Feature: Green Initiatives Across the Campus

MSU’s efforts toward sustainability have been made in energy use, construction practices, student programs, HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) scheduling, engineering design, and metering and commissioning. Environmental stewards participate in every building. As Lynda Boomer, energy and environmental engineer at MSU’s Physical Plant, notes, also important is a change of culture on campus to “Be Spartan Green.”    

 “Just one piece of the total program—the classroom consolidation team—has helped MSU avoid costs of more than $300,000 for the past year,” says Boomer. 

The following thumbnail sketches, compiled by MSU’s Physical Plant Division, are illustrative. 

THE STUDENT ORGANIC FARM

             Ten years ago, MSU students envisioned a place to practice and learn sustainable farming. In 1999, the Student Organic Farm was launched.  With the combined efforts of Horticulture Professor John Biernbaum and colleagues, SOF has established a four-season program using unheated greenhouses—“hoophouses”—and cold storage of produce. Funded initially by a grant, the project now generates more than $100,000 in produce sales, which helps sustain this unique living classroom and laboratory.

            To market their produce, students use a community supported agriculture program (CSA) where members buy a share in the farm and receive fresh organic produce every week.  SOF students also run a farm stand on Auditorium Road every Thursday during the growing season.

            The farm provides an educational program and paid positions that allow students to get hands-on experience with organic farming, including the management of a 10-acre farm. Students can also work directly with the free-range laying hens and beekeeping demonstration projects.  The chickens provide the farm with pest and weed control, soil fertility and fresh eggs.  Bees offer both honey and pollination of the farm’s crops.

            Last year the students built another hoophouse to provide fresh salad greens for Yakeley Hall.  For more information, visit msuorganicfarm.com.    —Ashley Hale

THE RISE PROGRAM

             Laurie Thorp is re-thinking education. Leader of the Residential Initiative for the Study of the Environment or RISE program, Thorp has established a cohort of environmentally savvy college students.

             The RISE program combines both an academic specialization in environmental studies and a residential initiative to establish a multi-dimensional experience for first-year students.  Incoming students live together in Hubbard Hall, have reserved sections in certain classes and participate in a freshman seminar designed to introduce them to MSU and environmental issues.

             “Sustainability is about recognizing relationships,” Thorp says. “RISE students learn how to engage and balance a complex set of values: economic, environmental and social.”

             Participating students have majors ranging from journalism and business to environmental economics and anthropology. In the seminar, which combines hands-on learning with field trips, students are required to participate in community outreach or a student organization. They spend time at MSU’s Student Organic Farm, explore the ecosystem of the Red Cedar River and participate in a weekend getaway to the Kellogg Biological Station. 

             In recent years RISE students have attended the Powershift Conference in Washington, DC, to learn about global climate change, energy legislation and lobbying. RISE students also engage in research alongside faculty members to help MSU reduce its carbon footprint.    -- Ashley Hale

GROWING GREEN

             Preserving trees and planting new ones is a core principle of MSU Landscape Services. 

             The department averages around 200 to 300 new trees a year, but in the spring of 2008, because of the construction activity, it set a record for the most plantings in one season with more than 1,300 new trees—a significant addition to MSU’s campus arboretum.

            The Landscape Services crew typically plants more trees and shrubbery than are removed each year. “We like to maintain a diverse collection of trees on campus,” says Campus Arborist PaulSwartz. “We work with the landscape architects on campus to select new trees and transplant existing trees to new locations if necessary.”

             Protecting trees is also an important task, especially during new construction. “We often put up fencing around existing trees when construction is occurring to protect the roots from soil compaction,” says John Jonckheere of MSU Landscape Services.

             The next time you visit campus, please heed signs saying “Save our Trees, No Parking Please.”          —Amber Rozzisi

REAL-TIME METERING

             A useful component of MSU’s sustainability effort is the ability to show electrical energy consumption of campus buildings online, in real time (meters.msu.edu). 

             Run by the power plant, the real-time metering system started in 2007 when Forestry Professor David Skole launched a study on energy consumption in campus buildings. Electrical Engineer Rick Johnson at the T.B. Simon Power Plant, helped put six buildings online, starting with the Chemistry Building.  According to Johnson, 21 buildings are online, with 30 more to be added by year’s end.

             Metering has proved a useful tool to environmental stewards, who serve as liaisons between every campus department and the “Be Spartan Green” team. They receive monthly reports for their buildings.  Boomer notes that within a year, 60 percent of participating buildings reduced electrical consumption.

             Environmental stewards are figuring out different ways to save electricity. In the Hannah Administration Building, for example, custodians clean one floor at a time—so that only one floor is lit at a time, rather than multiple floors.

             MSU has found that turning off all the lights in a building for one hour each day reduces the energy use by three percent—an experiment made possible by metering. 

              “We’re on the leading edge,” says Johnson.       —John Frawley

GREEN TAKES CENTER STAGE

             “Green” has taken center stage in the expansion of the Wharton Center for Performing Arts.  The design and construction team has incorporated numerous sustainable aspects, including diverting from the landfill a whopping 78 percent of the debris created from demolition and general construction waste.

             As total space increases to 180,000 square feet, the Wharton Center will be able to host larger productions and better serve its patrons. The 27,000-square-foot addition allows for dressing rooms, larger storage spaces, and many enhanced facilities.  The interior renovation affects another 10,000 square feet of space. Construction involved many sustainable features, including the use of low-flow toilets, recycled counter tops, occupancy sensors to control lighting, bamboo flooring, and low volatile-organic-compound (VOC) carpeting and paint products. The Physical Plant also saved most of the Scotch pine trees near the line of construction.

             Take a virtual tour at www.youtube.com/PhysicalPlantMSU.   —Amber Rozzisi  

3-D MODELING

             Students in the Engineering and Architectural Services at MSU’s Physical Plant are enlisting 3-D modeling to aid sustainability efforts.

            With computer software such as Autodesk Revit Architecture, the students create structural views of new buildings and build models that calculate a building’s energy efficiency.  Kayla Comstock and Katlyn Arnold, for example, developed a 3-D model for Conrad Hall to make the HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) systems more energy-efficient.

              “When you design a model you are essentially playing a ‘what-if’ game with energy efficiency in buildings,” explains Supervisor Scott Friend. “Instead of physically changing the building or piece of equipment you can do it in the computer model to see the outcome.”

             Arnold says the 3-D models simplify things. “You can take virtual tours through the building, checking for energy efficiency in the design,” she notes.

             Young Lee, professor of Planning, Design and Construction, had one class model three MSU buildings with eco-friendly design options.  "I hope this class project can provide ideas for green-building options to reduce building operation costs and also to make the campus healthier and eco?friendlier,” she says.    —Katherine Noren

COMMISSIONING SERVICES

            Reducing energy consumption by optimizing building performance are goals of the Commissioning Services department, formed to help ensure that campus buildings are used in the most efficient way possible.

            Retro-commissioning assesses building energy use and system performance of a facility.  Such tweaks as controller/sensor calibrations, equipment-scheduling modifications, and system testing/adjusting/balancing (TAB) are applied to fine-tune the HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) systems within a building.

            Ultimately these “quick fixes” and energy saving opportunities will lower the overall consumption of energy in each campus building undergoing the process. The retro-commissioning process involves building systems such as HVAC, hot water heating and lighting.

            “We measure building performance at all levels—device, system, total building—and making minor adjustments as needed,” says Jason Vallance, commissioning engineer.  “Through these slight changes and optimizations, energy consumption is lowered. Acquiring benchmark data prior to any adjustments allows us to determine our effect on the performance of a given facility.”  

            In addition to evaluating existing buildings, new construction projects will also follow commissioning steps.  Facility commissioning is a prerequisite in registering a project with the U.S. Green Building Council, which implements the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program.    —Amber Rozzisi

GREENER CLEANING

             All facets of MSU operations are becoming greener, including cleaning practices by Custodial Services, which now uses non-chemical floor cleaners and electricity-saving techniques.

            Last fall, the unit acquired a new floor-cleaning machine—nicknamed the T5 for short—that converts tap water into a chemical-free cleaning solution. "It's a radically new technology for us," says Brandon Baswell, manager of Custodial Services.

            The machine was first tested at MSU's Computer Center, and was given a "thumbs up" before more units were purchased.  Baswell said it is very effective on floors such as those at the Duffy Daugherty Football Building. "This won’t leave any streaking," he notes.

            Baswell says the T5 will also save an estimated $500 a year. “We were using a green chemical,” says Baswell, “but using no chemical is greener than anything else."

            In addition, new procedures, such as cleaning one floor at a time, have helped reduce electricity consumption in buildings.    —Katherine Noren

GREEN GLASS IN CONCRETE

             One of the more eye-opening features of MSU’s new Surplus Store and Recycling Center—a central piece of the university’s “Be Spartan Green” environmental stewardship initiative—is the use of non-recyclable green glass in concrete.

             The new 70,000-square-foot facility incorporates many “green” features, but none has raised eyebrows quite like the pioneering use of green glass.

             Roz-Ud-Din Nassar, doctoral student in the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, working under Professor Parviz Soroushian, formulated and provided the research behind the green-glass cement project. “We needed another material to phase out the coal fly-ash material and bring another product such as glass into the picture,” says Nassar. “We are reducing the waste that is placed into landfills, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and taking advantage of the waste value/added utilization of the byproduct.”

             Cement is one of the most expensive products to create because of the amount of energy required.  MSU replaced about 20 percent of the cement normally used in the concrete with green glass, reducing the cost and diminishing energy usage. Pre-existing cement machinery can still be used in the production process.  

             “By using non-recyclable green glass, we are both reducing costs and keeping this material out of the landfills,” notes University Engineer Bob Nestle.  —Kailey Poort

FLEET ADDS HYBRIDS

             MSU now owns 53 hybrid vehicles in its fleet, reflecting yet another way to “Be Spartan Green.” 

             In April, MSU received 16 Ford Fusion Hybrids—“the first true hybrid made by a domestic automaker in a sedan,” according to Brian Watts, manager of transportation services. They received another 14 Ford Fusions shortly afterwards, putting MSU among the Big Ten’s leaders in hybrid use. The new hybrids get 41 miles per gallon in the city and 36 on the highway.

             “Everybody’s trying to green up their fleet,” says Watts. “[Hybrids are] in such high demand, we’re fortunate to get 30.”

             Transportation Services leases and rents its vehicles to MSU departments and faculty members.  Classified as a mid-size sedan, the Ford Fusions are more spacious than the department’s other, more compact hybrids.     —John Frawley

MSU TAKES THE LEED

             MSU efforts to “Be Spartan Green” includes building design in line with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system.

             LEED-certification was created by the U.S. Green Building Council to promote environment-friendly design, construction practices and building usage. MSU voluntarily participates in the rating system to be green while saving money, says University Engineer Bob Nestle.

             In the certification process, points are awarded to structures for green practices in design and construction.  Four levels of certification can be attained: certified, silver, gold and platinum.

             “The decision for a building to become LEED-certified starts in the design process, even before construction is a thought,” Nestle notes.

             MSU’s Chemistry Building addition is the first on campus to be LEED-certified—earning a silver.  MSU construction standards require that all buildings be LEED-certifiable. Currently, seven MSU buildings are in the registration process—including the Surplus Store and Recycling Center, and the Secchia Center in Grand Rapids.

             Within the Physical Plant, 17 employees have completed training to be LEED-accredited professionals and can nowsteward the LEED-certification process.

             “We’re trying to create a culture,” says Lynda Boomer, MSU energy and environmental engineer. “It does us no good to implement these approaches to reduce energy if the campus is not living the lifestyle.”      —Kailey Poort

KEEP THE BIKES ROLLING

             For those looking to save money and help the environment, MSU Bikes, on the Red Cedar river trail just south of Bessey Hall, offers bike rentals and repairs.

             Tim Potter, marketing and sales coordinator, says his unit rents bikes to students, faculty, departments and visitors. “Some people rent them for one semester; they’ll bring it back … and then we’ll fix it up again and rent it to someone else,” he says. Some 40 campus units have rented bikes for errands.

             MSU Bikes, says Potter, encourages “people to ride bikes more often for getting around campus and helps them get bikes that are operational.”  There’s no soft-pedaling the unit’s success.  Many other colleges, he adds, are seeking his advice on how to start a bike program.

             For more information, visit www.bikes.msu.edu.     —John Frawley