Environmental Awareness Committee reduces Vet School energy consumption
J. Catharine Scott-Moncrieff, professor of small animal internal medicine and chair of the Vet School's Environmental Awareness Committee, stands at the "Continuum" sculpture in front of Lynn Hall. One way the committee reduced electricity usage was having the "Continuum" lights turned off at midnight, instead of running through the night. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons)
A series of easily achievable steps, including posting signs, has helped knock 12 percent off electricity usage in the School of Veterinary Medicine's Lynn Hall. The Environmental Awareness Committee, which consists of faculty, staff and students, was formed in 2010 with the intent of promoting conservation efforts in Lynn Hall, the school's main academic building.
Members of the committee met with representatives from Physical Facilities and Purdue's Sustainability Council in order to identify key areas where energy could be conserved. After holding meetings throughout the year to brainstorm ideas, the committee decided to focus on promoting awareness and implementing new measures in March of 2011.
Conservation efforts by the committee resulted a 70,000-kilowatt hour (kwh) decrease in energy consumption during the targeted month. This decrease, a 12 percent drop from the year before, was in part due to raising awareness about energy consumption. Members of the committee posted signs that encouraged energy-saving practices, such as turning off lights and lowering fume hoods, and discouraged energy-inefficient practices, such as the use of space heaters and screensavers.
In addition to raising awareness, the committee also focused on electricity, the building's biggest energy drain.
"We stepped back and took a look at where electricity was being consumed when it didn't have to be," says J. Catharine Scott-Moncrieff, professor of small animal internal medicine and chair of the committee. "We realized that students weren't turning off lights in lecture rooms because they didn't know they were allowed to. We posted signs encouraging everyone to turn off lights when they leave classrooms, labs or lecture halls. It's amazing what a difference such a small change can make."
The 70,000 kwh the committee saved in March 2011 is equivalent to approximately 42,000 pounds of carbon and $3,500. Scott-Moncrieff points out that such a significant change could not have been accomplished without the commitment of everyone in the School of Veterinary Medicine.
Once she expressed interest in forming the committee, she says, students, faculty and staff immediately began to volunteer time and resources.
"I knew that focusing on conservation efforts was part of our strategic plan and I wanted to do my part to help," Scott-Moncrieff says. "Once I sent an email out, inviting ideas and participation, there was such a positive response from students, faculty and staff. Considering our field, everyone in the School of Veterinary Medicine is committed to helping the environment and the animals that live in it."
Committee recommendations also led to adding motion-detection lights in the school's locker rooms, replacing old cooler door seals and improving seals on external doors to improve insulation. The committee also pushed for an altered schedule for the lights on the "Continuum" sculpture outside Lynn Hall. Instead of being on from dusk until dawn, the lights illuminating the "Continuum" now only run from dusk until midnight.
For more information on Purdue's sustainability efforts and how to reduce a carbon footprint, visit www.purdue.edu/sustainability.
