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2009 Team Captain Planet Erin Cournoyer Christopher Gutwein Ben Roembke English 421- Francis Tobienne, Jr

Going Green at Purdue

10/21/2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page: 1 Table of Contents: 2 Why green?: 3 Executive Summary: 4 Green Extension at Purdue: 4 US Universities Going Green: 5 Purdue takes the LEED in designing new green building: 6 Student Clubs: The Boiler Green Initiative: 7 Why Join Green Clubs?: 8 Berkeley: 9 Green future: 9- 10 Works Cited: 11 Annotated Bibliography: 12-13

Why Green?

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately you’ve heard of the green movement. It’s been a hot topic in technology, construction, news, and even Presidential elections. How to go

Team Captain before it garnered national attention in 1969. Thanks to the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passing of the Clean Water Act of 1970 this river now holds 44 species of fish and clear water.7 Smog (toxic photochemical air), once a large problem in many of the cities in the United States has been greatly reduced. Since the late 1940’s smog has killed over 500 people in states ranging from New York to California. The city of Los Angeles actually had to shut down for a month in 1954 because the outside air was too toxic to breathe 5. Imagine how many cities would now have smog and the effects of these emissions on the environment (acid rain, anyone) if these types of pollution were still being put into the environment? Since the passage of the Clean Air Act you can breathe a little ‘thanks’ when you go outside next

green has been the topic of numerous articles, television shows, and conferences. Green is even used to advertise today. Just look at recent car commercials or walk down the cleaning supplies section in your local retailer. Still, some people are asking the question “Why go green?” The term green is defined as any activity "tending to preserve environmental quality." This means the green movement has been around for some time. Instead of focusing on the future of global warming, air pollution, or how many years of fossil fuels we have remaining, we’d like to take a quick look at what green has already done for us to show the impact it can have in the future.

time.

Consider the famous Lake Erie fire which took place on the Cuyahoga River, a tributary to Lake Erie, in 1969. The water was so polluted all plant and animal life was killed long before it actually caught fire. The river was more like brown sludge. It was so full of oil and foam that it had almost zero flow. Little known is that this that this river caught fire at least five times

That is why today the government sets aside millions of dollars to create new green jobs, subsidizes renewable energy, and constantly increases emissions standards. Less pollution means cleaner water, more pure air and a more productive environment for the people and animals living in it. 3

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Currently many other countries are going through the same industrial revolution the United States did years ago with no pollution regulation. In that kind of war zone, every little bit saved or conserved helps Mother Earth. In the past, the United States has looked at conservation; and in the future, it will focus more on renewability and sustainability. Executive Summary The rest of your journey through this paper will take you through some of the steps our educational institutions are taking to show the next generation of consumers the importance of going green. Today many college and universities are leading by example. They are undertaking green projects of their own and teaching their students how to bring green aspects to business.

Team Captain Development Services to many local manufacturers. Purdue was able to open these workshops after receiving a pilot grant from the U.S. Department of Labor 8. For a fee, it offers workshops that teach businesses “how to apply sustainable, environmentally friendly practices in the workplace.” Depending on the type of manufacturing done there are up to three levels and different types of workshops available detailing strategies for what businesses can do to go green. These improvements to business processes help the environment, help save money, and open the option for government grants to businesses that meet certain requirements.6 PUMEPs website claims to have already saved over two million in energy costs by helping companies go green and increase efficiency. On average, participating businesses reduced energy consumption by eight to nine percent.8

Purdue University is one good example of this and we will try to give you a feel for the impact green has had at Purdue by looking at some of their recent construction projects, outreach programs, and clubs like the Boiler Green Initiative. We will conclude by looking around the country to see other green campuses and the innovation going on at other universities.

PUMEP is not just about saving energy; there are workshops teaching businesses techniques in tracing and reducing waste streams, water conservation, and pollution reduction. These improvements can be critical to future business success. Some companies want their entire supply chain to be green and are asking for quantification of the carbon footprint of their suppliers. Some manufacturers are even threatening to stop ordering products from suppliers that are not able to reduce their carbon footprint in the future.8

Green Extension at Purdue Colleges and universities commonly have extension programs in place to help lend assistance and enrich businesses in their surrounding community. The green initiatives are no different and Purdue University’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (PUMEP) offers the Green Enterprise

These extension programs are so effective because they teach the businesses how to look for and implement ways to 4

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go green with an internal team. Bringing in outside consultants who leave after a job makes it hard to spot future improvements. PUMEPs technique of teaching companies how to do it themselves enriches the company and offers room for future improvements with more flexibility. Good for business and good for the US Universities Going Green In the past universities have been ranked and chosen by perspective students based almost entirely on academics. With the new fad of becoming more environmentally friendly, universities are not only rated on excellence of academics, but are now given a “green rating.” Now universities around the country are seeking to be on The Princeton Review’s “Green Honor Roll” which ranks universities in many areas to determine overall environmental friendliness and sustainability. Rankings are based on information taken from student surveys at each college. The survey asks students if new buildings at their school are being built to LEED standards, if food at their school is locally grown or organic, if their school has a plan in place to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and many other related questions. Many universities are

Team Captain environment, these extension offerings are making a big impact on manufacturing in Indiana.

taking steps to improve their environmental goals as a school, improve campus quality of life, and prepare students for today’s environmentally unstable world.4

The 2010 Green Honor Roll includes: • Arizona State University, Tempe campus • Bates College • State University of New York at Binghamton • College of the Atlantic • Colorado College • Dickinson College • Evergreen State College • Georgia Institute of Technology • Harvard College • Middlebury College • Northeastern University • University of California, Berkeley • University of New Hampshire

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University of Washington Yale University

Universities in Washington have taken many of these steps, and strive to be part of the “Green Honor Roll.” Washington has two universities on the Green Honor Roll including the University of Washington and Evergreen State College. Most of the University of Washington staff drive hybrid cars, and are planning on starting to use biodiesel for other vehicles. Students are trying to see if cooking oil from the dining halls can be used to fuel the universities’ cars. The University of Washington also has a standard of silver LEED ratings for all new campus buildings. The Center for Urban Horticulture building was constructed with recycled concrete, and has a garden roof. It came close to receiving a gold LEED rating. Evergreen State College and Western Washington University were two of the first universities in

Going Green at Purdue Planet Washington State to go one hundred percent green. Western Washington University’s students have added $10.50 to fee’s to purchase renewable electricity. Seattle University engineering students have created an energy efficient solar panel system that can power a home for one year. Seattle University also creates fertilizer out of watermelon rinds, coffee grounds and other compost. Universities all over Washington are focusing on having organic food; using compost as fertilizer; making sure all new construction and reconstruction is environmentally friendly; using renewable energy even though it can be costly; recycling materials such as clothes and cell phones; and offering environmental degrees such as organic farming. College efforts to go green are not in Washington State alone,

2009 but are all country. 3

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Team Captain over

the

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Team Captain to the building via bicycle. There also has been parking reserved in the Northwestern parking garage for carpools and hybrid cars. Finally, the building has been built within close proximity to several frequent walking destinations like restaurants, banks, and convenient stores.5

Purdue takes the LEED in designing new green building The Roger B. Gatewood wing will be the newest addition to Purdue’s Mechanical Engineering building. Special green considerations were taken during the design phase of the addition. In fact, these special considerations qualified the new building to be Universities’ first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building. LEED certification establishes minimum standards for the building in the areas of sustainable building site, energy efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas production, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, building materials and resource efficiency, and design innovation. To attain LEED certification, the building was rated by a point system in each of the six categories. If the building meets the minimum criteria for LEED certification, silver, gold or platinum status can be obtained by receiving enough additional points in each of the criteria. According to Luci Keazer, a LEED accredited engineer, the new building was built to meet the minimum silver certification but could potentially conform to the gold standard after the construction has been completed.5

LEED certification levels Silver – 50 – 59 points Gold – 60 – 79 points Platinum - 80 points or above Another design area that was focused on was the building materials that were used to create the building. Selecting the right materials helped the designers meet the materials and resource efficiency LEED criteria. LEED requires that the building be built with a minimum amount of recycled material. Some of the special materials that will be used in the building include carpet that is Green Label Plus rated, wood products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and building materials made from recycled content.1 Purdue’s decision to make its new addition LEED certified shows that it is committed to going green by creating buildings that meet minimum environmental standards. The new addition has helped paved the way for other buildings to be LEED certified as well. As more buildings are built and improvements are made to old buildings, LEED certification will become the standard at Purdue instead of the exception.

The building designers had to become creative to meet the minimum LEED standard. One area the designers focused on was alternative transportation to the building. Alternative transportation design considerations helped the building meet the minimum number of points for the LEED sustainable building site criteria. The new building will be equipped with bike racks, lockers, and shower rooms for those who commute 7

Going Green at Purdue Planet

Student Clubs: Green Initiative

2009

The

Team Captain mission statement to govern the organization. The mission statement states, “The Boiler Green Initiative is a multi-disciplinary, campus-wide student organization that focuses on the evaluation and continued enhancement of the sustainability of Purdue University and its surrounding communities.”9 The club has carried out this mission statement throughout the years by organizing specific projects that have been a green impact at Purdue.

Boiler

Over the past few years Purdue University has made a push to go green in its residence halls, dining courts, and facilities as a whole. These green initiatives have for the most part been spear headed by the university. However, many students have observed the universities efforts to go green and have decided that they are going to do their part to help Purdue go green as well. Some students have taken a more passive role by purchasing reusable water bottles, recycling, or by using less energy by turning off appliances when they aren’t being used. Still other students have decided to take an active role in helping the university go green by creating or joining green student clubs.

The Boiler Green Initiates most recent project has been to build a green roof on top of Schleman hall. The green roof project first started to take place after the BGI was awarded a $68,700 dollar grant from State Farm Insurance to complete the project. This funding helped to create a working green roof that is now in place and is available for tours. These tours help raise awareness of the benefits that green roofs have on our society. The new green roof helped to reduce the carbon footprint of Schleman hall by reducing the heat loss through the roof by acting as a layer of thermal insulation. The roof also helps reduce the carbon footprint of the building by sequestering the carbon from the atmosphere. In addition to reducing the carbon footprint, a green roof also helps control the amount pollutants that the building produces when the roof deteriorates over time. These pollutants are controlled by the plants absorbing 99% of the water that would run though tar and other impurities in the roof. This

One green club that is making a huge impact at Purdue is the Boiler Green Initiative. The Boiler Green Initiative was founded in 2006 by Brian Cambridge and Bel John. The club started out with 12 people who were interested in helping Purdue go green. Since the club’s inception, its membership has grown to over 400 members. The club also adopted a 8

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absorbing effect helps to reduce the amount of contaminated water that enters our sewer system.9

Team Captain have assignments that involve techniques, estimating, and certification for green projects so you know what you’re doing.” says Nathan.

All of these benefits and more have been placed on signs on the green roof. These signs have been carefully formatted to explain the impact that green roofs can have on our society and to raise awareness about the green roofs. This raised awareness was one of the biggest goals of the project. The Boiler Green Initiative hopes that more people will learn about the benefits of green roofs so that they can create their own green roofs.

So why would he be involved in sustainability clubs? Gutwein explains “If you’re interested in sustainability the clubs offer additional information and practice. Clubs bring in guest speakers and offer competitions. In class you’re going for a grade where with the clubs you put together a team that works on a project for months covering every aspect. When you get to the competition your design is graded against the other entries so it’s a lot more satisfying even if it is a lot of work. It’s also a great way to network.” Nathan informed us he has been on one of these design teams with MCA. “It was a great experience. We were designing an entire green office building. I found I preferred the competition to class work and working as a team on such a big project is a lot more realistic. It takes a lot more time than you realize though, it’s a big commitment. I was working late on campus two or three nights a week right before competition. There are a lot of specifications you have to address.” So what were the results of all his work? “Our team placed second in Cincinnati, Ohio.” Replied Gutwein.7

Why Join Green Clubs?

Now that you know a little more about one of Purdue’s many green clubs let’s take a look at what experiences green clubs offer students as opposed to classroom learning. We interviewed Nathan Gutwein, a senior in Building Construction Management at Purdue. Nathan has been involved in Purdue Green Build and the Purdue Mechanical Contractors Association (MCA) for five semesters. When asked about the incorporation of sustainability being taught in the classroom Nathan had positive things to say – “Purdue does a really good job teaching about sustainability in the classroom (in my major). There are already classes dedicated solely to sustainability. In those classes you

Now you know why one student enjoys the activities offered in green clubs. They offer more experience and additional information to supplement what is 9

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being taught in classrooms. We discovered Purdue has already included a quality green curriculum in their construction majors even though green initiatives are a newer aspect of

Berkeley University of California, Berkeley is one of the leading universities in going green. This university not only has outstanding academics, but has been highly ranked as an environmentally friendly school. Berkeley earned the title “Green Honor Roll” for 2008- 2009 and

Team Captain the industry. The students leaving Purdue have a good grasp on building our future industry green.

scored a maximum score of 99 from the Princeton Review’s “Green Ratings.” Many factors contributed to the university’s ranking, e.g. plans to become more environmentally friendly, and students’ awareness of current environmental issues. Other areas that Berkeley excels in are recycling, decreasing energy and water use, environmentally safe construction and reconstruction on campus, dining choice, and environmental academics. Berkeley offers more than eighty environmental degrees, such as environmental engineering and environmental science policy and has ninety environmental research centers where students focus on new energy sources and conservation. The university also offers twenty-five student organizations that are

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dedicated to environment preservation. Students have been the driving force behind reducing energy and water use by 8.5 million kilowatt hours, and 3 million gallons, respectively.2 UC Berkeley offers organic salad bars at all dining halls, and is dedicated to recycling. Since 1990, Berkeley has tripled recycling amounts. Chancellor Robert Birgeneau has set a university goal of reaching the 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2014, instead of the California state required year of 2020. The Chancellor is one among many that are dedicated to making Berkeley greener. Lisa Bauer, the manager of Campus Recycling and Refuse Services, received the title of University of California 2009 Sustainability Champion for her years of effort and dedication to campus environment. Even the childcare at the university campus has been awarded a silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation. Since 1990,

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water use has been reduced by ten percent through improvements to the campus water system, and fuel usage has been cut by twenty percent through alternative modes of transportation.

University of California, Berkeley is an institution dedicated to becoming more environmentally friendly. This is accomplished campus wide by having administration, professors, staff, and

student clearly focused on the goal of being a green university. Berkeley’s efforts have earned it nationwide distinction as a leader in going green.2

into citizens that will focus on making a sustainable world.

Green Future In today’s environmentally threatened world, Purdue and other universities in the United States are focusing on going green. Colleges all over the country have set goals toward becoming more environmentally friendly. Some universities have done as little as reserving parking spaces for hybrid and carpool cars, while others have done as much as

Purdue has made great strides towards becoming a green school; they have academic programs, student organizations, and environmental goals in place. On game day at Purdue, there are recycle signs around the tailgating field encouraging people to recycle, and the Recreational Sports Center has signs encouraging short showers to decrease water usage. Purdue also has academic programs that incorporate courses solely dedicated to environment preservation and similar topics. New construction at Purdue, like the new addition to the mechanical engineering building, will be LEED silver certified. Purdue has made an effort to be green, but could implement more programs.

mandating that all new construction and reconstruction have green certified infrastructure. They do this because they are responsible for producing graduates who will be prepared to deal with the environmental challenges of the future. Today’s world must be focused on the future and sustainability of planet earth. Since the industrial revolution, the efforts towards decreasing pollution have proved to be effective, but it is not enough. Greenhouse gas emissions, and lack of recycling are still prominent problems. The people of the world must focus on preserving their planet for future generations, and making sure it remains a livable planet. The people who will do this are today’s kids, teenagers, and young adults. Universities take responsibility for the young adults and mold them

Purdue does try to make a difference environmentally, but is not as strong as some of the leading green schools in the country. One noticeable fault is that in the residence halls, students can use as much air conditioning and heating as they like. Sometimes the heat is even blasting, and the window is open because roommates disagree on what the temperature of the room should be. A way to fix this would be 11

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implementing a fee for excessive heating and air conditioning use, which would prevent students from abusing it. Also, like Western Washington University, Purdue could suggest a small increase in fee's that would pay for renewable electricity. Purdue could do something as little as increasing bikes lanes which would encourage off campus students to not use their cars. With all these efforts and improvements, Purdue could become a competitive green school,

Team Captain and maybe make the Green Honor Roll in the future.

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Works Cited Campus Buildings & Features. Purdue Sustainability. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. "Campus environmental record earns top score in Princeton Review ‘Green Ratings.’" UC Berkeley, 27 July 2009. Web. 29 Sept 2009. "College campuses are going green." Seattlepi, 23 Aug 2006. Web. 26 Sept 2009. "Colleges Going Green- Princeton Honor Roll." Global Patriot, 29 July 2009. Web. 28 Sept 2009. Gatewood building on its way to LEED certification. Purdue Sustainability. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. Green Enterprise Development Services. Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Web. 14 Oct. 2009. Gutwein, Nathan C. "Green Club Experiences at Purdue." Personal interview. 12 Oct. 2009. Manufacturers Learning to Reduce Energy, Increase Sustainability. 1 June 2009. Inside Indiana Business. Web. 14 Oct 2009. Why Go Green. 12 July 2008. Collin Dunn, Discovery Network. Web. 28 Sept 2009.

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Annotated Bibliography 1. Campus Buildings & Features. Purdue Sustainability. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. The article was written by the Purdue University Sustainability counsel. The article discussed the new Roger B. Gatewood Wing of the Mechanical Engineering building. The author went into detail about what renewable materials are going to be used in the building to make it LEED certified. This article was helpful in explaining how Purdue plans on achieving the minimum silver LEED certification for the new building addition. 2. "Campus environmental record earns top score in Princeton Review ‘Green Ratings.’" UC Berkeley, 27 July 2009. Web. 29 Sept 2009. This article discusses UC Berkeley’s actions to become recognized as a green college. This gave us information on specifically what Berkeley was doing, and how they became one of the universities on the Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll. 3. "College campuses are going green." Seattlepi, 23 Aug 2006. Web. 26 Sept 2009. This article gave a lot of great examples of what universities all over Washington are doing to become more environmentally friendly. Although this article talked specifically about Washington, it provided us with great examples of what other schools around the country are doing. This was valuable in determining what the standards for being a green school are. 4. "Colleges Going Green- Princeton Honor Roll." Global Patriot, 29 July 2009. Web. 28 Sept 2009. 14

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The Global Patriot gave us general information on the Princeton Honor Roll, and how it rates colleges based on student quality of life, how well prepared students are for a world “defined by environmental changes,” and environmental policies of the school. The article described the student survey and process that selects the honor roll schools. 5. Gatewood building on its way to LEED certification. Purdue Sustainability. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. The Purdue University Sustainability Counsel wrote this article on the alternative transportation that would affect the LEED rating on the new mechanical engineering building. It also interviewed some of the design engineers working on the project. The engineers went into detail on what it means to be silver, gold, and platinum LEED certified. 6. Green Enterprise Development Services. Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Web. 14 Oct. 2009. This website provides information about the services offered by the Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership including brochures over their workshops and the types of workshops they hold. 7. Gutwein, Nathan C. "Green Club Experiences at Purdue." Personal interview. 12 Oct. 2009. This was a personal interview with Nathan Gutwein asking about his experiences with sustainability in the classroom and with his involvement in clubs here at Purdue. 8. Manufacturers Learning to Reduce Energy, Increase Sustainability. 1 June 2009. Inside Indiana Business. Web. 14 Oct 2009. The article covers the benefits and experiences of some local manufacturing companies who have increased their competitive edge by going green with the assistance of the Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership. It gives quantitative examples on average savings with real businesses. 9. "Schleman Project." BGI. Boiler Green Initiative. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. 15

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This article summarized the entire Schleman Hall green roof project. The roof project was spear headed by a student organization called the Boiler Green Initiate. The article covered the construction of the garden and also how to access the garden for tours. These tours are designed to help increase awareness on how roof gardens can benefit our communities. 10. Why Go Green. 12 July 2008. Collin Dunn, Discovery Network. Web. 28 Sept 2009. This is a detailed article over reasons why consumers should want to go green. It includes tips on how to go green, why go green by the numbers, and where to get more information.

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Glossary Biodiesel: a fuel that is similar to diesel fuel and is derived from vegetable sources (such as soybean oil). Carbon footprint: the amount environmental damaging carbon emitted by something during a given period. Conservation: planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect. Emissions standards: requirements that set specific limits to the amount of pollutants that can be released into the environment. Hybrid vehicle: a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to maximize efficiency. Industrial revolution: a rapid change in an economy marked by the general introduction of power-driven (polluting) machinery. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): establishes minimum standards for buildings to be considered environmentally friendly. Organic food: foods that are made according to certain production standards by restricting the use of conventional non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides. Pollution regulation: activities, often mandated by governments, which reduce the amount of pollution generated by a process such as driving (CO2) or industrial production. Renewability: See renewable energy. Renewable energy: a commodity or resource, such as solar energy or firewood, that is inexhaustible or replaceable by new growth. Smog: a kind of air pollution that forms when sunlight hits various pollutants in the air and forms a mix of chemicals that can be very dangerous. Subsidize: to aid or promote (a private enterprise) with public money. Sustainability: a method of harvesting or conserving a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.

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