Facilities Operations is deeply involved in fulfilling the University’s sustainability mission, including by working to reduce energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and water usage. Patrick Richardson, Energy Analyst for Facilities Operations, authored the "2019-2020 Strategic Energy and Water Management Plan" (PDF) to begin to create a road map for achieving our long range goal of climate neutrality by 2050.
As every journey starts with the first step, the "2019-2020 Strategic Energy and Water Management Plan" lists key performance indicators as measurements of whether we are on the right path.
We have already far exceeded three out of six goals included in the University’s Strategic Energy and Water Management Plan, though we have room for improvement on the remaining three goals. (Data from July 2019 through February 2020)
Our successes:
- Motor Fleet greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 6.3%.
- Water usage intensity has been reduced by 8.1% (nearly four times our goal).
- Raw energy cost has been reduced by 15.6% (six times our goal).
Areas where we have not yet met our goals for the fiscal year:
- Facilities greenhouse gas emissions;
- Energy usage intensity; and
- Water and sewer cost (primarily due to a rate increase).
If you are interested in more detail, please read the university's full report here (PDF). Thank you for your interest in Facilities’ role in sustainability at Appalachian State University.
