Saskatchewan universities slowly going green

Posted by admin on Feb 20, 2007 in Academy | 0 comments

WINNIPEG (CUP) — The environmental sustainability of university campuses is becoming an important issue, and universities across the country are taking on a wide array of initiatives to achieve that goal. Recently, both major Saskatchewan universities announced projects that will go a long way toward reducing energy consumption on campus.

“It’s becoming increasingly clear that globally, sustainability is the issue of this generation. And I believe that universities are a very logical starting point,” said Margret Asmuss, sustainability co-ordinator at the University of Saskatchewan. “We have a lot of influence . . . we have much of the best research capacity in the country, and so if universities can’t do it, nobody can.”

The Facilities Management Division at the University of Saskatchewan has a plan in the works to replace 26 000 fluorescent fixtures with energy-efficient electronic ballasts, as well as to replace 3 000 incandescent lights with fluorescent bulbs.

If approved by the school’s board of governors, the plan would cost $1.9 million over three years, with the costs made up by energy savings within six years.

The project stems from the recommendations of a 2002 energy audit done at the university, and follows on the heels of the establishment of a campus-wide recycling program last fall.

The University of Regina is set to begin energy efficiency upgrades to five buildings this year, which will save the university approximately $345000 a year in energy consumption. Major components of the upgrades will be the installation of energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, as well as the replacement of aging ventilations systems, the university announced.

Neil Paskewitz, manager of mechanical and electrical projects at the U of R’s physical plant, said the upgrades are being done as a cost-saving and environmental initiative.

Over the next five years, “the efficiency measures described in the audit will cost $5.5 million and will result in $850 000 in annual utility savings,” Paskewitz said.

Despite the perception of universities as not being particularly large polluters or energy consumers, Asmuss says there is plenty of work to be done. Lab facilities and computers especially require large amounts of energy. As a result, a large campus can have a bigger impact than a similar-sized city.

Nevertheless, both campuses have a long way to go. Unlike several campuses across Canada, such as McGill University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Winnipeg, neither university has a formal environmental or campus sustainability policy in place, though one is in the works at the U of S, and has been proposed for the U of R.

Currently, UBC is considered a leader in sustainability initiatives. In 1997, UBC became the first Canadian university to establish a sustainability policy. Since then, changes to lighting, ventilation, and other infrastructure have saved UBC $2.5 million annually, said Abramson.

“That’s what sustainability’s about . . . say if we were addressing [the] ecological side by reducing CO2 emissions, it just also happens to have a financial benefit and a social benefit as well.”