Spearheaded by Babson’s Facilities Management and Planning department and interested students, Green@Babson (G@B) was formed to promote energy efficiency, recycling and other sustainable practices on campus.
Students and the office of Facilities also started the Babson Energy & Environmental Club (BEEC) to promote energy conservation. Together they engaged the students in a “Dark Dorm” competition. They measured each dorm’s energy and water use and compared it with the year before. Each month the dorm that used the least energy was given a pizza party. After only four months they had saved the College more than $20,000!
Babson is continuing its efforts to inform, inspire, and act to conserve. Some facts on energy use at Babson include:
Annual utility budget: $4.1 million
-
Average tuition dollars that go toward energy: more than $1,700
-
Fossil fuel use: over 112 billion BTU’s; equal to over 18,400 barrels of oil
-
Water: nearly 5,500,000 cubic feet/year; enough to fill the Webster Center pool 200+ times!
Accomplishments
| Actions | Savings |
| Recycling program expanded | Last year over 200 tons of materials were recycled at a rate of 11%. Our goal for this year is to increase our recycling program to 20%. |
| Recycle used kitchen cooking oil to make biodiesel fuel for lawn mowers and other campus vehicles | About $4,000 annually |
| Dark Dorm Competition | Saved over $20,000 in energy in first 4 months; saved over 6% of energy for the year vs. the previous year. |
| Repairs & time clock changes to HVAC systems | $30,000 saved |
| Automation of kitchen exhaust fan systems | $12,000 saved |
| Replacement of incandescent EXIT sign bulbs with LED units | 12-40 watts reduced to less than 1 watt per sign |
| More than 1700 incandescent light bulbs replaced with compact fluorescent units | $15,000 per year |
In addition to the above, Babson has greatly expanded both its energy management and recycling programs, with significant success, including:
-
Reducing the campus energy consumption by over 3 % vs. the previous year even though the total building area increased by over 4% with the addition of the Map Hill residence hall.
-
Installed nearly $275,000 in energy efficiency improvements that will save about $125,000/year.
-
Expanded paper recycling program and added can and bottle recycling to the residence halls.
-
Recycled near 40 tons of paper, cardboard, bottles, cans and other materials for a total recycling rate of 11%, a number we hope to increase considerably this year.
-
Performed a Sustainability Survey and Report that outline near term and longer term goals and initiatives to build on current sustainable practices at Babson.
-
Implemented an organic fertilization program for all our campus lawns.
-
Changed from all wood mulch to a combination of wood and compost.
-
Upgraded our campus irrigation controls to have more control of irrigation schedules and water usage.
Adjusted our campus mowing schedules to minimize the amount of grass clippings to be taken away.
