Southwestern Reduces Electricity Use by 7%

Southwestern College has had a good year in the reduction of greenhouse gases.
“We calculated our carbon footprint (the amount of energy used on the SC campus) and just looking at the amount of electricity and natural gas, electricity being the biggest generator of greenhouse gases for the campus, we’ve reduced the amount of electricity in 2008-09 by 7%, compared to the baseline year of 2006-07,” says Rick Cowlishaw, assistant professor of biology at Southwestern College.
Cowlishaw and some of his students went back and compared the utility bills from Southwestern since 1999. They calculated all the electricity and natural gas used per year. The group then analyzed the data and the variation from year-to-year. They took into account the weather patterns during those years, some years being colder or hotter and so the college was using more fuel to heat or cool the college. Cowlishaw says there was about a 4% variation between 1999-2007 in terms of fuel use with year-to-year temperature differences explaining about 80% of that variation. This suggests that the 7% decrease in electricity use amounts to real changes in energy use on campus and not just a weather-related phenomenon.
“Southwestern actually had another consulting group calculate the amount of electricity and natural gas used in 2006-07 and there number was very much like our number,” Cowlishaw says. “Our numbers matched which gave us confidence that we were doing this right. We figured 2006-07 would be our baseline year because of the independent verification of the carbon footprint estimate for that year. It was also chosen so we could capture the effects of many energy-saving projects on campus that were carried out during and after that year. The carbon footprint for this year and that year is what we would measure against in future years and to determine whether we are reducing or increasing the amount of electricity we are using.”
Sodexo, the company in charge of plant facilities, conducted several projects to help in this effort. They have replaced all the old light bulbs on campus with energy efficient bulbs; changed out the older boilers with more energy efficient boilers; and have changed out old air-conditioning units with more energy efficient ones. Cowlishaw says these measures do cost money but will eventually pay for themselves.
“Look, we are an old school with lots of old equipment but I think Sodexo is being very good about going through the college and recognizing these easy things we can be doing and I think they have done things that have a significant effect on our footprint,” Cowlishaw says.
Southwestern College is a member of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and has recently submitted their plan of action for 2010-11. According to Cowlishaw, Southwestern aims for a carbon footprint reduction of 20% by 2015.