A decade into its mandate, Dalhousie鈥檚 Office of Sustainability is a more integral part of the university than ever, engaging in everything from planning and policies to building, retrofits, and day-to-day operations.
The office marked its tenth anniversary last Thursday, ahead of Earth Day on April 22 (today), with its annual highlights event.
More than 60 students contributed to programs with the office in 2018-2019 through independent research, class work, as volunteers and as a staff. Others sat on the President鈥檚 Advisory Council on Sustainability.
Rochelle Owen, executive director of the office, was on hand at the Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building with fellow staff to share some of the successes and progress the office and campus and external partners have made in the past year.
Here are some of the highlights:
Opening of the IDEA Project
As 黑料吃瓜网undertook the most sweeping transformation of its downtown Sexton Campus in decades as part of the IDEA Project, it did so with sustainability top of mind. Officially opened in fall 2018, the renewed campus is now a beacon of sustainability at the university.
Major renovations to a number of existing buildings, outdoor improvements, and the construction of two new buildings 鈥� the Emera IDEA Building and the Richard Murray Design Building 鈥� were all undertaken with a commitment to green-focus practices in areas of renewable energy (solar and geothermal infrastructure), waste, water (rainwater cistern), natural and urban environments, living buildings (green roof) and transportation.
Outside the Emera IDEA Building, an active-transportation (or "green") corridor cuts across the campus from Spring Garden Road to Morris Street creating a link to other active-transportation infrastructure. It includes dedicated space and markings for pedestrians and cyclists, permeable pavers, and native vegetation.
Both LEED candidate buildings were constructed targeting a Gold certification, with a stretch goal targeting Platinum. If the latter is achieved, it will be a first for Dalhousie.
Climate change
With Canada trending at double the rate of global temperature increases, according to new data, there's plenty of impetus for the country鈥檚 universities to update their climate change plans as 黑料吃瓜网is currently doing.
聽鈥淚t鈥檚 more about the rapid effect of that change that is hard for systems to adapt to,鈥� said Owen.
Owen鈥檚 office did some work on high-level climate modeling at the local Halifax and Truro level with Environment Canada staff, discovering warmer, wetter and wilder environments more prone to extreme periods in weather.
Adaptation workshops at the Agricultural Campus, historical research in Halifax and on-the-ground observations and mapping rounded out local data collection.
Dal鈥檚 annual greenhouse gas report showed a 20 per cent reduction in emissions achieved through a variety of measures and adaptations, including a switch from oil to gas at the central plant, efficiency projects, green buildings and onsite renewables. To reach 50 per cent reduction, the university will have to look into off-site renewable energy, renewable fuels, district energy and co-generation.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a big university, so we have to do our part and walk the talk,鈥� she said.
Natural environment
As part of biomass replacement on Dal鈥檚 campuses, 178 trees were planted, including native species positioned along a farm lane road on the Agricultural Campus in Truro as a way to provide shade in future for grazing cows. An additional 200 trees were planted at the university as part of the Faculty of Management initiative marking Dal鈥檚 bicentennial celebrations.
Owen also mentioned storm water research and the installation of a green roof on the Richard Murray Design Building on Sexton.
Green buildings
2018 was a busy year for facility openings, with the aforementioned new buildings on Sexton Campus targeting LEED Platinum and the new Fitness Centre targeting LEED Gold. The university鈥檚 building policy sets a target of LEED Gold or higher on all new construction.
As in years past, the Office of Sustainability collaborated with Facilities Management to undertake various facilities renewal projects across campus with a focus on improving energy use and supporting sustainability initiatives with funding and expertise.
Energy efficiency
Justin MacDonald, on-site energy manager with the Office of Sustainability, provided an overview of energy reduction efforts on campus, including the installation of high-efficiency pumps in Truro, a new cooling system for the data centre in Halifax, and building optimization in the Mona Campbell Building and O鈥橞rien Hall residence.
O鈥橞rien, the only major building of its size on campus with a fully electric energy system, was outfitted with 72 programmable thermostats that were set for 21 degrees Celsius during daytime hours and 17 degrees overnight and on weekends depending on occupants in the building.
The university completed its Energy Management Information System last year. The system takes all electricity meters, condensate and steam meters, and water meters reporting from across campus and puts them into one platform to view them and see how building are performing.
Tracking of the data center project showed an average 24 per cent improvement in energy usage after the installation of the new cooling system compared with last year, a change expected to save $50,000 per year in utilities.
MacDonald also provided a snapshot of some of the other major projects across Dal, including the opening of the biomass co-generation project on the Agricultural Campus. The project uses biomass fuel to produce electricity and then the waste heat from the turbine to heat the campus, the first of its kind in a university setting in North America.
Water
Several modifications were undertaken around the use of water on campuses, including investigating the switch from using distilled water to reverse osmosis and improvements in Aquatron water-usage processes, and reduced water used for cooling at a concrete crusher on Sexton Campus.
Transportation
Scott MacPhee, sustainable transportation demand coordinator with the Office of Sustainability, tracks and manages various aspects of transportation to and from campus, leading the annual parking lot study and using data fromt he annual sustainability and commuter study.
MacPhee also coordinates the university鈥檚 employee bus pass program, which encourages employees to use public transit by subsidizing the amount that they pay for the pass. The program grew in participants by nearly 50 people in 2019 from the previous year.
Last year, an end-of-trip guide for Facilities Management was created detailing best practices on everything from how to install bike racks to finding the best ones.
MacPhee noted the coming launch of the 鈥楽afe Commuter Campaign,鈥� which will include the use of ads, posters, LCD screens and information sessions for students in residence and at orientation regarding how to properly navigate transportation options in Nova Scotia. It鈥檚 expected to be particularly useful for students who may not be entirely familiar with the province鈥檚 road-safety rules.
Creating sustainable behaviours
The Office of Sustainability is also interested in behavioral change by utilizing sustainable events such as the Ecolympics to provide education and raise awareness. This partnership event with residence life has become a regular part of the life of students in residence, encouraging friendly competition where the residences compete on who most reduces their use of water and energy. Educational programming is run every day over the two-week period and new initiatives are launched. Risley Hall was the most recent winner of the event.
Increased engagement in a friendly and informal setting is an opportunity for people to try something new in a friendly environment and naturally see how that translates to environmental sustainability.
Kareina D'Souza, sustainability manager at the office, highlighted a number of programs and initiatives including a reusable mug pilot that was launched at the Killam Memorial Library. Patrons can select a reusable mug for use in the Atrium area. All across campus, consumers pay reduced rates for beverages when they bring a reusable mug.
Upcoming events: , the largest garage sell in Halifax with all the returns being donated to local charities. Sustainability Leadership panel on May 1. Other events include: 2019 Bike week, June 1-9 and the 2019 commuter challenge, June 2-8.