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Are universities fleet-footed enough to go green?
(by Rebecca S. Rivas - July 02, 2008)
How many university administrators does it take to change a light bulb?When Harvard University attempted to switch to energy-efficient light bulbs, the answer to that question was pretty ridiculous, said Leith Sharp, director of Harvard’s Green Campus Initiative.
As universities around the world introduce sustainability projects onto their campuses, the ideas are often met with clashing egos and the fear of taking risks, she said.
“When you’re striving to accomplish something that is so different from what you experience day to day, it’s going to be uncomfortable,” Sharp said. “We have to develop a mastery of personal reactions. It’s going to require you to create relationships and deal with setbacks.”
As a keynote speaker at the Greening the Heartland conference, the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual meeting, Sharp and representatives from local universities discussed the driving forces and hurdles in creating sustainable campuses.
For Harvard and Washington University, the motivation is not only saving money, but also a way of remaining competitive with other institutions.
“Students look at us as an industry,” said Matt Malten, the director of campus sustainability at Washington University. “If you look at the growth at Harvard and many others, sustainability and growing admissions are inseparable.”
All the speakers said the passion behind the movements begins with the students and grassroots initiatives. As in city governments, the real change begins once the administration decides to support the grassroots efforts and establishes an office that manages sustainability projects.
Harvard now has the largest university-based sustainability office in the world, with 23 staff members. Yet, Sharp said, it started small because many did not see the importance of “building green.”
At first glance, Harvard administrators thought the green building accreditation systems, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, were a waste of time. However, Sharp’s team has been able to show that by sticking to these guidelines, the contractors have more guidance and can predict costs more easily.
Now all new or renovated Harvard buildings are LEED certified, she said. When the university has followed the LEED process and standards correctly and efficiently, it has been able to build green at no extra cost. Within six years or less, the university recovers its capital costs through the savings that it earns in energy conservation and other operational savings.
However, this is also where the sustainability movements for Harvard and other universities get stuck — in accounting. It’s difficult to get the approval for green projects unless it can be proved that higher upfront costs will result in long-term savings in operational costs, Sharp said.
To continue sustainability projects, Sharp said, an accounting reform is in order. Harvard has created a loan fund as a quick fix in getting around the capital-fund hurdle.
Washington University also sees the barrier to progress in its accounting.
“It’s a challenge for every organization, because this is how accounting is set up,” Malten said. “At Wash U, we have set up reserve funds to invest in operation and maintenance projects.”
Last July, the university hired Malten to develop a strategic plan for sustainability, which will focus on education, research, operations and community outreach.
Malten said the planning process will end this fall, and the university will start making decisions in early 2009.
The university’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased by about 20 percent on an absolute basis since 1990, “while campus population has increased slightly and campus building square footage has increased significantly,” Malten said. Much of this increase in emissions is related to the type and number of buildings the university operates, but the new buildings tend to more energy efficient, he said.
Among universities in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois, he said, “the comprehensiveness of what we’re trying to address is ambitious and impressive. I just want to tell people ‘stay tuned.’ Give us a couple years to get it going.”
All of the new buildings scheduled to be constructed will be LEED certified. The university also signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which is an agreement to lower its greenhouse-gas emissions and act with environmental awareness.
Although most people are enthusiastic about the ideas, it is still a challenge to convince the university staff and students that making sustainable choices doesn’t require a lot of work.
“I’m not convinced it’s apathy,” Malten said. “I think people are overwhelmed. People just don’t know where to start.”
At St. Louis University, students are leading the movement. The place they get stuck is communicating with administrators. Sonal Oza, chair of St. Louis Univerisity’s Environmental Taskforce, said that students come together with energy for change, but they address the administration with complaints rather than ideas. The taskforce is working on a proposal for a center for sustainability that would involve both students and staff members.
Malten said that students are ultimately the ones who need to be involved in the learning process. The environmental issues they work with on campus will be the same ones they will address in the world at large, he said.
“We are here to educate the next generation of leaders,” he said. “We have to teach them to be good change agents. It really requires the institution to be dynamic and continually find what’s best for society.”
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