By Darshna Baria
TThe New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) designed a Clean Green Campus program involving 250 colleges and universities in New York State. The mission is to encourage colleges to invest in clean energy and sustainability initiatives. The City College of New York (CCNY) participated in NYSERDA’s Energy to Lead Competition in 2020. The CUNY Building Performance Lab (CUNY BPL) worked closely with mentored students and trained campus facilities staff to reduce energy consumption on the CCNY campus. Through this partnership and with support from NYSERDA, CUNY BPL’s recommendations resulted in a 35% reduction in energy consumption at CCNY’s central cooling plant.
2025 will mark the start of the next phase of CUNY BPL’s participation in the Clean Green Campus program. CUNY BPL will work closely with four college campuses, including SUNY Farmingdale and CUNY College of Staten Island. As part of this next phase, CUNY BPL is creating a dissemination package that includes a comprehensive how-to handbook with step-by-step guidance for college campus facilities staff and operators. The goal is to help more campuses achieve success similar to that realized in CCNY. The four participating campuses will receive valuable resources, training, and live coaching sessions. Live coaching is especially critical in helping facilities staff integrate energy-saving techniques and improve operational efficiency.
Participating campuses will commit to an 18-month engagement with CUNY BPL consisting of several key elements:
- A campus-level energy analysis
- Four lunch and learn sessions focusing on central plant energy efficiencies
- The deployment of the Building Operator Coaching Solution (BOCS, a cloud-based visualization tool that transforms building data into trend charts for efficient remote analysis) in up to three buildings, and
- A full year of live training and coaching
The Clean Green Campus program aims to cut energy costs and consumption and seeks to create a lasting culture of sustainability on campuses across the state. CCNY has extensive meter data available, but it is important to acknowledge that not all campuses do. Campuses with minimal or no meter data will require a more flexible approach. While the approach may vary among participating campuses, they will all establish energy consumption baselines for follow-up analysis comparing post-implementation results. This will allow campuses to track their energy savings and assess the program’s impact.
CUNY BPL is establishing an advisory council to guide the adoption and implementation of new energy-saving methods listed in their how-to handbook. By sharing their findings, providing support, and fostering collaboration, CUNY BPL and its partners are taking significant steps toward a more energy-efficient future for New York’s higher education institutions.