Eight Ways Brandeis Will Be Greener in 2018

Brandeis Will Be Greener in 2018
Brandeis Will Be Greener in 2018

1. By opening its greenest-ever building. A new 164-bed residence hall, set to welcome its first students in the fall, will be heated and cooled by a geothermal system. The design also features high-performance insulation and windows, rooftop solar panels and all-LED lighting.

2. By cooking up a renewable fuel source. To reduce natural-gas usage, the university will burn 160,000 gallons of renewable fuel — processed from used cooking oil collected from restaurants, schools and hotels — in its central heating plant.

3. By letting the sun shine in. An array of solar panels installed on the roof of the main library will generate 270,000 kilowatt-hours of solar electricity, doubling the amount of solar power generated on campus.

4. By encouraging student-led projects. A dozen green projects devised by students will begin coming to life across campus this spring, supported by $80,000 from the Brandeis Sustainability Fund (BSF).

5. By planting more seeds. Students will use a $3,500 BSF grant to winterize the Rooftop Community Farm, atop the Shapiro Science Center complex, to extend its growing season and allow farming throughout the fall semester.

6. By reducing energy usage, again. So far in FY18, campus officials report a 6 percent decrease in natural-gas usage and a 4 percent decrease in electricity usage, continuing a four-year trend of declining consumption. The university’s carbon-reduction goals are 10 percent by the end of FY18 and 15 percent by 2020.

7. By improving comfort and energy efficiency. A two-year window-replacement project in the Hassenfeld and Pomerantz residence halls has been completed.

8. By giving to others. At the end of the school year, a move-out donation program is expected to collect three tons of clothing and household items for charities, keeping those items out of landfills and providing support to those in need.