Kenmare House (where the Environmental Office and other Estate Management units are housed) like almost every building at the University - has a water meter, making it easy and possible to track monthly consumption and cost. Kenmare is quite small and water costs are rather low, so water savings from water reduction efforts are small.
Nevertheless, the toilets appear to be quite old and flush violently for what is probably 30-40 seconds if not a minute. This leads me to believe they are probably using at least 13 liters (or roughly 2.86 gallons which actually doesn't sound as impressive as how long and loudly it flushes) per flush.
Estate Management has a program for employees to make suggestions for improvements, called "Staff Suggestion Scheme." The other day Martin showed me a suggestion made by the building's maintenance lead to eliminate plastic cups from the building (except for guests) by supplying everyone with a reusable water bottle like a Sigg. Anyhow, Martin suggested I write up something to reduce flush rates in the male and female restrooms and so as a very small and last mini-mini project, I've written a "staff suggestion." Perhaps, at a minimum, water hippos which are provided free from the local water agency will be put in to displace some of the water in the tank.
An additional conclusion is that it'd be great for UC Berkeley to have a water meter on each building and to be able to get data off the meters online, which is something that we are working toward after the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability's water study and reduction recommendations report.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Water Sampling
Today Martin and I took water samples from several streams on University property. While Martin took samples which were sent off to a lab to check for nitrates, ammonia, organic matter, and phosphates, I recorded dissolved oxygen and temperature. It was quite fun!
Water samples are taken on a monthly basis, especially because of possible contamination from both agriculture and laboratory-related practices. High levels of ammonia are of particular importance as it is harmful to the many fish and plants.
It began to rain so we didn't go to all the sites, but even in the rain the grounds look beautiful.
Martin Whiteland, Environmental Officer.
The tools: recording devices, water sampling bottles, dissolved oxygen meter.
The next day, Martin tested one of the water samples collected close to the physics building for glycol, which is anti freeze. Several years ago there was a leak and some glycol got into the water system. Glycol isn't regularly toxic, but in water it readily breaks down and depletes the oxygen supply.
The next day, Martin tested one of the water samples collected close to the physics building for glycol, which is anti freeze. Several years ago there was a leak and some glycol got into the water system. Glycol isn't regularly toxic, but in water it readily breaks down and depletes the oxygen supply.
This is the glycol testing kit. Even the slightest trace of glycol (far left, or nearly clear with just a tinge of purple) is cause for concern and action.
Glycol free!!
Glycol free!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Meetings and Goodbyes
Last week was Wei hong's last week here in Cambridge. He is on his way back to Singapore to make it in time for the beginning of term and today is my last day.
Due to this, we've been quite busy the past two weeks!
1. We met the director of Estate Management, Michael Bienias. This is the equivalent of meeting Facilities Services Vice Chancellor Ed Denton. Director Bienias asked us how we're enjoying Cambridge (which we said we were enjoying a lot!) as well as some detailed questions about what we've been working on. We thanked him for making this program possible and took a picture (below)!
Left to right: Wei hong Tan, Michael Bienias, Irene Seliverstov
Due to this, we've been quite busy the past two weeks!
1. We met the director of Estate Management, Michael Bienias. This is the equivalent of meeting Facilities Services Vice Chancellor Ed Denton. Director Bienias asked us how we're enjoying Cambridge (which we said we were enjoying a lot!) as well as some detailed questions about what we've been working on. We thanked him for making this program possible and took a picture (below)!
Left to right: Wei hong Tan, Michael Bienias, Irene Seliverstov
2. We also presented our findings to a handful of senior managers and the three Santander students.
Wei hong presented on the large amount of data about campus buildings' electricity and gas consumption which he had combed through and analyzed. Cambridge has meters which feed directly into an online program which generates graphs and figures. A most interesting finding was that in laboratory-dominated buildings, the baseline load is high even in the middle of the night and weekends. During typical work hours, there is an increase in energy consumption, but it is not as significant as the constant energy consumption when the building is relatively not in use. Additionally, there is no significant difference in energy consumption between term months and off-term months. That is, in July, when one would expect there to be fewer building occupants, the energy usage remains high due to the year-round high level of research activity.
For the air travel study, I analyzed roughly 5000 flights taken by University staff and students in order to calculate actual (versus theoretical) air travel emissions in the Carbon Management Plan. By looking at flights recorded by the insurance office and travel agents, we estimate that we've captured 75% of all flights, which is quite good. The 'missing' 25% we assume is when people book flights on their own and don't take out insurance. Therefore, it appears that air travel emissions could be calculated using solely insurance information with an uplift factor to account for travel agent data and “unaccounted for” flights. To calculate emissions we decided to use the ClimateCare online calculator. A productive future goal, I believe, would be to consolidate emission factors across reporting entities as they vary quite a bit . By far, the majority of flights are between European countries, but the majority of CO2 emissions come from flights to America.
Wei hong presented on the large amount of data about campus buildings' electricity and gas consumption which he had combed through and analyzed. Cambridge has meters which feed directly into an online program which generates graphs and figures. A most interesting finding was that in laboratory-dominated buildings, the baseline load is high even in the middle of the night and weekends. During typical work hours, there is an increase in energy consumption, but it is not as significant as the constant energy consumption when the building is relatively not in use. Additionally, there is no significant difference in energy consumption between term months and off-term months. That is, in July, when one would expect there to be fewer building occupants, the energy usage remains high due to the year-round high level of research activity.
For the air travel study, I analyzed roughly 5000 flights taken by University staff and students in order to calculate actual (versus theoretical) air travel emissions in the Carbon Management Plan. By looking at flights recorded by the insurance office and travel agents, we estimate that we've captured 75% of all flights, which is quite good. The 'missing' 25% we assume is when people book flights on their own and don't take out insurance. Therefore, it appears that air travel emissions could be calculated using solely insurance information with an uplift factor to account for travel agent data and “unaccounted for” flights. To calculate emissions we decided to use the ClimateCare online calculator. A productive future goal, I believe, would be to consolidate emission factors across reporting entities as they vary quite a bit . By far, the majority of flights are between European countries, but the majority of CO2 emissions come from flights to America.
From left to right:
Emilia (Santander), Paul Hasley (Energy Manager), Wei hong, Martin Whiteland (Environmental officer), Thomas (Santander), Chloe (Santander) and Irene (me).
Reducing Waste at Meetings
There is one large meeting room at 74 Kenmare House where Estate Management is housed. The room is connected to a kitchnette with a sink, fridge, coffee maker(s), water dispenser, etc. What I really like is that there is a set of coffee cups with little saucers and spoons that are taken out for each meeting for coffee.
Of course, there is someone who is responsible to bring the cups out and wash them afterwards, and the person isn't necessarily an attendee of the meeting. It appears the responsiblity is included in the duties of one person. I witnessed the same procedure when we visited Oxford for meetings there, though in that case it was the receptionist who did this because the meeting rooms were right next to her desk. Kenmare House has a receptionist as well, but the meeting room is on the 2nd floor (or perhpas 3rd -- it's difficult to say with all the stair cases)
Though this post can seem mundane, this small detail eliminates the waste associated with throwing away paper/plastic cups, looks professional because the cups match, and promotes the idea of reusing items, even if there is composting established which could potentially divert cups from landfill were they compostable. There are still plastic cups made available for water, and it's certainly possible to replace those with small glass water glasses as well. In fact, there is a a form any staff member can fill out called a "staff recommendation" to improve the sustainability of any aspect in Estate Management, and the head custodian/handy-man wrote up a plan to eliminate plastic cups for everyone except for guests.
Of course, there is someone who is responsible to bring the cups out and wash them afterwards, and the person isn't necessarily an attendee of the meeting. It appears the responsiblity is included in the duties of one person. I witnessed the same procedure when we visited Oxford for meetings there, though in that case it was the receptionist who did this because the meeting rooms were right next to her desk. Kenmare House has a receptionist as well, but the meeting room is on the 2nd floor (or perhpas 3rd -- it's difficult to say with all the stair cases)
Though this post can seem mundane, this small detail eliminates the waste associated with throwing away paper/plastic cups, looks professional because the cups match, and promotes the idea of reusing items, even if there is composting established which could potentially divert cups from landfill were they compostable. There are still plastic cups made available for water, and it's certainly possible to replace those with small glass water glasses as well. In fact, there is a a form any staff member can fill out called a "staff recommendation" to improve the sustainability of any aspect in Estate Management, and the head custodian/handy-man wrote up a plan to eliminate plastic cups for everyone except for guests.
Friday, July 16, 2010
The Juxtaposition of Old and New
The other day, Martin took Wei hong and me on a tour of West Cambridge, where new University buildings are located. This is where the famous Cavendish Laboratory, for example, has been relocated to.
When new buildings are built or when exsiting buildings have large retrofits, it is required that the building provides 10% of its energy needs through a renewable source. At first, the University was thinking about installing one large renewable energy fixture - such as a small wind farm, for example - but then decided against it for various reasons. Instead, buildings put up solar panels on hardscape where cars park or have biomass boilers. Below are just a couple of pictures of West Cambridge.
In the city centre, Cambridge University looks like it did 800 years ago. This is the side of Cambridge you see as a tourist when you come visit.
But as soon as you move out to the fringes, you see a whole other side:
This is a picture of a swale, a feature which allows storm water to slowly seep into the ground rather than run off immediately. Features such as these help buildings gain BREEAM certification.
This is one of the newest buildings, to which the swale belongs to. It's so new that it is actually still quite emtpy (lights are still on at night though...) One of its purposes is to provide spaces for new research to interface with start up companies to market new technologies.
This sign is for the building below:
The "LEED" equivalent here is BREEAM, which stands for: The Environmental Assessment Method for Buildings Around the World. I tried finding a plaque but couldn't...
These funny looking roofs are to cover the hundreds of parked bikes! On the West Cambridge site there are actually quite a few of these type of covered biking parking spots, but this is the largest we saw.
When new buildings are built or when exsiting buildings have large retrofits, it is required that the building provides 10% of its energy needs through a renewable source. At first, the University was thinking about installing one large renewable energy fixture - such as a small wind farm, for example - but then decided against it for various reasons. Instead, buildings put up solar panels on hardscape where cars park or have biomass boilers. Below are just a couple of pictures of West Cambridge.
In the city centre, Cambridge University looks like it did 800 years ago. This is the side of Cambridge you see as a tourist when you come visit.
But as soon as you move out to the fringes, you see a whole other side:
This is a picture of a swale, a feature which allows storm water to slowly seep into the ground rather than run off immediately. Features such as these help buildings gain BREEAM certification.
This is one of the newest buildings, to which the swale belongs to. It's so new that it is actually still quite emtpy (lights are still on at night though...) One of its purposes is to provide spaces for new research to interface with start up companies to market new technologies.
This sign is for the building below:
The "LEED" equivalent here is BREEAM, which stands for: The Environmental Assessment Method for Buildings Around the World. I tried finding a plaque but couldn't...
These funny looking roofs are to cover the hundreds of parked bikes! On the West Cambridge site there are actually quite a few of these type of covered biking parking spots, but this is the largest we saw.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Transportation
by Irene
I am currently working on calculating CO2 emissions from air travel conducted by students/staff 2009-2010. The most difficult aspect of the task is settling down on a CO2 kg/km emission factor. Even among the UK Universities using the Carbon Trust Management Plan there are varying factors, let alone the large difference between the factor(s) used in UK and those in America. It seems in America the factor is higher because our calculators are accounting for radiative forcing. But Universities here typically accounting for uplift (this takes into account that sometimes flights take an indirect path from Point A to Point B, and also circling and delays) as well as assigning different emissions for short haul versus long haul trips (taking into account that the most fuel is burned for take off and landing).
That settled, I am interested what the data will show. I think for the purposes of the University, at this point, the most important data is figuring out number of miles traveled (long haul and short haul) and then multiplying them by the appropriate GHG emissions factor. But I think in terms of creating an action plan, I think it would also be useful to see when the most trips are taken (which months) and which departments. This is certainly not to point fingers at anyone or any time. But can perhaps lead to opening up more tele-conferencing rooms in those particular months or conducting a finer analysis of the types of trips being taken.
I am currently working on calculating CO2 emissions from air travel conducted by students/staff 2009-2010. The most difficult aspect of the task is settling down on a CO2 kg/km emission factor. Even among the UK Universities using the Carbon Trust Management Plan there are varying factors, let alone the large difference between the factor(s) used in UK and those in America. It seems in America the factor is higher because our calculators are accounting for radiative forcing. But Universities here typically accounting for uplift (this takes into account that sometimes flights take an indirect path from Point A to Point B, and also circling and delays) as well as assigning different emissions for short haul versus long haul trips (taking into account that the most fuel is burned for take off and landing).
That settled, I am interested what the data will show. I think for the purposes of the University, at this point, the most important data is figuring out number of miles traveled (long haul and short haul) and then multiplying them by the appropriate GHG emissions factor. But I think in terms of creating an action plan, I think it would also be useful to see when the most trips are taken (which months) and which departments. This is certainly not to point fingers at anyone or any time. But can perhaps lead to opening up more tele-conferencing rooms in those particular months or conducting a finer analysis of the types of trips being taken.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Sustainability UK
There are several general tidbits about Cambridge and the UK I've gathered throughout this week that I think are interesting. They don't relate exactly to the University, but here it goes anyway.
Getting Around:
It appears most locals have bicycles in Cambridge. When discussing with folks here who has the right of way, the general consensus is "bicyclists" (who drive like crazy things through these small windy roads). In attempting to join in on the bicycle culture, I will be renting a bicycle from Stationary Cycles. This is an interesting model, in which you put down a deposit, and pay for however long you'd like to have the bike - 1 week, 2, weeks, up to 7 weeks, I believe. I've never seen something like this in the states and find it an interesting way to accommodate visitors. Sure, you can rent a bike for a couple hours at the beach in Santa Monica....but never for weeks at a time at fairly reasonable prices.
Heathrow Airport
David Cameron announced the other day that long standing plans to build a third runway in Heathrow (there are currently only 2, which is rather astonishingly low, considering Heathrow is a sort of gate into Europe and the Middle East) are now canceled in order to cut air travel-related emissions in the UK and to fight a "flying binge." I don't have my own opinion on the matter, but definitely think it's interesting. No airport has ever decided not to expand due to greenhouse gas emission concerns, especially in an economic downturn, which the business sector says will be hurt by this action. Here's the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/science/earth/02runway.html?_r=1&hpw
Eurostar
Looking into other modes of transportation, Eurostar, the fast speed rail which one can take from London into Paris, thus traversing the channel, has these friendly words written as it looks up travel times, "Eurostar journeys are now carbon neutral at no extra cost to you." Doing a rather cursory search I didn't find more details, but still, thought it was a rather interesting tid-bit.
Getting Around:
It appears most locals have bicycles in Cambridge. When discussing with folks here who has the right of way, the general consensus is "bicyclists" (who drive like crazy things through these small windy roads). In attempting to join in on the bicycle culture, I will be renting a bicycle from Stationary Cycles. This is an interesting model, in which you put down a deposit, and pay for however long you'd like to have the bike - 1 week, 2, weeks, up to 7 weeks, I believe. I've never seen something like this in the states and find it an interesting way to accommodate visitors. Sure, you can rent a bike for a couple hours at the beach in Santa Monica....but never for weeks at a time at fairly reasonable prices.
Heathrow Airport
David Cameron announced the other day that long standing plans to build a third runway in Heathrow (there are currently only 2, which is rather astonishingly low, considering Heathrow is a sort of gate into Europe and the Middle East) are now canceled in order to cut air travel-related emissions in the UK and to fight a "flying binge." I don't have my own opinion on the matter, but definitely think it's interesting. No airport has ever decided not to expand due to greenhouse gas emission concerns, especially in an economic downturn, which the business sector says will be hurt by this action. Here's the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/science/earth/02runway.html?_r=1&hpw
Eurostar
Looking into other modes of transportation, Eurostar, the fast speed rail which one can take from London into Paris, thus traversing the channel, has these friendly words written as it looks up travel times, "Eurostar journeys are now carbon neutral at no extra cost to you." Doing a rather cursory search I didn't find more details, but still, thought it was a rather interesting tid-bit.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Yokohama Renewable Energy Conference 2010
On Thursday, July 1, 2010, I was given the opportunity to go with Professor Hanaki to the 2010 Renewable Energy Conference in Yokohama, Japan. First, I listened to a couple of sessions on biofuels.
Then, I was able to listen about the sustainability programs in Australia National University (ANU is located in Canberra), ETH Zurich (located in Switzerland), Tongji University (located in Shanghai, China), and, of course, the University of Tokyo (UT aka Todai). It was a special workshop with a speaker panel following the short presentations about campus sustainability (what is about, what each university has to offer, what each university priorities, the philosophy behind each university).
Thanks to this man who organized the whole conference in addition to organizing this special workshop on campus sustainability.
Here are some quick notes about the universities:
Thanks to this man who organized the whole conference in addition to organizing this special workshop on campus sustainability.ETH Zurich: Focused on the campus called "Science City," introduced how design (design of buildings, design of areas..etc) makes a difference in bringing together people to create sustainable campus community
Tongji University: Talked about how they can monitor the energy consumption of over 300 campus buildings with up-to-date metering by the hour. They plan to expand this system over multiple (quite a few actually) campuses across China. Administrators just log on to the website and then they can see where energy is being consumed and how much is being consumed.
Australia National University: Talked about taking in sustainability with a holistic view, they also have paid student internships to ensure the turnover of students and student projects are less of an issue
University of Tokyo: the University of Tokyo owns forested area in northern Japan which is estimated to store up to half of Todai's carbon emissions yearly.
Can you imagine? They spent half a year working on installing the system that monitors the energy consumption of over 300 buildings. All analysis, graphs, and data can be collected and viewed online (via special username and password). 
Speaker Panel. Left to right: ANU, University of Tokyo, ANU, ETH Zurich, Tongji University
What a coincidence! From left to right: Joana Portugal from Portugal & University of Tokyo, Joanna Young from UC Berkeley, Joanne Dy from University of Tokyo 
Goodbye Yokohama!Tuesday, June 29, 2010
First Look Around -- Cambridge
By Irene
I'm excited to start posting now that I've arrived in Cambridge!! In this first blog I'll just give a bit of context for the office I'm working in and the University.
Cambridge University celebrated its 800th birthday last year. The University is integrated into the surrounding town, so much so that it is difficult to track whether you’re on “campus” or in “town” or perhaps on the territory of a “college.” Departments which require more advanced technologies (physics, chemistry, engineering) are slowly moving to the periphery of campus, and the older buildings are used for administrative and humanities purposes.
The office I and another IARUS student, Wei Hong from the National University of Singapore, are working in is part of Estate Management. This is one of nine University Offices, which include Human Resources, Health & Safety, Research Office as examples. Currently, Martin Whiteland, Environmental Officer, is the only staff person though there are typically three. The office is located in what used to be the (rather large) attic of a two story building. The building reminds me a lot of our A&E building (though it's probably several hundred years older).
In addition to myself and Wei Hong, there are three other students pursuing masters at Cambridge working in the office as well over the summer. Their project is focusing on promoting students to use Campus as a Living Laboratory for pilot projects as well as building an interactive website where information about research relating to sustainability.
Estate Management has jurisdiction over the University but not the colleges. I like to think of colleges as our typical dorms but on steroids. In addition to what we are used to, they also have a library, a chapel, their own administrative staff and buildings, fields, gyms, recreational areas and more. And the colleges vary quite a bit in age – King’s College was built in 1441. Churchill College (where we are staying) was built in the 1970s. Though the colleges can ask for advice or resources from EM if they’d like to work on sustainability initiatives, their energy and water use is not monitored by EM and the Carbon Management Plan does not include them in its analysis of University carbon dioxide emissions or reduction goals.
The Promised Pictures
A view of my space in the office
This is Weihong, IARU student from Singapore.
The office is in a building with many stairways and doors and passages. Including this tiny tiny door that is actually used a couple times a day!
view from the office onto Trumpington Street, one of the largest in Cambridge.
I'm excited to start posting now that I've arrived in Cambridge!! In this first blog I'll just give a bit of context for the office I'm working in and the University.
Cambridge University celebrated its 800th birthday last year. The University is integrated into the surrounding town, so much so that it is difficult to track whether you’re on “campus” or in “town” or perhaps on the territory of a “college.” Departments which require more advanced technologies (physics, chemistry, engineering) are slowly moving to the periphery of campus, and the older buildings are used for administrative and humanities purposes.
The office I and another IARUS student, Wei Hong from the National University of Singapore, are working in is part of Estate Management. This is one of nine University Offices, which include Human Resources, Health & Safety, Research Office as examples. Currently, Martin Whiteland, Environmental Officer, is the only staff person though there are typically three. The office is located in what used to be the (rather large) attic of a two story building. The building reminds me a lot of our A&E building (though it's probably several hundred years older).
In addition to myself and Wei Hong, there are three other students pursuing masters at Cambridge working in the office as well over the summer. Their project is focusing on promoting students to use Campus as a Living Laboratory for pilot projects as well as building an interactive website where information about research relating to sustainability.
Estate Management has jurisdiction over the University but not the colleges. I like to think of colleges as our typical dorms but on steroids. In addition to what we are used to, they also have a library, a chapel, their own administrative staff and buildings, fields, gyms, recreational areas and more. And the colleges vary quite a bit in age – King’s College was built in 1441. Churchill College (where we are staying) was built in the 1970s. Though the colleges can ask for advice or resources from EM if they’d like to work on sustainability initiatives, their energy and water use is not monitored by EM and the Carbon Management Plan does not include them in its analysis of University carbon dioxide emissions or reduction goals.
The Promised Pictures
A view of my space in the office
This is Weihong, IARU student from Singapore.
The office is in a building with many stairways and doors and passages. Including this tiny tiny door that is actually used a couple times a day!
view from the office onto Trumpington Street, one of the largest in Cambridge.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
New Posters and Green Marketing
New posters for TSCP arrived today. I gave a sneak preview of the posters in an earlier post, but here's a better one. 
Air-conditioning is responsible for a large percentage of the energy usage at the University of Tokyo so there is a strong focus on purchasing energy-efficient air-conditioning system as well as notifying the community about air-conditioning habits. On the Hongo campus, around 31.8% of the power consumption is A/C (2007) and 35.5% for Komaba 2 campus. 
Here is a promotional item from the University of Tokyo that tells if the air-conditioning is too high or low. It is like a mood ring.
Here is a picture of University of Kyoto's sustainability marketing tool- an eco-friendly calendar that gives you 1 green tip a day. The calendar doesn't have the year on it so it just gives the day, making it reusable every year.
Air-conditioning is responsible for a large percentage of the energy usage at the University of Tokyo so there is a strong focus on purchasing energy-efficient air-conditioning system as well as notifying the community about air-conditioning habits. On the Hongo campus, around 31.8% of the power consumption is A/C (2007) and 35.5% for Komaba 2 campus. 
Here is a promotional item from the University of Tokyo that tells if the air-conditioning is too high or low. It is like a mood ring.
Here is a picture of University of Kyoto's sustainability marketing tool- an eco-friendly calendar that gives you 1 green tip a day. The calendar doesn't have the year on it so it just gives the day, making it reusable every year.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tools of the Trade
Today, I would like to post about interesting Japanese gadgets.
1. Small device that measures Watt hours: If that's not cool enough for you, it also plugs into any computer and can give you the data it has just collected.
2. Small equipment that measures temperature and humidity (small square in the middle): If that's not cool enough for you, it comes with a communication base that it connects to wirelessly. Then, the communication base can be plugged into a computer through USB.
1. Small device that measures Watt hours: If that's not cool enough for you, it also plugs into any computer and can give you the data it has just collected.
2. Small equipment that measures temperature and humidity (small square in the middle): If that's not cool enough for you, it comes with a communication base that it connects to wirelessly. Then, the communication base can be plugged into a computer through USB.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Meeting the President of the University of Tokyo
Two important meetings occurred today. In the morning, there was a working group meeting about management and student affairs; also, representatives from Panasonic presented their research on more efficient lighting control systems. In the late afternoon, there was a meeting with the President of the University of Tokyo, Junichi Hamada, about the current progress of TSCP.At the University of California, Berkeley, the Office of Sustainability (OS) is under the immediate Office of the Vice Chancellor.At the University of Tokyo, Todai Sustainable Campus Project (TSCP) is under the Office of the Executive Vice President, who is currently Masahiko Isobe.
My picture with the Vice President of the University of Tokyo (UT)
My picture with the President of the University of Tokyo (
This is equivalent to me taking a picture with the Chancellor of UC Berkeley.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
TSCP Management Working Group Meeting
Today, there was a TSCP Management Working Group meeting; attendees were TSCP core members and its 8 associates, which consists of professors from various departments, Manager of General Affairs, Manager of Financial Affairs, and General Manager of Facilities. 
A variety of topics and updates for April and May were covered.
1. Current and Future Measures: a large renovation project application is rejected, consolidation of high-efficiency refrigerators and household lamps
2. CO2 emissions for April & May: Hongo campus had +48 ton-CO2 due to heating operations, Komaba 1 campus had a -40 ton-CO2 due to improvement of lighting and air-conditioning, Komaba 2 campus had a -51 ton-CO2 due to stopping the clean room, Shirokane campus had -172 ton-CO2 due to improvement in operations, Kashiwa campus had 89 ton-CO2 due to the activities by the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute
3. Carbon Offsets: The Ministry of the Environment is asking for materials about J-VER (Japan Verified Emission Reduction Scheme). There is lots of mention about forest thinning. Here is a very short article about J-VER, Japan's domestic offset trading.
4. Writing Articles and Reports: Submitted reports to Heat Pump & Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan (about heat pumps), Architectural Institute of Japan, The Society of Heating, Air-conditioning, and Sanitary Engineers of Japan (about air-conditioning)
5. Miscellaneous: 1) New posters proposal 2) discussion about cost-effectiveness regarding long term and short term projects 3) a need for greater student involvement in TSCP efforts
The one on the left has some green tips like turning off your computer when not in use while the right is a tribute to the World Cup and designed for summer months
A variety of topics and updates for April and May were covered.1. Current and Future Measures: a large renovation project application is rejected, consolidation of high-efficiency refrigerators and household lamps
2. CO2 emissions for April & May: Hongo campus had +48 ton-CO2 due to heating operations, Komaba 1 campus had a -40 ton-CO2 due to improvement of lighting and air-conditioning, Komaba 2 campus had a -51 ton-CO2 due to stopping the clean room, Shirokane campus had -172 ton-CO2 due to improvement in operations, Kashiwa campus had 89 ton-CO2 due to the activities by the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute
3. Carbon Offsets: The Ministry of the Environment is asking for materials about J-VER (Japan Verified Emission Reduction Scheme). There is lots of mention about forest thinning. Here is a very short article about J-VER, Japan's domestic offset trading.
4. Writing Articles and Reports: Submitted reports to Heat Pump & Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan (about heat pumps), Architectural Institute of Japan, The Society of Heating, Air-conditioning, and Sanitary Engineers of Japan (about air-conditioning)
5. Miscellaneous: 1) New posters proposal 2) discussion about cost-effectiveness regarding long term and short term projects 3) a need for greater student involvement in TSCP efforts
The one on the left has some green tips like turning off your computer when not in use while the right is a tribute to the World Cup and designed for summer monthsFun Tidbit of the Day! Regarding University of Tokyo's waste stream, a main culprit is the hospital building's syringes. 
Y-axis is tons of waste, X-axis is year. Each bar is divided into waste from 1. Hongo campus (yellow) 2. Hongo Medical building (red) 3. Komaba 1 campus (orange) 4. Komaba 2 campus (purple) 5. Shirokane campus (white) 6. Kashiwa campus (green)
Y-axis is tons of waste, X-axis is year. Each bar is divided into waste from 1. Hongo campus (yellow) 2. Hongo Medical building (red) 3. Komaba 1 campus (orange) 4. Komaba 2 campus (purple) 5. Shirokane campus (white) 6. Kashiwa campus (green)Monday, June 21, 2010
University of Tokyo CO2 Emissions 2009
As much as I would like to write an executive summary on the University of Tokyo's CO2 emissions inventory for 2009, I'm afraid my knowledge is not up to par. Thus, I will give you the minimum that I do know.
Using 2000 as the standard for comparison, the University of Tokyo had a CO2 reduction of 2,462 ton-CO2/year for 2009. Remember that the University of Tokyo is made up of 5 main campuses. Let's do the breakdown-
Hongo Campus: -2,360 ton-CO2 (reduction due to the introduction of the new heat recovery turbo chiller)
Komaba 1 campus: -313 ton-CO2 (reduction due to greater energy awareness educations, energy saving stickers)
Komaba 2 campus: 178 ton-CO2 (increase due to new computers servers and networks)
Kashiwa campus: 401 ton-CO2 (increase due to new buildings built)
Shirokane campus: -367 ton-CO2 (reduction due to the manual stopping of 2 of the 6 boilers)
I thought today's piece of information was incredibly interesting. I end with a sustainability tidbit about Cambridge. When calculating CO2 emissions in 2007, Cambridge was the only university to fill out the section titled "Farm Animals." What did it say? 900 heads.
Using 2000 as the standard for comparison, the University of Tokyo had a CO2 reduction of 2,462 ton-CO2/year for 2009. Remember that the University of Tokyo is made up of 5 main campuses. Let's do the breakdown-
Hongo Campus: -2,360 ton-CO2 (reduction due to the introduction of the new heat recovery turbo chiller)
Komaba 1 campus: -313 ton-CO2 (reduction due to greater energy awareness educations, energy saving stickers)
Komaba 2 campus: 178 ton-CO2 (increase due to new computers servers and networks)
Kashiwa campus: 401 ton-CO2 (increase due to new buildings built)
Shirokane campus: -367 ton-CO2 (reduction due to the manual stopping of 2 of the 6 boilers)
I thought today's piece of information was incredibly interesting. I end with a sustainability tidbit about Cambridge. When calculating CO2 emissions in 2007, Cambridge was the only university to fill out the section titled "Farm Animals." What did it say? 900 heads.
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