Medical school's sustainability effort includes both big projects, individual actions
BY SUSAN IPAKTCHIAN
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If you think turning off a few lights or powering down your computer won’t make a difference in reducing the medical school’s impact on the environment, think again.
“We’ve carried out a lot of big, behind-the-scenes projects to reduce energy and water usage in the school’s buildings, and we’ll continue to do all of those things,” said Birgit Walker, director of operations and finance for the school’s Office of Facilities Planning and Management. “And now, we want the members of the school community to contribute as much as they can.”
That’s why the facilities office hired intern Will Rutledge, who spearheaded the effort to help faculty, staff and students learn more about how they can reduce the school’s carbon footprint.
Among the more visible elements of the sustainability campaign are the footprint-shaped stickers and signs encouraging employees to turn off lights, use fewer paper towels and conserve water. In addition, 25 composting bins have been installed in the medical school’s cafes and office break-room areas.
One of the cafes—the Beckman Bistro—has taken even greater strides toward sustainability. Bistro manager Amadeo Penas said he began investigating “greener” alternatives for the carry-out containers about 18 months ago when he became concerned about the mountains of Styrofoam he found in the cafe’s garbage cans. “I thought, ‘This is getting out of hand—we’ve got to do something about it,’” Penas said.
Now, 100 percent of the bistro’s utensils, cups, straws and other food containers are made of compostable materials. The products are more expensive—for instance, a regular paper drink cup costs 7 cents compared with 17 cents for a compostable cup—but Penas thinks it’s worth it. “When I explained to our customers why we raised our prices a little to cover the costs of the compostable items, they didn’t mind. In fact, they appreciated it,” he said.
Walker is hoping all of the school’s community members will go to a special Web site to learn more about they can help lessen the school’s environmental impact. There’s also a pledge on the site that all faculty, staff and students can sign electronically.
“People like hearing what we’re doing to save energy, and they’ve been very happy to find out what they can do to contribute,” Walker said.
Steps the medical school has taken to save energy, water
- Installing sensors in approved areas to turn off lights and office equipment in unoccupied offices and conference rooms.
- Switching to energy-efficient light bulbs.
- Handing out free “smart” strips that power down computers, printers and other office equipment when not in use.
- Cleaning the ductwork and correcting the air balance fume hoods in one building each year, with an average energy savings of $80,000 per year per building.
- Installing water-saving toilets throughout school buildings, reducing water usage by 1.2 million gallons per year.
- Tinting windows to reduce the need for air conditioning.
- Installing “Water-Mizer” monitors on 49 steam sterilizers, saving more than 22 million gallons of water per year.
- Replacing domestic and industrial hot water heaters, making the water-heating process 30 percent more efficient.
- Repiping cold-room condensers through a new system, saving 9.5 million gallons per year.
- Requiring that materials from demolished buildings be recycled, resulting in almost 80 percent re-use of these materials.
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