Update from the Office of Energy Management and Sustainability

01/21/16

The following message is being sent on behalf of Jerone Gagliano, Director of Energy Management and Sustainability, Facilities

As the new Director of Energy Management and Sustainability, I am pleased to report that great progress is being made on multiple fronts.

Energy Management and Utilities

• Strategic Planning – this spring, we will begin writing a Sustainability Strategic Plan and, as a result, revising our Climate Action Plan.  I very much want collaboration and input from students, faculty, and staff and will be assembling multiple sustainability committees to tackle each piece of these plans.  Be on the lookout next month to get involved!
• Energy Tracking – we are currently reviewing online utility tracking and measuring systems that will support: building benchmarking, prioritizing cost-effective energy upgrades, and enable energy awareness and reduction competitions between participating dorms and departments.  There is no timeline to purchase a system, but it will certainly become a component of the Strategic Plan.
• Bills, Bills, Bills – we have and will continue to put in place better systems to more efficiently process our utility bills, capture the correct data, and get the best energy prices.  All of this will reduce our energy costs, help us catch billing errors, and streamline the data needed for reporting our greenhouse gas emissions (see http://reporting.secondnature.org).  We are already garnering savings as a result of our monthly audits of each energy invoice we receive.
• Water Leak Fixed – a major water leak was found through inspection of the water bills.  The Facilities team quickly verified the location behind the Tower Dining Hall.  The Grounds & Maintenance teams worked through the day this past Saturday in harsh winter conditions to repair this leak.  Systems are being put into place to allow us to catch future water leaks within days of occurring.

Sustainability

• New Sustainability Programs Coordinator – we are currently interviewing finalist for the new Sustainability Programs Coordinator who will fill the position left by Mark Darling who retired last Friday. We have three outstanding candidates!  Look for an announcement introducing this dynamic person in late February.
• Campus Composting – unfortunately Cayuga Compost has changed their policy and now the College is only allowed to collect food scraps, paper napkins, and paper towels to be composted.  With this change, the compost bins in the retail areas will be removed.  The good news is that 98% of all compost taken away from campus comes from the food scraps which are collected from the dining halls and kitchens. In 2015, we recycled 309 tons and composted 251 tons of waste generated by the College community.  To be even more sustainable, when you need to grab to-go food, please consider bringing your own water bottle, a coffee mug, and keep a cutlery set with you.  Every act of sustainability counts!

Look for another update by mid-semester; my goal is to keep the campus updated and informed about the activities of the Energy Management & Sustainability office.  As always, if you have questions or suggestions, please reach out to me at jgagliano@ithaca.edu.

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