Suggestions for Group Actions

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The following suggestions are for group actions, primarily geared to office operations:

• Energy We Use
• What We Buy and Throw Away
• Spreading the Word

Energy We Use
Action: Adopt a Room
Know of classrooms or other spaces where the lights are often on when unoccupied? Adopt the space and turn the lights out. At the same time, make it a practice to turn off all the lights in your work areas when no one is in the space.

Why this is important:
There are thousands of watts being wasted right now to light empty spaces. This happens especially in common areas because no one ‘owns’ the space, or there is the misconception that if a space is open the light should be on.

But there's no reason to light a space if it isn't being used. By leaving the lights on when nobody's home, we

• Waste energy
• Needlessly create greenhouse gases to supply that energy
• Reduce the lifetime of the lights themselves
• Increase the temperature of the space and/or the load on cooling equipment in warm weather

And this is contagious. If you shut off the lights, the next person in has to turn them on, and then, they might think of turning them off when they leave.

By establishing "lights out" as the new norm, you may quickly work yourself out of a job! Of course you can always adopt a new space . . .

In JUST ONE of the Cleveland lecture halls, this could save enough energy to power an average home, saving $1100 and offsetting 7 tons of greenhouse gases a year!

What is involved:

• Hold each other responsible for turning off lights within your offices and other spaces.
• Adopt a common area, such as a break room, reading room, or lecture hall. Feel free to adopt more than one space.
• Turn the lights off if the room is empty! Everyone in the group should do this throughout the day as they pass by and take turns stopping by at the end of the day.

Examples:

• Cleveland lecture halls L1, L2, L3
• Hooker Auditorium
• Howard Gym
• Department Lounges
• Reading Rooms

Measuring Success:
Estimate the additional number of "lights out" hours per day. The Energy Manager can use this number, along with the wattage of the lights in the room, to calculate savings – energy, money, and greenhouse gas.

Action: Green Computing as the Norm 
Establish Green Computing as the group norm by enable power management and turning off screen savers on all your computers, and turning all computers (except those used to run overnight operations) off at the end of each day.

Why this is important:
While the energy used by personal computers seems small, when you add the thousands at MHC together it represents a significant load, as much as a large building like Williston Library.

That's over 1 million kilowatt-hours a year, enough to power 100 average homes.

According to the EPA and Berkeley National Labs, computers are idle 58% of the work day, and only 36% of users shut them off at night.

So if your computer runs a screen saver during the day, does not have its sleep settings enabled, and stays on overnight . . . it uses 5 times more energy than it needs!

But there's no reason to leave a computer on if it isn't being used. Really, if you don't believe us then ask Apple, Dell, IBM, or Hewlett-Packard. By keeping an image running on an idle computer and/or leaving it running overnight, you

• Waste energy and needlessly create greenhouse gases to supply that energy
• Reduce the lifetime of the computer by running its fan and pulling dust into the case

Enabling energy saving features on one machine can save $70 and offset 500 pounds of greenhouse gases a year. Now multiply that by 1000, or 2000, or 3600. The potential is not tens, but hundreds of thousands of dollars a year!

What is involved:

• Set your computer monitor to power down after 10 minutes of idle time, instead of running a screen saver.
• Allow your computer to go to "standby" or "sleep" mode after an hour or two of inactivity.
• It's simple, to enable monitor power management, use the Energy Star EZ Wizard or change your settings on your PC within Settings/Control Panel/Display/Screen Saver.

Measuring Success:

• Inventory current practice with regard to enabled power management features and shut down practices for all the computers in your group.
• Change the settings and practices and record the changes.

Action: Power Down Office Equipment
Do not turn on your copier or printers in the morning until they are needed and set the power save mode on the equipment. Unplug or turn off scanners and other peripherals (e.g., scanners) except when they are being used.

Why this is important:
Copiers and printers can be some of the heaviest energy users in an office, especially the copier.
In addition to the energy use and noise, they also throw off a lot of heat.

While the "sleep" settings may be set, copiers and printers can still use 25% to 30% power in standby mode (significantly more than a computer). This means that, on a yearly basis, your copier and/or printer may use more energy in standby mode than it does making copies.

• A photocopier left on overnight uses enough energy to produce over 1500 copies.
• Switching off non-essential equipment in an office overnight saves enough energy to run a small car for 100 miles.

What is involved:

• Kick the habit of turning on copiers and printers when you first walk by in the morning, wait until you actually need them.
• Check the settings so that they go to power save mode after 30 or 60 minutes of idle time. With copiers and printers power save mode is good, but not nearly as low power as leaving them off.
• Shut all office copiers and printers down when you leave for the day.
• Put scanners, other computer peripherals, and other powered gizmos like pencil sharpeners and electric staplers on a power strip that you can shut down at night. It all adds up . . . and quick!

Measuring Success:

• Inventory current practice with regard to enabled power management features and shut down practices for all the printers and copiers in your group.
• Change the settings and practices and record the changes.

Action: Unplug Phantom Loads
Unplug "phantom" energy loads or "vampire power" from electronic devices that have remove controls, battery chargers, AC adapter plugs, instant-on features, or permanent displays.

Why this is important:
The EPA estimates that almost half the energy used to power home electronics is used when they're supposedly "off." Those tiny glowing LEDs are your clue that they lurk in "standby" mode. TVs, phones, and microwaves are the likely suspects, as well as anything with a plug-in "wall wart" charger.

For households, 7% to 25% on their annual electric use is consumed by such vampire loads. This parasitic energy drain gives nothing in return!

Most microwave ovens consume more electricity, on an annual basis, in standby mode than actually cooking food.

Watch a fun video Tree Hugger TV: Vampire Power.

More info at: Green Party Canada.

What is involved:

• Put all "wall wart" chargers for cell phones, radios, speakers, etc. on a power strip that can be turned off at night. These consume power whenever they're plugged in, and whether they're needed or not.
• When buying new appliances, see if they're available with the ENERGY STAR label. Energy Star compliance means phantom loads are cut in half.

Measuring Success:

• Inventory the number of devices in your group’s area with “phantom loads” that are currently plugged in.
• Change practices and record the changes.

Action: Reduce Fossil Fuel Powered Miles 
Reduce your fossil fuel powered miles by establishing a group goal to walk (or ride a bike) more and drive a vehicle less, especially when on campus; and carpool or take the bus when going to off campus meetings or events.

Why this is important

• Although the actual gasoline consumption may be small for a short trip, it adds up when multiplied by a few miles every day and multiple vehicles.
• 1,000 people driving 5 miles less a day, in a vehicle that averages 25 mpg, would reduce GHG emissions by over 38 tons a year.
• Many other pollutants associated with chronic health problems, like asthma, are also significant components of vehicle emissions.
• A car creates far more emissions while the engine is warming up, because the systems are not up to temperature.
• Cold-start carbon monoxide emissions can account for up to 50% of vehicles total! And over 50% of all United States air pollution is generated by motor vehicles. 

What is involved

• Break the habit of driving to meetings across campus.
• Leave a few extra minutes early and walk or bike. By the time you find a parking space, it may not take any longer.
• When possible, schedule meetings with walking time in mind.

Measuring Success:

• As a group, keep track of how many times you would have driven across campus but decided to walk or ride a bike.
• Keep track of how many miles you saved by car pooling or taking the bus instead of driving individual vehicles to off campus meetings or events.

What We Buy and Throw Away
Action: Purchase Recycled Paper
Adopt a policy to purchase and use recycled-content paper (at least 30% post-consumer, the higher the better) for both on-campus and vendor printing and copying.

Why this is important:
Recycling is nothing more than a manufacturing process.

In a “traditional” virgin-materials-based paper making process, trees are cut down, transported to a processing facility to be ground into pulp and bleached, transported to a manufacturer to be made into paper products, then transported to a merchant, then transported to a consumer. Once the consumer is done with the paper, it is discarded typically into a landfill or incinerator.

Recycling is merely a process in which that discarded paper is recycled back into the manufacturing process to make new paper and/or paper products.

All of this adds up. Looking at the total life cycle, switching just one case of copy paper from a non-recycled paper to a 30% post-consumer recycled paper has the same reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as not burning 5 gallons of gasoline (the equivalent of about .05 tons of CO2).

More info at:

• Recycling, Manufacturing Life Cycle and Climate Change
• EPA’s Climate Change and Waste

Sample policy:
To reduce the environmental footprint of Mount Holyoke College, (Insert organization name) commits to purchasing recycled-content products, at least 30% post-consumer, for all of (or a larger portion than is current practice) its office paper and paper products.

Variations/Customizations to sample policy:

• Qualify your commitment to specify that you will purchase recycled products when they meet your cost and performance specifications. Before doing this evaluate your performance specifications and look at multiple vendors to get the best price.
• Typically, any increased cost from using recycled-content paper can be offset by also adopting a paper reduction policy (utilizing double-sided copying, etc.).
• Alter any specifications that you currently have that affect the cost competitiveness of recycled paper. Paper brightness is a prime example. There is no need for paper to be blindingly white. If you have a brightness specification of over 90, look at reducing that. A brightness specification of 84 or 87 is still plenty bright, actually more-readable, and more likely to get you a cost-competitive recycled-content paper.
• Look at multiple paper suppliers. Some paper suppliers are only marginally involved in stocking recycled-content papers and their prices are higher due to limited volumes purchased. Look for suppliers that stock significant amounts of recycled-content products.
• Look for products for which the price of recycled-content products is the same or less than that of virgin products (e.g. 3M recycled post-it notes are typically the same price or less than that of virgin 3M post it notes). As a general rule, non-mechanized paper products (writing pads, etc) and paper products (file folders, etc.) are typically likely to be cost competitive, or even less expensive than their virgin counterparts.
• If you are apprehensive about performance of papers that are used in a mechanized process (e.g. paper in copiers or computer printers), test papers in your machines. Regardless of whether it is recycled-content paper or virgin paper, certain brands of paper work better in different equipment.

Measuring Success:

• Start with an inventory of the recycled content of what you currently purchase.
• Track the total budget spent on office paper and the percentage that was recycled-content or track the amount of paper purchased and the percentage of that which is recycled content.

Action: Paper Reduction
Adopt a paper reduction policy. Note: Departments with significant amounts of non-paper wastes (e.g., Facilities Management, Dining Services, LITS, etc.) should develop a plan to reduce those other non-paper wastes.

Why this is important:
The process of making paper takes a significant amount of energy and contributes to global climate change. While recycling is a distinct improvement to that process environmentally, the best way to limit the GHG effects of papermaking is to use less paper.

More info at: Recycling, Manufacturing Life Cycle and Climate Change

If every one of the approximately 3,100 students, faculty & staff used just one less sheet of office paper per day, that would amount to approximately 5.6 tons of paper per year.

Not producing that paper reduces greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of about 29 tons of CO2when compared to paper that was produced then recycled, the same as taking more than 5 cars off the road or completely eliminating the emissions from 3 homes worth of electrical use.

The results are even more dramatic when compared to paper that is produced and thrown in the trash. In that scenario, it would reduce emissions by the equivalent of about 47 tons of CO2, the equivalent of taking more than 9 cars off the road or completely eliminating the emissions from 5 homes worth of electrical use.

More info at: EPA’s Climate Change and Waste

What is involved:

• Set group copiers and printers so that duplex printing is the default setting. (This often needs to be done from each individual computer in the group.)
• Specify double-sided printing as the group’s standard for all contracted print jobs of more than one page.
• Evaluate all departmental forms to see if they could be converted to electronic forms or be reformatted (e.g. smaller margins, etc.) to save paper.
• Alter departmental paper/thesis submission standards to reduce paper use. Examples might include specifying they be printed double-sided, shrinking margins, etc.)
• Encourage group members to fully utilize printing tools such as spell-checker and print-preview to avoid printing unnecessary pages (e.g. banner pages, web site pages with no info on them, mistakes, etc.)
• Specify less than full sheets of paper to print less than full sheets worth of information. If your information fits on a ½ page, or even a ¼ page, why print a full page to convey that info.
• Evaluate your policy of campus distributions and reduce the number distributed (e.g., communicate electronically, send flyers to each office instead of each individual).

Measuring Success:

• Track departmental paper use. Compare to previous years to see if paper use is decreasing.

Action: Use Sustainably Harvested Paper and Wood
Develop a policy to use sustainably harvested paper and wood products, certified by either FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative), whenever available and cost competitive.

Why this is important
How forests are managed and used to create paper and wood products has very significant implications for climate change.

In sustainably managed forests, when trees are harvested to make paper or other wood products, new trees are re-grown, either via natural regeneration, or replanting. In these sustainably-managed forests, the ability of the forest to act as a carbon sink is maintained, even when trees are harvested. Provided sufficient water is present, this reforestation may even provide temporary increases in the carbon sink of a forest as new trees typically absorb more carbon as they grow than do mature trees. Conversely in a sustainably managed forest, some of the older more mature trees are harvested before they naturally die and decompose, a process that would release the carbon stored in them back into the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, there are too many areas that utilize non-sustainable “cut-and-run” forestry. In this case, new trees are not re-grown when old trees are cut, consequently, the future ability of those forests to remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere is eliminated. This is a tactic used in resource-rich, cash-poor areas if they need to quickly raise cash. It is also used when clearing forested land for new development or agriculture.

More info at:

• Forest Stewardship Council
• Sustainable Forest Initiative

What is involved

• Enact a departmental purchasing policy to specify that FSC or SFI certified paper and wood products are purchased when available for both on-campus and vendor printing and copying.
• Notify vendors that you are interested in purchasing FSC and/or SFI certified paper and wood products and ask them to supply them for you.

Measuring Success:

• Track total purchases of paper and/or wood products and report what percentage of those products were FSC and SFI certified.

Action: Reduce Food and Packaging Waste
Develop a policy to reduce food and food-packaging waste at group events and meetings.

Why this is important
The production of food packaging and generation of food waste can be significant contributors to global climate change.

When food waste and food-related paper products (napkins, paper plates, paper plates, etc.) end up in a landfill they decompose in the absence of oxygen, a process that releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20-25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

If every student at Mount Holyoke composted just one additional oz of food waste instead of throwing it into the trash, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of more than 6 tons of carbon dioxide per year, about the same as taking a car off the road.

In addition, the production of plastic packaging for food waste is traditionally made from petroleum and contributes to the release of greenhouse gasses. For example, if every one of the approximately 3,1000 students, faculty and staff at Mount Holyoke used one less plastic water bottle per day, it would eliminate over 31 tons of plastic waste and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking 14 cars off the road.

More info at: EPA’s Climate Change and Waste

What is involved

• Provide beverages other than in single-serve bottles (e.g. Provide tap water instead of bottled water).
• For meetings with on-campus students and staff, promote/require use of reusable mugs instead of disposable cups.
• Limit or eliminate the use of disposable food service ware for events. Instead, use compostable food service ware or switch to durable food service ware.
• Limit or eliminate the use of food to entice folks to attend events within 1 hour of mealtimes.
• Practice strategies to reduce food waste from meetings and events (stricter food/capita planning, purchasing from catering so that excess food is taken back for composting, etc.)
• Make sure to request a bottle and can recycling bin for any group event at which bottled beverages will be served.
• Adopt a strategy to compost leftover food waste and napkins from group functions. This is most easily accomplished by contracting with campus catering in Willits (who composts the leftover food waste that they pick up after an event). However, it may involve working with Dining Services and having a member of the department bring leftovers to one of Dining’s composting containers after the event.

Measuring Success:

• Document current practices and how policies have changed.
• Keep track of the number and size of events at which the new policies are implemented.
• Count the number of event waste bags that go to compost rather than the trash.
• Estimate the number of disposable food service ware items that were not used due to the new policies.

Action: Maximize Recycling
Develop protocols to ensure that recyclable materials are being collected in your department/organization.

Why this is important
Recycling is nothing more than a manufacturing process.

For this process to work, we need to separate our recyclable wastes in a form that can be used by a manufacturer to make new products.

If every one of approximately 3,100 students, faculty and staff recycled just one additional sheet of paper per day, it would divert over 5.6 tons of trash out of the landfill. Recycling that material back through the manufacturing process to make new paper instead of throwing it into the landfill would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of over 20 tons of carbon dioxide each year, the same as taking more than 4 passenger cars off the road.

More info:

• Insert link to ES web site discussion of recycling, life cycle and climate change.
• EPA’s Climate Change and Waste

What is involved:

• Ensure that each office has a desk side recycling bin for paper.
• Make an announcement at a group meeting each semester to ensure that all staff know where the central recycling bins are in your area.
• Survey bins in your area to ensure that they are adequately labeled so that people can easily identify what goes in each bin.
• Ensure that everyone in the group is familiar with the recycling web site and procedures to contact Facilities Management if they need a new recycling bin or special recycling pickup.
• During the orientation of new group members, be sure to include information about where recycling bins are, what to place in those bins, and who to ask for more information about recycling.

More info at: How to Recycle at Mount Holyoke

Measuring Success:

• Survey departmental/organizational staff and spaces each year and report any deficiencies and corrective actions taken.
• Do periodic audits of desk side waste containers to see if materials are being sorted properly.

Spreading the Word
Action: Promote Stewardship
If your group regularly communicates, through publications or other forums, with the community, publish articles or lead discussions that promote environmental knowledge and sustainable practices.

Why this is important:

• Surveys show that just 12% of Americans can pass a basic quiz on awareness of energy topics and 80% of Americans are influenced by outdated and incorrect energy myths.
• Environmentally knowledgeable people are 10% more likely to save energy in their homes and 50% more likely to recycle.

Source: Environmental Literacy in America (PDF)

What's Involved:

• Look at your previous frequency, or depth of coverage, of providing environmental related information to the community and establish a goal that increases that level.
• Contact faculty, staff, and students who have expertise or are working on environmental stewardship programs for information.

Measuring Success:

• Keep track of the increased coverage given to environmental issues.