certification in August. Fares said all future buildings will be LEED-certified, and estimated that this “green” approach to construction used to be 20 to 25 percent more expensive than traditional building materials, but now is only one to five percent more costly.
“It doesn’t even matter,” Fares said, “because it pays itself back in energy savings almost instantly.”
Water conservation efforts
The Physical Plant will expand the presence of waterless urinals to Blackstock Stadium and the Lilly Center. The water-conserving measure was introduced this past fall in the Indoor Tennis and Track Center. Fares said the Physical Plant is waiting to replace the urinals at the Lilly Center until renovation plans are finalized.
“We will replace them at the same time as the renovation instead of trying to do it right now and taking them out again for the renovation,” he said.
Fares voiced concern about replacing the dormitory urinals because of a lack of custodial staff to maintain them on weekends, but said he believes waterless urinals would be a valuable choice in other living units.
“I’d love to see them in the greek houses, because that would save a lot of energy,” Fares said.
Fares also said the Physical Plant will contribute to increased energy efficiency on campus. As its fleet of 15 to 17 large vehicles break down, Fares said the plant will purchase smaller, more fuel-efficient alternatives.
Student sustainability
The Environmental Club plans to get students in the sustainability act by conducting an “Energy War” from April 1 to May 1 in Longden, Mason, Lucy and Hogate halls. Physical Plant staff members will check and record each dorm’s weekly energy usage on meters installed for the competition, and the weekly figures will be posted inside for students to view. At the end of the competition, the winning dorm will receive a $500 prize.
“The hope [of this competition] is that we will have a lot of energy savings,” Fares said, adding he is optimistic this contest will start an energy-saving trend amongst the rest of the student body.
The Energy War’s final week will coincide with DePauw’s Earth Week at the end of April.
“It is going to be more positive than Focus the Nation,” Baratta said. “It is not all going to be about global warming, but more about environmental appreciation.”
The week’s activities will include a demonstration of the daily amount of recyclable products thrown in the trash at DePauw and a measure of the University’s carbon footprint.
Commitment to recycling
With the increased number of recycling bins around campus, the total amount of recycling has increased.
“We’re seeing a lot of progress in recycling,” Fares said, “so we are going to have more [recycling] pickup days.”
The University recently increased the number of pickup days to two per week, and Fares said this number may soon be increased to three.
Baratta said the Environmental Club will be pushing recycling initiatives well, and plans to request a campus-wide switch to all recyclable paper, a change he said may be covered by a slight increase in student fees.
Dining Services will make additional steps toward sustainability in the near future. Baratta said four different trash cans will be installed in the Hub at the end of March. The trash cans will have separate compartments for plates, silverware, trash and compost. These cans will be bright orange to attract the attention of students and staff. Baratta said he hopes the new cans will increase the use of glass plates by dining services and students.
“The biggest issue is getting education out there to the students [about this change],” Baratta said.
Because preparing and serving meat requires a great amount of water, Baratta said Dining Services is planning to have a “meat out” late this month. By serving only vegetarian food, the University’s food providers will both conserve water and educate their patrons about the high amount of water use that is inherent to the preparation of meat.
The University’s planned measures to increase sustainability represent an effort to slow, and eventually stop, the harmful environmental effects that typically accompany the operations of a college campus. Because of this large-scale objective, a presidential climate commitment has been drafted and will be presented to incoming DePauw president Brian Casey. According to Sustainability Programs Coordinator Jennifer Everett, the commitment states the University will express a goal to become carbon-neutral as soon as possible and report annually on the progress made toward reducing DePauw’s carbon footprint.
“The ultimate goal [of taking sustainable measures on campus] is to be carbon-neutral,” Baratta said. “If the presidential climate commitment is signed, we can really start making these changes.”
Baratta encouraged students to embrace these changes in bulk and in a short time frame.
“Scientists say the deadline for change is coming faster,” he said. “We have to think big really quickly."
All light bulbs in campus buildings have been replaced with energy-efficient bulbs, an initiative that has enabled the University to save money on energy bills.
“We take the money we save from energy progress and put it into an account,” said Ted Fares, director of the Physical Plant. “The account will get used for projects that are not capable of paying for themselves.”
The Energy Management Fund will finance energy-efficient window and roofing alternatives for University buildings. Under normal circumstances, Fares said these windows take between 20 and 25 years to pay for themselves. Roof replacement is costly, but current poorly insulated roofs allow substantial amounts of energy to escape.
“[DePauw] can start to do these bigger projects that we have not been able to do before because of low payback, and now we can start to do it through the help of these funds,” Fares said.
LEED certification at DePauw
In January, the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics’ LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) certification established a precedent for sustainability in campus buildings.
“Prindle sets a standard [for DePauw] of LEED-certified buildings,” said Anthony Baratta, Environmental Club co-president.
The Bartlett Reflection Center in the nature park is expected to earn LEED certification in August. Fares said all future buildings will be LEED-certified, and estimated that this “green” approach to construction used to be 20 to 25 percent more expensive than traditional building materials, but now is only one to five percent more costly.
“It doesn’t even matter,” Fares said, “because it pays itself back in energy savings almost instantly.”
Water conservation efforts
The Physical Plant will expand the presence of waterless urinals to Blackstock Stadium and the Lilly Center. The water-conserving measure was introduced this past fall in the Indoor Tennis and Track Center. Fares said the Physical Plant is waiting to replace the urinals at the Lilly Center until renovation plans are finalized.
“We will replace them at the same time as the renovation instead of trying to do it right now and taking them out again for the renovation,” he said.
Fares voiced concern about replacing the dormitory urinals because of a lack of custodial staff to maintain them on weekends, but said he believes waterless urinals would be a valuable choice in other living units.
“I’d love to see them in the greek houses, because that would save a lot of energy,” Fares said.
Fares also said the Physical Plant will contribute to increased energy efficiency on campus. As its fleet of 15 to 17 large vehicles break down, Fares said the plant will purchase smaller, more fuel-efficient alternatives.
Student sustainability
The Environmental Club plans to get students in the sustainability act by conducting an “Energy War” from April 1 to May 1 in Longden, Mason, Lucy and Hogate halls. Physical Plant staff members will check and record each dorm’s weekly energy usage on meters installed for the competition, and the weekly figures will be posted inside for students to view. At the end of the competition, the winning dorm will receive a $500 prize.
“The hope [of this competition] is that we will have a lot of energy savings,” Fares said, adding he is optimistic this contest will start an energy-saving trend amongst the rest of the student body.
The Energy War’s final week will coincide with DePauw’s Earth Week at the end of April.
“It is going to be more positive than Focus the Nation,” Baratta said. “It is not all going to be about global warming, but more about environmental appreciation.”
The week’s activities will include a demonstration of the daily amount of recyclable products thrown in the trash at DePauw and a measure of the University’s carbon footprint.
Commitment to recycling
With the increased number of recycling bins around campus, the total amount of recycling has increased.
“We’re seeing a lot of progress in recycling,” Fares said, “so we are going to have more [recycling] pickup days.”
The University recently increased the number of pickup days to two per week, and Fares said this number may soon be increased to three.
Baratta said the Environmental Club will be pushing recycling initiatives well, and plans to request a campus-wide switch to all recyclable paper, a change he said may be covered by a slight increase in student fees.
Dining Services will make additional steps toward sustainability in the near future. Baratta said four different trash cans will be installed in the Hub at the end of March. The trash cans will have separate compartments for plates, silverware, trash and compost. These cans will be bright orange to attract the attention of students and staff. Baratta said he hopes the new cans will increase the use of glass plates by dining services and students.
“The biggest issue is getting education out there to the students [about this change],” Baratta said.
Because preparing and serving meat requires a great amount of water, Baratta said Dining Services is planning to have a “meat out” late this month. By serving only vegetarian food, the University’s food providers will both conserve water and educate their patrons about the high amount of water use that is inherent to the preparation of meat.
The University’s planned measures to increase sustainability represent an effort to slow, and eventually stop, the harmful environmental effects that typically accompany the operations of a college campus. Because of this large-scale objective, a presidential climate commitment has been drafted and will be presented to incoming DePauw president Brian Casey. According to Sustainability Programs Coordinator Jennifer Everett, the commitment states the University will express a goal to become carbon-neutral as soon as possible and report annually on the progress made toward reducing DePauw’s carbon footprint.
“The ultimate goal [of taking sustainable measures on campus] is to be carbon-neutral,” Baratta said. “If the presidential climate commitment is signed, we can really start making these changes.”
Baratta encouraged students to embrace these changes in bulk and in a short time frame.
“Scientists say the deadline for change is coming faster,” he said. “We have to think big really quickly."
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