The Carrot Sticks
 Create Interdisciplinary “Building
Assessment” Green Teams, and a
Standard Assessment Model
 Make “going green”
cool/fashionable
 Smart Refrigeration System (SRS)
 The Rensselaericle
Create Interdisciplinary “Building Assessment”
Green Teams, and a Standard Assessment Model
 Focus: assessing the performance and use of a building, via more holistic
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approach
Team conducts multi-faceted analysis
Develop a Standard Assessment Model
Apply for grant (Stimulus Package, NSF, NYSERDA etc.) Specific to bio-limatic
assessment and retrofitting of older buildings
Impact
 Environment: Project dependent thus potential impact is large
 Economic: Project dependent
 Culture: Train and grow awareness among group and building occupants
 Pay-Back
 Dependent on extent and type of retrofit identified
 Feedback
The Carrot Sticks
Create Interdisciplinary Green Teams
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Facilities
Focus: Holistic building assessment
 Departs from piece-meal, ‘quick-fix’, heavy-handed
approaches to building renovation (e.g., replace all
windows, replace all light bulbs, replace all plumbing
fixtures)
 Examines the interplay of multiple additional factors
and data
Team would conduct a multi-faceted analysis
 Bioclimatic analysis: energy use/performance of building
systems
 How much do existing systems take into account the external
environment? (wait for SRS)
 Account for:
 Solar energy presence
 Wind flows
 Temperature swings (diurnal, seasonal, etc.)
 Occupancy flows (uses of the building during the course
of the day; uses in different seasons; changes in use in
past decades)
Make Sustainability Cool
 Publicize/promote outstanding sustainable products
 Showcase/advertise sustainable behaviors/practices
 Impact:
 Culture: Foster positive attitudes towards the environmental
implications of social behaviors
 Economic: Minimal…advertising. Word of mouth, action
 Environment: Once the ball gets rolling….
 Who will implement?
 Admin., IWSTF, SSTF, and everyone
 Feedback…
Driving a Sustainability Culture
 President Jackson is ‘far and away’ the most influential voice
on campus
 Only person whose decisions/leadership automatically gets results
 In consultation with Dr. Jackson, develop strategies for
driving a sustainability culture
 Inspiration: a slogan with the impact of “Yes We Can!”
 Aspiration : set clear goals, with metrics and monitoring
 Communication: continue the SSTF’s model of collaborative
knowledge-building, networking and idea-mining
 Motivation: publicize achievements to create the desire for others to
emulate success
Examples
 Example: Campus retailers or organizations (e.g., Student
Senate) offer subsidies to clubs or teams who buy sustainable
products and materials and use sustainable
practices/processes
 Example: request “sustainable product reviews” from Statler &
Waldorf and/or The Poly
Examples Cont.
 Example: use the central sustainability information
website as an advertising venue
 “Top Ten Sustainable Products”
 “Product of the Week”
 Example: provide display area (showcase or central
sustainability area)
Example: The Rensselaer “Eco-Button™”
 USB-connected energy counter/hibernator for computers
 Instantly hibernates computer at near-zero energy consumption
 Instantly re-awakens at “wherever you left off ”
 First screen shows money saved, energy saved
 Rensselaer logo printed on the button
 Purchase at reduced rate through Voorhees Computer Center
 Add to computing package sold to incoming students
 Could use coupon to be redeemed at the VCC
 Sell to faculty and staff
 Use fliers and coupons to advertise
 Provide free for a limited time
 Can also purchase additional buttons
 Advanced use: develop additional
software to track and display the savings by
class, by school, etc.
Product currently available at: www.buzline.com
Example: Annual Sustainability
Awards/Appreciation Dinner
 Awards for best sustainability courses
 Awards for best sustainability research
 Showcase innovative technologies
 Recognition of best practices (emphasizing
‘operations’ at Rensselaer)
 Could incorporate speaker or presentations
on innovative technologies
Example: Club for “Recycled Art”
 Group focused on creating art made of recycled material.
 Intended to be displayed in public spaces.
 Would provide venue for creative students
 Easy to set up due to pre-existing environmental awareness
clubs.
Example: Sponsor Intramural Sports Teams
 Select several intramural sports
teams to represent a sustainability
theme.
 Provide free themed t-shirts, water
bottles, etc.
 Consciousness raising.
 Analogous to Vasudha.
Research Project:
Smart Refrigeration System (SRS)
 Eco-Refrigerator integrated into building
wall to cool with outside air in winter
 Reduce energy consumption
 Reduce the use of freon
 Use indoor and outdoor thermostat to control
switching of cooling system
 Discharge off-heat to outside the building
in summer (to reduce air-conditioning
costs)
 Discharge to inside the building in winter
Rensselaericle
 The “Rensselaericle”: transforming the American auto industry
 Goal: to address the entire life cycle of transportation carbon
emissions
 By creating a new, low-emissions (electric vehicle), but ALSO
 By doing away with “consumable” or “throw-away” cars and trucks
 Underlying problem: U.S. metropolitan models are decentralized;
therefore the European approach to urban public transportation is
cost-inhibitive for most U.S. locations
 Americans love “individual” freedom: they are addicted to “a car for every
person”
 Also addicted to consumerism – always wanting “the latest style”
 Result: a new car every year or two (or five)
 Greatest carbon emission is not gas mileage, but auto manufacturing/embodied energy
Rensselaericle
 Solution: create a modular car, with a “core to last a lifetime” (20-30 year life)
 Base model: galvanized metal, slate gray, simple shape
 Simple, durable interior design
 Independent electric motors at every wheel (regenerative breaking)
 Central ‘power-box’ where electricity is generated
 Add-ons: exterior body panels (e.g., make it a Cadillac, Ferrari, or Buick)
 Similar ‘upgrades’ for interior
 All using interchangeable parts
 Power source: as new technology (e.g., upgraded batteries, fuel cell, LNG) come on the
market, the owner changes the power source, NOT the car
 Result: satisfies consumer desire for a “new car” with a fraction of the manufacturing costs
– in terms of both economics and carbon emissions
 Used parts can be exchanged, re-used
 “Core” could also be expanded (e.g., from 2-seat to 4-seat module) by unbolting and inserting an add-on
section
 Basic “core/skeleton” remains unchanged
 Note: could devastate the auto industry, which is based economically on
frequent, wasteful replacement with a new model
 Current timing – with the auto industry already undergoing major overhaul – is ideal
Rensselaericle
 Impact
 Environmental: Greatest carbon emissions reduction possible
 Economic: Flip economics of auto industry
 Culture: Dispose of throw away mentality…
 Who will implement?
The Carrot
Sticks
The Rensselyrical
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The full line up
The Carrot Sticks
Recycled Art Club
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Awareness
The Carrot Sticks
Sponsor Intramural Sports Teams
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Awareness
The Carrot Sticks
Publicize Fashionable Sustainable Products
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Awareness
The Carrot Sticks
Annual Sustainability Awards Dinner
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Awareness
The Carrot Sticks
Implement Green Buttons
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Energy
The Carrot Sticks
Apply for Stimulus Money for Retrofitting
Buildings
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Facilities
The Carrot Sticks
Enhance FIXX to Include Sustainability
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Volunteers
Facilities
The Carrot Sticks
Create Interdisciplinary Green Teams
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Volunteers
Facilities
The Carrot Sticks
Green Purchasing Policy
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Procurement
The Carrot Sticks
Exterior Building Refrigeration Envelope
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Research
The Carrot Sticks
The Rensselyrical
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Research
The Carrot Sticks
Bicycle Rental Stations
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Transportatio
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