Sustainability: Energy Conservation

Type

Policy

Category

Institutional Integrity

Governance Council

Infrastructure Council

Primary Contact

Jennifer Hayward

Contact Email

Responsible Executive Authority

Vice President of Finance and Operations

Narrative

Background

Lane Community College owns and operates a large number of facilities. LCC has deployed several sustainability initiatives and energy efficiency projects to improve the performance of the physical plant and regularly applies sustainability standards to building renovations and new construction projects to help ensure that the facilities meet or exceed energy efficiency goals and minimize the impact on the environment.

Purpose

  1. Conservation of natural resources: As a signatory to the President’s Climate Leadership Commitment, LCC is committed to increase climate resilience and achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2050. An important component of this goal is reducing consumption of energy and moving toward use of renewable energy sources.
  2. Utility cost avoidance: Funds not spent on energy consumption may be reallocated to college programs and services, including resource conservation initiatives and academic programs.
  3. Comfortable work/study conditions: Although energy conservation is the focus of this policy, comfortable work and study conditions must also be achieved.

Scope

This policy applies to all of LCC’s facilities. Employees and students should use this policy to guide all decisions concerning energy consumption, including purchases of items that consume energy.

Goals and Energy Performance Metrics

LCC energy consumption in kBtu/ft2 as the main energy performance metric. Other secondary metrics that the College tracks are kBtu/FTE and kWh/ft2.

Our specific goals are:

  • Reduce energy consumption by at least 2% annually over baseline year of FY2018 as measured in kBtu/ft2
  • Track kbtu/student FTE and consider enfolding this into a goal in the future.

Guiding Principles

We commit to following these energy management guidelines:

  • Make annual measurable progress toward energy independence through conservation, use of efficient systems, life-cycle purchasing, and use of on-site renewable resources;
  • Establish and use building resource management guidelines, lighting guidelines, and temperature guidelines that maintain reasonable comfort while minimizing energy consumption;
  • Educate, train, and support the college community in methods to support the goals stated above.
  • Use our energy initiative to support our overall goals, including environmental stewardship, safety practices, and improving employee and student comfort and productivity
  • Maintain an active energy management team, led by an Energy Manager, who meets regularly and acts as a focal point for the implementation of this policy
  • Ensure that energy-efficiency considerations are included in all aspects of our planning and operation, consistent with sound management practices
  • Provide adequate resources for energy management, including personnel time as well as budget dollars where appropriate
  • Establish and use energy-efficiency objectives and targets to drive performance improvements
  • Implement monitoring and reporting procedures to communicate our performance internally and to appropriate external parties; use performance indicators to continually improve our efforts and update our plans
  • Conduct technical assessments and energy management assessments to identify opportunities, establish goals and track our progress
  • Ensure that employees are aware of and accountable for actions influencing energy management
  • Reduce energy consumption outside of standard business operating hours from lighting, HVAC, personal computers and other plug-loads
  • Purchase energy-efficient products and services using lifecycle costing where appropriate and consider incorporating renewable energy into energy portfolio
  • Maximize incentives offered by local utilities and Energy Trust of Oregon, as well as tax credits available from federal, state and local authorities

Communication

We will realize our goals and objectives by ensuring that all members of the College support and participate in the implementation of this policy. This policy shall be communicated to all newly hired employees as part of their new-hire orientation. The policy will be made known to all employees on an annual basis through standard employee communication processes.

Review

This policy shall be reviewed annually in accordance with our five-year planning cycle by the Facilities Council.

Date Adopted

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Date Last Reviewed

Wednesday, June 9, 2021