Reducing Caltech's Carbon Footprint

Caltech News tagged with "staff + student_life + faculty_profile + grants_and_giving"

Caltech sustainability efforts paid dividends in fiscal year 2016, cutting water use by 11 percent and trash generation by 5 percent while increasing hazardous material recycling by 11 percent compared to the previous year.Those highlights, reported by Caltech Sustainability in its "Annual Sustainability Update 2016" report were among dozens of metrics showing the Institute's progress in reducing its environmental footprint. The report also highlighted areas where improvements could be made, such as increasing carpool usage and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.John Onderdonk, director of sustainability programs, says that "progress in the last year has been steady and really strengthened long-term positive trends."For example, he notes that the Institute has made significant progress in reducing demand for and increasing efficiency in energy and water use. Recent achievements in those areas have included: installation of a direct chilled-water loop to connect the campus's central and satellite utility plants to improve cooling in campus buildings; installing dedicated tree irrigation systems; installing low-flow urinals campus-wide; overhauling the 10-megawatt gas turbine in the central plant to bolster efficiency; and upgrading fuel cells providing 2 megawatts to boost their efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.Here are some other highlights from the report:Caltech now derives 88 percent of its own power needs from on-campus sources—and those on-campus sources are 15 percent cleaner than power provided by the municipal utility;Water features including the Gene Pool and the Watson Lab fountain have been outfitted with systems to use recycled water from air conditioning condensation, saving as much as 200,000 gallons of water annually;The campus now recycles 34 percent of its waste, a 3 percent increase over the previous year;In 2016, the campus installed 61 Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations around campus; the stations are free to use for campus electric vehicle owners as part of a research project led by Steven Low, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, to determine how the Institute can ...

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