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Going Green at Purdue Team Green English 421 Francis Tobienne, Jr

Matt Pruitt Justin Vorbroker Max Weisenbach

10/30/2009

Team Green 10/30/2009

Table of Contents Title Page…………………………………………………………………………1 Table of Contents……………………………………………………………..2 Executive Summary………………………………………………………….3 Recycling Program at Purdue.…………………………………………..3 Administrative Participation.………………………………………..3 Student Participation……………………………………………………5 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design……………….6 Background………………………………………………………………….6 Monetary Costs/Benefits………………………………………………7 Other Benefits………………………………………………………………8 LEED at Purdue…………………………………………………………….8 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….10 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………..11 Annotated Bibliography…………………………………………………...12

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Team Green 10/30/2009

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sustainability at Purdue, as well as the rest of the country, is becoming an important part of everyday life. Over the last few years, there have been many efforts to change the waste and recycling habits of individuals and large companies. Recently, Purdue has been “going green”, and taking steps to decrease the waste produced on campus, as well as help the environment. What are the benefits of a college campus “going green”? Some steps Purdue is taking include a brand new recycling program, as well as LEED construction practices in new buildings. Although Purdue has had a formal recycling program since the early 1990’s, only recently have students and administrators began to take action. From an administrative standpoint, several personnel have been assigned the task of organizing an official recycling program, and promoting the program. The main driving force behind the recycling program has been students, both individually and organized groups, such as Boiler Green Initiative. How are the people affected by Purdue’s recycling program responding to it? From a construction standpoint, the new LEED construction process has been turning heads and raising eyebrows. Purdue and its students have been doing a great job coordinating both the recycling program and the LEED construction program, and making them a reality. INTRODUCTION As landfills are filling up and environmentalism is becoming a widespread and important practice in today’ society, Purdue is blazing the trails in its recycling programs and construction programs. Both of these programs are helping Purdue become a model University for others to follow. The recycling program is revolutionary, and the construction practices on new buildings cutting-edge. Combined, these programs will keep Purdue a high-class university, and one that others look up to. RECYCLING PROGRAM AT PURDUE ADMINISTRATIVE PARTICIPATION The new recycling program at Purdue, which began in 2009, included four phases that will be implemented over the next few years. In Phase 1, already finished, was to test a pilot dual-stream recycling program in Freehafer Hall and Hovde Hall on Purdue’s campus. Dual-stream recycling is a process in which office paper and corrugated cardboard are recycled separately from other recyclable materials. The reason for this is that Purdue can receive money back from various recycling programs, and the paper and cardboard have higher returns. Other recycled items, including mixed paper, plastic, aluminum, Styrofoam, and glass are recycled in a separate grouping. The desk-side recycling bins are picked up 2 days each week. Desk-side trash bins were formerly picked up 3 days each week. However, in order to make up for the increase in recycling bins, they will only be emptied twice each week.

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Team Green 10/30/2009 According to Gary Evans, director of grounds for Purdue Physical Facilities, the selling of office paper and corrugated paper offset the cost of the recycling program by about 15%. A common misconception is that the recycling program saves Purdue money. In fact, Purdue spends money to recycle. Workers must be paid to collect the recycling bins, and trucks must be used to transport the materials.

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The pilot program at Freehafer Hall and Hovde Hall has been very successful so far. The pilot program involves setting desk-side recycling bins at each person’s desks, and taking away the individual trash cans at their desks. Large trash receptacles are located WEEK AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY “no more than fifty feet” from each person’s desk, according to Carmen Martin, Purdue Student Government Director of Green Initiatives and President of the Boiler Green Initiative. Forcing people to get up and walk to trash cans is involves changing people’s behavior and frame of mind. According to Evans, getting people to be comfortable with this “won’t happen overnight.” It will take a while for people to adjust completely to the new daily routine.

For one week, held between September 21st and September 25th 2009, Purdue hosted “Green Week”. Throughout the week, daily events were held to promote recycling and inform students about the benefits of recycling. Each day encompassed a different aspect of going green. For example, Monday was Energy Day, and students were encouraged to take showers lasting no longer than 3 minutes. Thursday was Transportation Day, where students could attend a fuel-efficient car show or get a free bike tune-up. Events like these help students learn how easy recycling can be, and help them understand how they are helping Purdue, Indiana, and the planet as a whole.

However, participation in both Freehafer Hall and Hovde Hall has been very high. Individual recycling participation in Freehafer Hall began July 22nd, and had 91% participation, according to a recent Building Deputy meeting PowerPoint Presentation. By the end of the fourth week, participation was up to a staggering 99.5%. According to the presentation, the “Percentage of recycled materials collected has increased 23%, from 35% to 58%.” Because of the recycling success in these two buildings on campus, the recycling program moved to Phase 2.

In Phase 2, the program was expanded to five other existing buildings on Purdue’s campus, and three buildings that are being constructed. The five existing buildings were the Agricultural Administration building, the Civil Engineering building, Beering Hall, Lily Hall, and Pao Hall. The three new buildings were the Discovery Learning Center, Hockmeyer Hall, and Niswonger Aviation Technology Building. Participation and feedback were recorded in these buildings to determine overall success of the program. Based on the data recorded and stated in the PowerPoint Presentation, the Agricultural Administration building had 100% 4

Team Green 10/30/2009 participation each week for the first two weeks, and the percentage of recycled materials collected has increased 43%, from 33% to 76%. All participating buildings have recorded weekly participation rates above 80%. The success of these additional buildings has been encouraging, and Phase 3 is set to begin on November 15, 2009. Phase 3 of the recycling program will expand to three more existing buildings; the Purdue Facilities Service Building, the Grounds Service Building, and the Buildings Services and Grounds Building. This program will “validate assumptions regarding collecting / handling recycling outside the buildings,” according to the PowerPoint Presentation. By combining and interfacing both the inside and outside recycling, the program will be more effective and complete. Once this process is complete, the costs of the pilot program, as well as the implementation timeline, will be evaluated. If the program is deemed successful, Phase 4 of the program will be initiated. During Phase 4, set to begin in January 2010, many new buildings are set to be converted to the new recycling program. During this phase, the rest of campus will be converted in stages. “Groups of ten buildings will be converted at a time. This will occur each month, starting in the first week,” reported Martin. This phase will include continuous evaluation and improvement of the program and the success of the program. This is the most extensive part of the recycling program, because it involves the most buildings and recycling containers, as well as the largest number of people affected. Another recycling program in place at Purdue is the Food Waste Program. This program diverts housing and food service “pulp” from the landfill to the West Lafayette Waste Water Plant. The pulp is food that has been prepared but not served. A food pulp anaerobic digester is used, and is capable of converting methane gas into electricity by burning it off. By doing so, the waste water plant can prevent the use of coal or other energy means to be powered. According to Martin, this saves the city of West Lafayette about $75,000 annually. Although the program does not save Purdue any money, she states “any good partnership is a win for both members.” By maintaining a good social relationship, both West Lafayette and Purdue benefit. This food recycling program is just another way that Purdue and its faculty are helping Purdue become a greener University. Although the faculty that are joining the program are doing a great job, the immense number of students attending Purdue can also be a great factor. STUDENT PARTICIPATION In the summer of 2010, an attempt will be made to include Purdue’s residence halls in the program. However, due to lack of funding and man-hours, Purdue will not be able to fund the residence hall program. It will require a lot of student effort and help, but the results could be astounding. The goal is to place a recycling basket in each room of the residence halls. This would drastically increase the recycled materials at Purdue. In other places, however, student recycling programs have already begun to make a difference.

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Team Green 10/30/2009 Stewart Cooperative at Purdue University is a great example of the increased recycling efforts by students living on campus. At Stewart there is a strong emphasis placed on recycling. Recycling is discussed and encouraged at the house meetings which take place on a weekly basis. Girls are reminded at every meeting to continue to recycle when possible. Interestingly enough, the Stewart members are also educated and instructed on how to properly recycle, what materials may be recycled, and where they can take materials for recycling throughout the house. This is one tactic that Stewart is using to raise recycling awareness and participation. Rachel Pruitt states that campuswide awareness raised by environmental groups and university officials has also impacted the Stewart recycling habits positively. “In general it seems that the girls here have a greater concern for the role Stewart plays in Purdue becoming a more green university, and environmentally friendly,” says Rachel. According to Rachel Pruitt, who is in charge of recycling at the cooperative house, there has been a definite increase in the amount of recycling since she became a member over three years ago. Rachel notes that the cooperative members are generally very willing to make the effort to take their waste to the nearest recycling bin as opposed to throwing it in the trash. Collectively, the girls of Stewart recycle three bins of paper, two bins of plastic, two bins of aluminum, and one bin of glass per week. This has reduced the amount of waste that would typically be disposed of via a regular trash receptacle. The bins are then transported to the nearest recycling center at the end of the week. The recycling bins are placed strategically throughout the house to promote recycling over trash disposal. Stewart has bins located in the basement, by the food pantry, the dining room, the kitchen, and in the lounge area. The bins are placed in these locations due to the fact that these spots are high-traffic areas and/or areas where a lot of paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum need to be disposed of (i.e. the food prep area). The number of recycling bins located in Stewart has increased from only 2 three years ago to multiple bins in each spot currently. Purdue University does encourage the cooperative housing system to participate in some sort of recycling program individually. The Purdue Cooperative Council holds meetings every other week and at these meetings recycling is stressed to the members who hold positions in the various cooperatives. All the cooperatives on Purdue University’s campus offer a way to recycle. Rachel states that not all cooperatives make the same effort to raise green awareness and recycling as Stewart does, but there does appear to be an upward trend in the amount of trash being recycled in the cooperative system as a whole. As students and faculty alike are trying to make a difference in the recycling process at Purdue, Purdue is also making a difference of a different type. This is the construction processes implemented by Purdue on new buildings. Administrators at Purdue have begun using a new construction model process that is both more efficient and more environmentally friendly. 6

Team Green 10/30/2009

LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN Background Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or “LEED” is a voluntary rating system for sustainable buildings. It was introduced in 1998 after being developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The rating system addresses six major areas: 1) sustainable sites 2) water efficiency 3) energy and atmosphere 4) materials and resources 5) indoor environmental quality 6) innovation and design process. Buildings can receive platinum, gold, silver or LEED certified status depending on the adherence to these 6 standards. According to LEED version 2.2 there are 69 possible credits to attain, but this can change with new LEED versions. To become only LEED certified you must receive 26-32 credits. Silver requires 33-38 credits, Gold 39-51 credits, and Platinum 52-69 credits. There are two different kinds of LEED - LEED NC and LEED EB. LEED NC stands for “new construction” and is the most common type. LEED NC projects gain credits toward certification through the entire building process from preliminary design, to construction, to after the building is completed. LEED EB stands for “existing building”. This is used when trying to certify a building that is already constructed. LEED for existing buildings addresses wholebuilding cleaning and maintenance issues, recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs, and systems upgrades. LEED EB uses a slightly different rating system and has 100 possible credits as opposed to the 69 possible in LEED NC version 2.2. LEED more than just a metric for high performance buildings; it is a public demonstration of commitment to sustainability and the environment. Certified buildings are supposed to use resources more efficiently than traditional buildings built to normal code. MONETARY COSTS/BENEFITS Costs of initial design and construction will increase when a LEED rating is pursued, but they often provide a healthier work and living environment. According to Luci Keazer, who is a Mechanical Project Engineer in Purdue’s Physical Facilities department, the average LEED costs for a new building are only around 1%. This means that only 1% of total cost would be saved had they not strived for LEED certification. This 1% of cost associated with LEED has more to do with administrative duties than it does with high performance building elements. Most of the cost comes from paying consultants and having them do energy modeling. This type of work is sub-contracted out and results in almost all the associated LEED costs. Many of the high performance elements of a project that are attributable to LEED are actually industry “best practice” and not, in fact, 7

Team Green 10/30/2009 unique to LEED at all. Building a LEED certified building also has its cost benefits. According to the Purdue Physical Facilities department the following numbers are accurate for the new Roger Gatewood Wing of the Mechanical Engineering building. It will achieve a LEED Silver rating according to their projections. The Gatewood Wing is expected to save the following amounts directly attributable to LEED. It will save $26,000 in annual energy costs. $185,000 was avoided in utility plant infrastructure cost. A savings of $493,000 is attributable to building smaller mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. This comes to an up-front savings of $678,000 and an annual savings of $26,000, which can only increase as the cost of energy increases in the future. These numbers do not include the operating cost savings associated with commissioning, water efficiency, and occupant productivity, which were not given a hard monetary number. OTHER BENEFITS The greatest benefits of a LEED certified building are not monetary; they have more to do with the more efficient use of our resources. In the United States, buildings consume 40% of the total US energy supply. This fact coupled with the energy and environmental impacts of everyday business have led to an increased interest in sustainability. There are generic numbers associated with LEED buildings, but obviously these are not exactly the same for all buildings. Generally the benefits of building “green” can include a reduction in energy usage by 25% or greater, a reduction in water usage by 30-50% along with reduced sanitary sewer, and 50-90% lower operating waste production. These are generic numbers but are generally accepted for buildings made to LEED certification. There are other benefits of LEED constructed buildings that cannot be quantified. There is a reduction in greenhouse gas and emissions in general. There is reduced resource consumption through smarter use of energy as well as less construction waste during the physical building process. Also, the LEED process in itself guarantees a high performance building. Some of the benefits that LEED promises are not associated with the systems of the building but with the people that are using the building. LEED buildings create an improved work environment that leads to increased occupant productivity from the more pleasant indoor environment. All of these benefits will not be present in every single LEED building. It comes down to how the people planning the building want it built. They have the option to try and achieve the credits they want and to ignore the credits they do not think they can get. However, if they consult the six LEED categories of sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process then they will see at least some of the benefits of a green building. LEED AT PURDUE LEED is not a stranger to Purdue. On April 22, 2011 the Roger B. Gatewood Wing of the Mechanical Engineering Building is scheduled to finish construction and become Purdue University’s first ever LEED certified building. The Physical Facilities Department is projecting that the Gatewood Wing will attain a Gold rating. This will be a 8

Team Green 10/30/2009 milestone for Purdue’s campus as far as going green, but the mentality has been there for some time. Gene Hatke, who is a senior architect in Purdue’s Physical Facilities Department, credits the outburst of green initiatives on campus to the students and to the University administration. He claims that if the students had not shown the passion to help Purdue become greener that it never would have made such great strides in such a short span. The main catalyst behind this is the student-run Boiler Green Initiative (BGI). Founded in 2006, its original members only totaled 12 people, but now there are over 400 students coming from all different areas of study. Mr. Hatke also credited Purdue University President France Cordova for bringing a green mindset to campus when she arrived in 2007. Mrs. Cordova came to Purdue from California, where green initiatives have been at the forefront for a longer period than they have been here in the Midwest. The administration from the top down has been very supportive of making campus green and is an instrumental part of the progress made. To complement Purdue’s many green programs, the Gatewood Wing will stand as a physical reminder of Purdue’s commitment to going green and promoting sustainability. The Gatewood Wing will be an 84,000 square foot addition to the Mechanical Engineering building that will include a 120 seat classroom, teaching labs, instructional space, offices, and research labs among other things. The Gatewood Wing has multiple features that will earn it a LEED rating of Gold, but it is stronger in some areas than others. It is projected to attain 13/15 credits in the indoor environmental quality category and 5/5 credits in the innovation and design process category. It is noticeably weaker in the materials and resources category where it is expected to receive 5/13 credits and in the energy and atmosphere category where it is expected to get 6/17 credits. It has a multitude of provisions that will help it attain 9 credits in the sustainable sites category. Some of the biggest things in this category have to do with alternative transportation. The Gatewood Wing will have bike racks, lockers, and men’s and women’s shower rooms to promote riding to class. Also, selected parking spots in the Northwestern Parking Garage will be reserved for carpools and for low emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles. According to both Luci Keazer and Gene Hatke, almost every new building at Purdue could reach LEED certification just by the standard operating procedures used at the University. Right now, the University has not made it mandatory that new buildings reach LEED certification, but there was a mandate given by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels that affects new buildings at Purdue. The following is an excerpt from the Indiana Executive Order titled Establishment of Energy Efficient State Building Initiative: “All new State buildings, including…public universities, shall be designed…to achieve maximum energy efficiency to the extent this can be accomplished on a cost effective basis…over the life cycle of the building. ‘Efficiency’ may be demonstrated through design which achieves the silver rating under the LEED rating system.” This does not mean that every new State building must achieve a LEED Silver rating, but they must have the performance to achieve this certification if desired. In light of this mandate, all Purdue buildings will be built to Silver standards whether or not they get certified. According to Mr. Hatke, Purdue could eventually head in the direction of having a mandatory goal of LEED certification for all buildings, but it is not in the 9

Team Green 10/30/2009 immediate future. He stressed that the goal of certification should never lead to point chasing, which can happen if mandates are made. The problem with certifying every building is not a monetary issue; it has more to do with the extra time of jumping through administrative hoops. LEED has begun to have large effects at Purdue, and its influence will only increase in time. With the completion of the Gatewood Wing in 2011, the campus will boast its first LEED certified building and there will surely be more to come. LEED is but a small fraction of what is turning Purdue’s campus more green, but buildings such as the Gatewood Wing stand as a physical reminder of the University’s commitment to sustainability and help draw positive attention to the green cause. CONCLUSION From the recycling program to the LEED construction process, Purdue is taking great strides to become greener. By doing so, Purdue is becoming a more efficient campus as well as a more environmentally conscience and environmentally friendly campus. By implementing new programs and setting a good example, Purdue is informing students how they can help, and how together, we can make a difference. By changing individual waste baskets with individual recycling baskets, Purdue is changing people’s individual behaviors, and showing how easy it can be to recycle. By hosting events such as “Green Week” at Purdue, and promoting different recycling programs, Purdue is involving many more people, including students, staff, and the general public. Students are becoming interested and taking part at their cooperative housing locations, their Purdue housing locations, and during sporting events. And by participating in LEED construction practices, Purdue is joining the rest of the fast-paced world in environmentally-friendly activities.

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Team Green 10/30/2009

Works Cited Hatke, Gene. Personal Interview. 7 Oct. 2009. Keazer, Luci. Personal Interview. 6 Oct. 2009. Martin, Carmen. Personal Interview. 15 Oct. 2009 O’Brien, Valerie. 4 Complete Energy-Environment Professional Course. Inside Purdue. 2 Oct. 2007: 8. Web. 25 Sep. 2009 Pruitt, Rachel. Personal Interview. 18 Oct. 2009. Refuse and Recycling. (2009). Purdue Buildings and Grounds. 8 Sept. 2009. Web. http://www.purdue.edu/buildings_grounds/recycling/index.htm Schenke, Jim. Purdue University Residences Expands Recycling Efforts. Purdue University, 7 October 2007. Web. 28 September 2009.

Annotated Bibliography 11

Team Green 10/30/2009

Hatke, Gene. Personal Interview. 7 Oct. 2009. Mr. Hatke was very good at explaining why the green initiatives here at Purdue have exploded so much in the last few years. He credits the students at the university as well as the leadership, all the way from the top down. He mentioned how President Cordova came from California where a lot of this stuff has been going on for years and how she brought that mindset with her. He brought to light the difference between LEED-NC and LEED-EB. NC stands for “new construction”, and EB stand for “existing building”. He discussed with us the expectations for LEED at Purdue as well as future plans for the university. Keazer, Luci. Personal Interview. 6 Oct. 2009. Mrs. Keazer discussed the Gatewood Wing at length and even gave us copies of their LEED points tracking sheet that they are using. She helped break down the points system and explained how it worked. She also provided a handout that does an excellent job of breaking down the associated costs of a LEED project. Martin, Carmen. Personal Interview. 15 Oct. 2009 Carmen is a Department of Ground Recycling Intern and the Director of Green Initiatives for the Purdue Student Government. She is also involved with Boiler Green Initiative. During her interview, she explained a lot about the recycling process at Purdue, and the goals set for the future. She also provided hard data that supports her claims and ideas. O’Brien, Valerie. 4 Complete Energy-Environment Professional Course. Inside Purdue. 2 Oct. 2007: 8. Web. 25 Sep. 2009 This article talks about LEED at Purdue and about the people who are driving forces behind it. This is how I found the names of the people I interviewed. It provides a lot of good quotes, which can be used in coordination with the interviews. Refuse and Recycling. (2009). Purdue Buildings and Grounds. 8 Sept. 2009. Web. http://www.purdue.edu/buildings_grounds/recycling/index.htm This is a very helpful article that provides a lot of information about the current and future plans for recycling at Purdue. It has several links and outside websites that provide additional information to the reader. It also has PowerPoint’s that allow the reader to follow along with plans for Purdue. Schenke, Jim. Purdue University Residences Expands Recycling Efforts. Purdue University, 7 October 2007. Web. 28 September 2009. This is a great online article that details when this part of Purdue’s recycling efforts came into being. The article talks about what Purdue did at this time to move more toward a green campus with respect to recycling. Since it is a couple years old, the article will prove very useful because now we have the chance to go back and talk to Purdue employees who have been involved in the program since its inception and get their feelings on how effective it has been. We plan on discussing and using the statistics and data from this article as a comparison to where Purdue is two years later and how effective the recycling efforts have 12

Team Green 10/30/2009 been. The reader will be able to get an overall picture and form opinions of their own on the recycling efforts.

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