Collegiate Times

Virginia Tech has long been committed to conserving energy and resources, and this year the Sustainable Endowments Institute has chosen Tech for the second time as one of 200 colleges and universities to be evaluated in the Campus Sustainability Report Card 2009.

According to its Web site, SEI was founded in 2005 and is a non-profit organization engaged in research and education to advance sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices.

Each school was charged with completing three surveys that were submitted toward the end of July. SEI will publish a one-page profile toward the end of September, awarding an overall letter rating for each school, and in a separate letter, a letter grade for each of the following categories: Administration, Climate Change and Energy, Food and Recycling, Green Building, Student Involvement, Transportation, Endowment Transparency, Investment Priorities and Shareholder Engagement.

Tech's completed survey highlights the university's numerous sustainability initiatives, including the unique Virginia Tech Climate Commitment.

In December of 2007, the Environmental Coalition called on President Charles Steger to sign the American College and University President's Climate Commitment, which he declined, said Jackie Pontious, senior environmental policy and planning major, and president of the Environmental Coalition. Instead, in April of 2008, Steger requested the Energy and Sustainability Committee develop a draft Sustainability Plan and Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment, which will be submitted at the end of the 2008 fall semester with hopes of final approval toward the end of the 2009 spring semester.

On the President's Climate Commitment, Denny Cochrane, the energy and sustainability coordinator of the office of the associate vice president for facilities, said, "We weren't sure how to do it. Rather than commit to something we can't do, we're going to create something we can implement and actually complete."

"They're looking at something doable and achievable," said Ben Myers, utilities director of the Electric Service. "It's a comprehensive effort."

Also mentioned is the recently completed installation of energy-saving occupancy sensors in 146 classrooms, which will result in $10,370 annual savings in electricity costs.

The Tech Electric Service provides electricity to the university and to approximately 6,000 town residents with an overall budget at $18 million for the year, said Myers. At $0.0641 per kW, the university uses roughly 154.5 million kWh of electricity per year.

In doing away with the trays in Shultz and D2, Dining Services also decreased food waste by 38 percent. The survey also said that a campus-wide water audit of all water-consuming systems on the main campus identified approximately $322,000 in annual savings opportunities, and in 2007, the overall Tech recycling percentage was 34 percent (an increase of 12 percent over 2006).

Tech has retrofitted light fixtures in Wallace Hall, Whittemore Hall, Hahn Hall, the Vet Med facilities, and the Human Resources Annex and expects to save over $120,000 annually.

The survey also draws attention to the plethora of student involvement, including the Environmental Coalition's facilitation of the Tech Coalition for Campus Sustainability, which now includes 16 organizations.