The University of Vermont
STARS:&OPERATIONS&(OP)&
Aidan&DiPrima,&Corey&McMullen,&Doran&Zimmerman,&Nicholas&Guay&
Strengths&
Overview:&What&is&OP?&
Cleaning&Product&Purchasing& The!use!of!ozonated!water!has!eliminated!our!need!to!purchase!harmful!chemicals! that!pollute!our!water!system!and!nega3vely!impact!human!health.! ! &&Food&Waste&& The!EcoMRep!program!at!UVM!now!makes!compos3ng!available!in!every!dining! facility!and!dormitories,!further!decreasing!the!amount!of!waste!sent!to!landfills.&
Subcategories:&Building&a&BeFer&Campus&
The!Opera3ons!sec3on!of!STARS!focuses!on! crea3ng!a!sustainable!infrastructure!for! universi3es!to!operate!in.!It!contains!nine! categories!that!cover!sustainable!best!prac3ces!in! every!aspect!of!a!university’s!campus;!buildings,! climate,!dining,!energy,!grounds,!purchasing,! transporta3on,!waste,!and!water.!This!sec3on!of! STARS!focuses!on!the!physical,!dayMtoMday! ac3vi3es!and!opera3ons,!as!well!as!planning!for! the!future!in!the!form!of!greenhouse!gas!emission! reduc3ons!and!purchasing!power.!!
Areas&for&Improvement& The!biggest!area!of!improvement!in!the! • Food&&&Beverage&Purchasing:&2.5&/&6.0& Opera3ons!category!of!STARS,!is!in! • Clean&and&Renewable&Energy:&1.5&/&7.0&& Greenhouse!Gas!Emissions!Reduc3ons.!! • Building&Energy&consumpNon&4.2&/&8.0& UVM!currently!has!a!score!of!3.5!out!of! 14.!!As!a!result!of!the!university’s!Climate! • Campus&Fleet:&0.12&/&2.00& Ac3on!Plan!and!Clean!Energy!Fund,!UVM! • Waste&ReducNon:&2.05&/&5.00& will!begin!to!implement!more!renewable! • Waste&Diversion:&1.34&/&3.00& energy!sources.!!!
OP#Subcategories# Water
Buildings
90%
Waste
57%
Climate
59% 33% 59% 39%
Transportation
59% 44%
Dining Services
79%
Purchasing Grounds
Energy
Subcategories:&A&Sustainable&Future&
Buildings!
!
Water
This!subcategory!seeks!to!recognize!ins3tu3ons!! that!are!taking!steps!to!improve!the!sustainability!! performance!of!their!buildings.!UVM!currently! has!12!LEED!projects.!Due!to!the!fact!that! buildings!are!generally!the!largest!user!of!energy! and!source!of!greenhouse!gas!emissions,!these! projects!have!contributed!to!UVM’s!outstanding! indoor!air!quality!(OP3).! !
OP 23 T2*
Waste
T2*
Buildings OP 1
OP 22 OP 2
OP 21 OP 20 OP 19
OP 3 OP 4
OP 18
Climate OP 17 OP 5
The!Aiken!Center!solarium.! T2*
Climate!
This!subcategory!seeks!to!recognize!ins3tu3ons!that!are!measuring!and!reducing! their!greenhouse!gas!emissions.!UVM!is!currently!receiving!most!of!the!credits!for! this!subcategory!through!a!greenhouse!gas!emission!inventory!(OP4).!The!university! could!benefit!more!by!focusing!on!greenhouse!Gas!Emissions!Reduc3on!(OP5).!!
! ! ! ! !
& Dining!
T2* OP 15
Transportation
Energy&
This!subcategory!seeks!to!recognize!ins3tu3ons!that!are!reducing!their!energy! consump3on!through!conserva3on!and!efficiency,!and!switching!to!cleaner!and! renewable!sources!of!energy!such!as!solar,!wind,!geothermal,!and!lowMimpact! hydropower.!UVM!has!installed!ligh3ng!sensors,!LED’s,!and!meters!(T2)!to!measure! and!track!energy!use.!This!is!vital!to!the!university!due!to!the!fact!that!energy! consump3on!is!the!largest!source!of!GHG!emissions.! !
! ! ! !
Solar!photovoltaic!panels!at!the!Equine!Center.!
OP 6
OP 14 T2* OP 13
!This!subcategory!seeks!to!recognize!ins3tu3ons!that! !are!suppor3ng!a!sustainable!food!system.!UVM!has! !adopted!many!sustainable!alterna3ves!such!as! !providing!trayMless!dining,!u3lizing!locally!produced! !goods,!and!recycled!paper!products!(T2)! &
Wind!turbine!on!UVM’s!main!campus.!
OP 16
T2*
OP 12 OP 11 OP 10
Purchasing
T2*
Dining Services
OP 7 OP 9 T2*
Grounds
OP 8
Credit
Title (by subcategory)
OP 1
Building Operations and Maintenance
2.63/7
OP 2
Building Design and Construction
2.79/4
OP 3
Indoor Air Quality
2/2
OP 4
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
2/2
OP 5
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction
3.48/14
T2*
Climate Tier Two
0/0.5
OP 6
Food and Beverage Purchasing
2.53/6
T2*
Dining Services Tier Two
2.5/2.5
OP 7
Building Energy Consumption
4.26/8
OP 8
Clean and Renewable Energy
1.56/7
T2*
Energy Tier Two
1.5/1.5
OP 9
Integrated Pest Management
1.31/2
T2*
Grounds Tier Two
OP 10
Computer Purchasing
0.5/2
OP 11
Cleaning Product Purchasing
1.9/2
OP 12
Office Paper Purchasing
0.5/2
OP 13
Vendor Code of Conduct
0/1
T2*
Purchasing Tier Two
0/0.5
OP 14
Campus Fleet
0.12/2
OP 15
Student Commute Modal Split
3.28/4
OP 16
Employee Commute Modal Split
1.41/3
T2*
Transportation Tier Two
2.25/3
OP 17
Waste Reduction
2.05/5
OP 18
Waste Diversion
1.34/3
OP 19
Construction and Demolition Waste Diversion
0.48/1
OP 20
Electronic Waste Recycling Program
1/1
OP 21
Hazardous Waste Management
1/1
T2*
Waste Tier Two
1.5/1.5
OP 22
Water Consumption
5.93/7
OP 23
Stormwater Management
T2*
Water Tier Two
1.25/1.25
OP
Operations Total
54.32/100
Energy
Slice Label: Credit Number T2*: Tier 2 credits combined for each subcategory Points*: Points Received/Points Possible
EcoMachine&
Points*
1.25/1.25
2/2
! ! ! ! ! ! Aerial!view!of!Waterman!building!and!the! !! green.
Grounds&
!This!subcategory!seeks!to!recognize!ins3tu3ons!that!plan! !and!maintain!their!grounds!with!sustainability!in!mind.! !UVM’s!integrated!Pest!Management!Plan!(OP9)!has! !eradicated!the!use!of!harmful!and!dangerous!chemicals.!In! !addi3on,!the!use!of!Magic!Salt!(T2)!has!helped!the! !university!to!decrease!the!amount!of!salt,!which!is!both! !harmful!and!corrosive!to!both!roads!and!green!space.!! !
Purchasing&
This!subcategory!seeks!to!recognize!ins3tu3ons!that!are!using!purchasing!power!to! help!build!a!sustainable!!economy.!UVM!has!been!responsibly!alloca3ng!money!to! beIer!cleaning!products!(OP11).!As!a!result,!most!of!the!points!received!from!this! subcategory!have!come!from!this!specific!purchasing!decision.!In!addi3on,!the!onM campus!computer!depot!consciously!purchases!computers!with!the!best!possible! environmental!impact!ra3ngs!(OP10).!!! ! TransportaNon! This!subcategory!seeks!to!recognize!ins3tu3ons! that!are!implemen3ng!a!sustainable! transporta3on!system.!Transporta3on!is!a!major! source!of!GHG!emissions!and!other!pollutants! that!contribute!to!human!health!problems.! Currently,!82%!of!UVM!students!have!adopted! sustainable!transporta3on!methods!(OP15).!!
One!of!UVM’s!compressed!natural!gas! powered!buses.!
Waste&
The!University!of!Vermont’s!newly!renovated!Aiken! Center!includes!an!EcoMachine,!an!innova3ve!way! ! to!treat!wastewater.!An!living!machine!mimics!the! natural!purifica3ons!processes!found!in!wetland,! ! groundwater,!stream!and!pond!ecosystems.!The! ! ! EcoMachine!is!home!to!communi3es!of!aqua3c! ! microMorganisms,!invertebrates!and!wetland!plants! working!together!to!degrade!pollutants!and!to! transform!nutrients!and!energy!in!sewage!into!a! profusion!of!life.!The!buildings!wastewater!is! treated!in!the!system!and!reused!for!nonMpotable! use,!reducing!water!consump3on.!
This!subcategory!seeks!to!recognize!ins3tu3ons!that!are!moving!toward!zero!waste! by!reducing,!reusing,!recycling,!and!compos3ng.!UVM’s!Encores!have!worked!hard! to!offer!and!provide!compost!bins!throughout!campus!as!a!sustainable!way!to! improve!and!reduce!waste.!This!has!increased!waste!diversion!(OP18)!and!lessened! the!amount!that!would!be!otherwise!sent!to!landfills.!!!! !
Water&
Aiken!Center!EcoMachine.!
This!subcategory!seeks!to!recognize!ins3tu3ons!that!are!conserving!water!and! making!efforts!to!protect!water!quality.!UVM’s!Stormwater!Management!(OP23)! policy!uses!best!management!prac3ces!to!prevent,!control,!and!treat!stormwater! runoff!on!campus.!The!policy!aims!to!mi3gate!runoff!for!new!construc3on!and! regular!campus!opera3ons.&