The University of British Columbia's Climate Action Plan
Orion Henderson, CEng, The University of British Columbia
In March 2010, The University of British Columbia (UBC) Board of Governors endorsed a set of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets outlined in the UBC Vancouver Climate Action Plan. The targets, set against a 2007 baseline year, include the following:
- 33 percent reduction by 2015
- 67 percent reduction by 2020
- 100 percent reduction by 2050
These ambitious targets, which do not include the purchase of carbon offsets, require a dramatic reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from UBC Vancouver operations in the short and medium term and the end of fossil fuel consumption by 2050. The targets were set with the knowledge that early action by UBC and the province of British Columbia makes achieving them even more challenging. UBC Vancouver has already made significant investment in energy conservation, through achieving Canada's Kyoto targets in its core academic buildings (representing 80 percent of campus energy consumption) in 2007, and GHG reductions, through converting the coal-fired district energy system to natural gas in 1965. UBC Vancouver is also supplied with arguably the cheapest and cleanest power in North America.
The history of success in energy conservation and the associated costs savings has played a significant part in creating a culture of sustainability at UBC and helped increase the confidence of administrative decision makers when evaluating sustainability initiatives such as the GHG reduction strategies required to achieve the targets in the UBC Vancouver Climate Action Plan. The three major strategies proposed for achieving the short-term reduction targets are based on sound business case principles and are outlined below:
- Continuous Optimization: Re-commissioning of all major core academic buildings (7 million square feet of floor space), implementation of a monitoring, targeting, and reporting system that uses real time building performance data to ensure that the associated savings persist, and improving behavior change programs. The program is expected to reduce campus energy consumption by 10 percent.
- District Energy System (DES) Hot Water Conversion: Replacing five steam boilers and 14 kilometers of steam distribution infrastructure with modern high efficiency hot water boilers and a European Union standard hot water distribution system. The project will reduce installed plant capacity and is expected to reduce DES energy consumption by 25 percent.
- Bio-energy Research and Demonstration Project: Wood biomass gasification plant for cogeneration of 2 megawatts (MW) of power and 4 MW of clean thermal energy to replace the equivalent amount of DES fossil fuel consumption (12 percent).
- The medium term target of a 67 percent reduction in GHG emissions will be achieved through implementing a further 8.5 MW of clean energy supply for the DES.
Orion Henderson is the director of operational sustainability at UBC. In this role, he directs the activities of the Campus Sustainability office. Campus Sustainability is responsible for facilitating the identification and implementation of sustainability initiatives in the planning, development, and operation of the campus lands and facilities, for engaging the community in sustainability initiatives, and creating incentives for sustainable behaviors among staff, faculty, and students. Mr. Henderson develops strategic plans and is responsible for directing the development, planning, managing, monitoring, and evaluation of Campus Sustainability programs. Mr. Henderson received his Bachelor of Engineering in chemical engineering from Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland and his Masters of Science in environmental technology from Imperial College in England.