University of Colorado at Boulder Sustainability and Carbon Neutrality Approach

Shannon Horn, University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Colorado at Boulder is a charter member of the American College and University President Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), our long term goal is to reach carbon neutrality. Our approach to achieving Carbon Neutrality is to focus on reduction of consumption and then minimally offsetting with renewables. There are three primary areas that contribute to the majority of our campus consumption: 1. Laboratories. 2. Data Centers. 3. Kitchens. By focusing on these three areas the past few years we have been tracking a reduction in consumption for electricity, steam, chilled water and domestic water despite an increase in square footage. We are steadily decreasing from 1.8 MMBTU/sqft to less than 1.3 MMBTU/sq ft in spite of significant growth. Primary Projects that have contributed to this include but not limited to:

  • Indoor/outdoor lighting upgrades
  • Campus Light standards (occupancy, vacancy sensors, switching from T-8, T-5 and LED.
  • Building Mechanical system retro and re Commissioning
  • Laboratory Performance based air change reduction
  • Building Envelope retro and re commissioning.
  • Behavioral changes
  • Green Labs
  • Creative Financing
  • PV installation on campus
  • New building LEED Gold Plus concepts
  • I2SL/LEED Gold Plus concepts for Laboratories

In this presentation we will discuss more in-depth the strategies we are employing to reach Carbon Neutrality.

Learning Objectives

  • Develop a Carbon Neutrality Plan for a University Campus
  • Identify the variables that contribute to the carbon foot print and strategies for reduction
  • Share key concepts that have been effective tools for carbon reduction.

Biography:

Shannon Horn, Professional Engineer, LEED A.P, with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Colorado State University. Ms. Horn is Manager of the mechanical engineering group of Facilities Management for the University of Colorado at Boulder where she holds a diversity of responsibilities from Commissioning Agent, Authority Having Jurisdiction, to supporting energy conservation projects and initiatives campus wide. She has over 7 years experience as a consulting engineer for a diversity of clients that primarily focused on industrial, laboratories, data centers, institutional, hi-tech and educational facilities. She has 11 years of experience working as facilities Engineer for a semi-conductor/inkjet facility and a higher education learning institute. Regardless of position or job title her objective and passion have been oriented towards high technical environments and how to reduce energy without compromising form, fit, and function.

 

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